I'm not sure I would touch the cabinets. I would probably put an area rug on the floor as there is just a little too much of (really beautiful) wood and not enough color and personal items (and with a little luck at all, you could have it in place by tomorrow night). Did you cross post to the intereior decorating forum?

As to your question on who to hire, word of mouth referrals AND on approach that sounds reasonable is still your best bet. I think there is confusion in at least one of the painter's mind as to what you want because the nhance.com website address that you gave leads only to a company that really does wood as a wood, not paint.

When comparing the painting processes, the way they apply the paint is only half the equation. Preparing the surface is hugely important. Can you tell us how they compare in how they plan to prepare the surface before painting?

I think painting those cabs is a great idea to get the look you want (I'm a painted cab person too). They look gorgeous as is, but I'd probably consider painting them, too.

Maybe you could try a few things before spending that much money to paint them. The area rug on the floor as suggested by practigal was my first thought. Then as I looked at the pics more, maybe you could consider painting those columns and the island in the trim color. A different table and chairs, maybe painted as well. Some of your personal things out on the counters...maybe those things would provide enough contrast to the wood. Your kitchen is really beautiful and I would want to try a few other things before spending money on something you can't easily or cheaply reverse like painting those cabinets.

ETA that I might even consider getting rid of the paneled fridge and putting in a stainless one and replacing the wood hood with a stainless chimney style to break up the wood on wood on wood.

I agree with practigal in considering whether you really want to spend that money on the cabinets versus other decorating options. Right now there is not enough contrast, but changing the wall color and the dining chairs, and bringing in some bright decorative items, might change your opinion of the cabinets. It might be worth trying before you make a decision on the cabinet change.

ETA: dcward and I were thinking alike!

That is A LOT of brown wood. I think you should paint the cabinets too. Have you gotten samples from each of your estimates? Something you can see and touch? That is how I would base my decision.

I think a painter could do the job - my neighbor had her cabinets painted with 2-3 coats of oil paint & they turned out beautifully. We use the same painter and he is all about "preparation" - preparing the surface. He brush painted versus spraying the cabinets. I don't know the best method but maybe you should start a new post asking the best method to paint cabinets. There are lots of people on this forum that have either painted or had a painter do the job. You could also cross post in the paint forum. There are also tons of old posts on GW about painting cabinets. A google search is the best way to find them. Possibly, you need to interview more painters.

You know what you want....but that's a lot of money.

Have you considered painting the table and chairs, the island and the built-in media cabinet?

Your kitchen looks very 'country french' to me, so adding a color on the accent pieces might be easier, cheaper and a lot more fun!

I had my cabinets professionally painted 3 years ago. My cabinets are cherry wood and they were called Pickled cherry when we had them put in the kitchen when we built our house in 1988. I had them painted a cream color which I love. The cabinets inside were in excellent condition and I did not want to get rid of them and buy new which wouldn't have been near the quality. They were beautiful then but darkened over the years. The guy who did it is a carpenter who makes kitchen cabinets and installs them. He sanded all the cabinets down which im sure was a lot of work. cream color. I had a few "Kitchen guys" ...(who wanted to sell me new cabinets im sure) tell me I wouldn't like them painted. I love mine but of course you have to have someone who knows what theyre doing. He also built me some new shelving and did some decorative work. My kitchen is a nice size....maybe not quite as big as yours though. Cost 3 years ago including the extra shelving he did was around $5,500.

PS... my cabinets were sprayed, not brush painted.

Ellie, your new home is lovely. I looked into painting my current kitchen and pretty much what Live_oak_writes is what I found to be true in terms of prep, cost and quality. The guy I found here in Michigan ONLY paints cabinets and that is the kind of painter I would suggest or a cabinet shop. I am not trying to criticize house painters, but I would only want someone who specializes in cabinets (not a painter of rooms, exteriors, etc). He told me he would remove all the doors and spray in his shop (after sanding, filling in holes, etc.). The boxes would have to be sprayed on-site of course and you need to verify their prep for that. He was willing to paint a sample door for me (find an old maple door at Habitat, etc. and have them use that as a test). I liked what I saw. His Facebook page was impressive. My kitchen is not as nice as yours and I determined it just was not worth it. I recall a thread here recently in which someone painted professionally and it was absolutely wonderful. I am not as good as others at finding pictures/threads, but I will look.

edited - removed my post. Excellent advice by LWO & mobuddy89.

Your kitchen looks great. I wouldn't paint.

Why not get a sample cabinet of what you currently have and have 2 or 3 guys paint it and explain their process. That way you would know what you are getting yourself into and also have an example of the finished product.

You could use a painter or refinisher as who suggests. Would you consider painting only the uppers?

Ellie, I know this is not your furniture or paint color now, so could you post some updated pictures with your items/colors? I think you have received some good advice (new rugs, etc.) if you don't decide to paint and still want contrast. Another suggestion is to replace some of the wood in the doors with glass. I found a guy who was willing to do that for $60 a door plus glass. Not hard for them to route it out. Makes a huge difference.

A friend, who had a formal kitchen with stained cabinets, hired painters who used oil based paint applied by brush. Hers were also antiqued and distressed. When they finished, hers were the most beautiful cabinets I've ever seen. They looked like a fine piece of furniture. I saw them at 5 years post redo and the finish still looked like new. There is so much stained wood in your kitchen, I would probably spend the money to repaint. By the way, congrats on your gorgeous house.

I had my cabinets stained by a painter....in this case darker, but they did a terrific job with the gel stain....3 coats with poly and it took about a week...cost less than 4 k