No opinions on paint but I think the scallops are beautiful!

I like white cabinets, but I really like these cabinets as they are--scallops and all: they aren't too dark, they aren't too orange, they aren't too shiny...I'd come up with a good wall color to work with them.

They definitely give the kitchen some character MsMeow! And I appreciate all the work my grandfather put into making them, but I do think they date the kitchen out of the era I'd like to go with it.

Is the painter planning to fill/seal over all the knots before painting? If not, the knots will be visible and/or bleed through.

I like knotty pine, so I would leave them as is -- perhaps removing the scallops.

I like knotty pine too, loonlakelaborcamp, we happen to have it all over...dining room, den, stairwell, guest room. So it's a bit much for me. We tested a lot of different paints, oil based, milk, and chalk, and after samples being up on the cabinets for weeks, we actually found Renaissance Chalk paint to be the most durable, and it covered the knots no problem (the cabinets have a varnish on them from the 50s so whatever it is you can't feel the knots and they don't bleed through).

I love your cabinets as they are. What a sweet kitchen it was!

You could really kick it up a notch by trimming the soffit out with beadboard and moldings. Then you'll be on your way to a cute cottage kitchen.

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Ah, thank you, super cute. I thought about putting breadboard up in the ceiling with molding, but not extending it to the soffit. Thank you for the ideas!

Beadboard on the ceiling would be awesome! The second photo shows it on the ceiling too.

Well, I'm in the minority again most likely but I would leave the bottoms as is. I would get factory finished new doors for the top using paint grade maple in Dover White (you can order from Conestoga and are not expensive)., they have a standard color almost exactly the Dover shade. So, the whole top section in Dover including the scallops. Put the time into fill and such for prep and painting on the rest of upper sections and reuse the cool hardware. This way you have a little of both worlds, fresh new and older character .

These kitchens lack the vintage-ness of yours but you get the idea...

i like the white countertops as well. However, a charcoal would jive better with the dark hardware. Hardware looks black in pictures, is it?

Justerrilynn - Just to clarify, you would do two tone cabinets with one solid color and one knotty pine?

Ah okay, the photos just came through, thanks for the idea!!!

Dang - I clicked on this thinking youd be keeping the 50s style.

Whats the rest of the house- also 50s style? If so keep with your classic original 50s look. Things are considered "dated" for a while but then 50 yrs later become quite stylish again. You do a fakey cottage thing in a house thats not that stye, and THAT is what will look dated in 20 yrs.

Re color, yellows/grays/white-creams is classic - one of my faves. Tthe wood looks to be in excellent condition & the hardware is awesome - I might consider stain and a hard clear finish instead of paint - there are some exquisite grays, charcoals, weathered wood stain colors now. And Sherwin williams can mix whatever color stain & in any intensity - including that gray sample youve posted. Or you could push that yellow-gold of aged pine with a dye stain to an even more intense and richergold tone and have your gray on the walls. Find some vintage linoleum patterns (or some kind of floor cloth or rug with 50s pattern) vintage 50s clock, and yeah keep the scallops! I think they'r e done well and go with the hardware and the style.

Love your cabinets! Our knotty pine cabinets and paneling were already painted when DH bought the house, so I was not going to strip them. Our walls are BM White Dove and our cabinets are BM Chantilly Lace which is a nice crisp white. I wanted to do a creamy yellow, but DH was not on board. We really needed something to go with the existing blue tile floor.

You can send me the scallop. :)

Current Resident - Very true on the stains...I considered sanding (sanding, and some more sanding) then trying a liming wax over the pine to tone down the orange a bit while still keeping the wood features. I didn't even consider that Sherwin Williams could match a stain to the steely blue I was thinking of for the lower cabinets. I will chat with them this weekend about that process, so thank you! Maybe it would be best to just have my contractor do the floor, butcher block counters, etc. and leave the cabinets until all possibilities have been considered.

And the house has a mix of original finishes and updates. When my grandfather started to decline in mobility, the 1970s upstairs bathroom was completely renovated (we're talking white with gold vein floor tiles, yellow and green flower wallpaper, his custom built cabinets, etc.) were torn out for an accessible roll in shower to make it easier for us to bathe him. So that update is more modern (black granite, mosaic and subway tiles).

The downstairs bathroom was renovated by my grandfather in the 70s, and has the harvest gold toilet, sink, ceramic tiles, etc. all still intact. It had pink and black tiles from the 50s before that.

The den still has pine walls, cream and brown checkered tiles, a huge brick fireplace, and a wall of built in bookcases and cabinets.

The entire upstairs (sans kitchen and bathroom) are oak floors with early american stain from the 70s, and the entire downstairs was some version of bright blue, orange or green shag carpets over checkered tiles in concrete. All the tiles have been covered with carpet - we have a split level ranch so the downstairs is rather chilly without carpet.

The dining room is going strong with the Pickwick pine panels still...

The four bedrooms have all been updated - one had panels and had been painted, the other three are plaster walls with swirls and have just been painted in neutral colors.

Stairwells have pine all over and an orange and yellow glass pendant in the main one!

So it's a mix!

Gsciencechick - I LOVE your blue fridge. I didn't even know one could purchase new versions of retro appliances until recently. I think you've done a great job at keeping the 50s feel while updating it a bit!

Nosoccermom - I like those kitchens! I have seen those before as I did a lot of Google searches on pine kitchen cabinets. Entire movements and people who search for homes with these original finishes! I think it's fun and charming, but I also find the darker color of the pine a little heavy and obviously there isn't much to reflect light. My grandmother died in her 40s and my grandfather never remarried - he just passed away this April. He was my favorite person. I came home to this house when I was born and have lived with him almost my whole life, only leaving for law school and returning after he started having strokes two years ago. So I definitely appreciate this house, and all he put into it. But even he said that it wouldn't be the way it is if my grandmother had lived. So I hope I can find a happy mix where I don't commit to a completely retro kitchen, but preserve some character!

If I had to paint them I'd paint them yellow. And I'd keep the scallops.

In my reno Ive never regretted hitting the pause button when need be! Now are the doors plywood or are they solid? No matter whether painting or staining youd have to take doors down and hardware off to do a good sanding. You might be able to find a woodworker willing to put the doors thru the big sander - if theyre solid wood that is, and not plywood. A heavier bodied stain you could get away without sanding every last bit off, but youd still want to do enough to make a silky smooth surface esp upper doors which you see and touch every day. There's weathered wood treatments that arent stains exactly but do a chemical reaction to the wood. That might be kinda cool and be in a similar gray color range. Of course its so trendy now itll probably be dated in no time at all... but you know... youll probably be ready to re stain or paint then anyhoo.

Have fun!

Current Resident - You all have me convinced to wait a bit on the cabinets! I'll explore the options - especially the stain you suggested! It's all solid wood. I will look locally for some woodworkers who will know how best to go about it - a big sander sounds much better than using my little black and decker. :) And gray is in! But i'm looking for a more medium brown...walnuts, provincial, etc. This house is all early american and cherry right now...a bit too red for me. Thanks for the advice!

In case youre not already sold - solid vintage wood is almost always worth saving, or at least repurposing if you cant use - it was still "real" wood then, possibly old growth. The farmed wood of today with growth accelerants is terrible in comparison - soft and splintery.

If you are doing more refinishing - a 6 inch orbital Bosch sander with a turbo drive might be worth getting - at around 200 not cheap but worth it imho - a real time saver. maybe see you on the woodworker forum?

Beadboard wallpaper could be the answer to the soffit and backsplash as well as any area you want to cover. It can even be painted, and once up, looks like the real deal. I paint furniture and sell it in an antique mall, and have used I have used it on the backs of various cabinets. So easy.http://www.lowes.com/pd/allen-roth-White-Strippable-Non-Woven-Paper-Prepasted-Paintable-Wallpaper/3379098?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA--HomeFashions--WallCoverings--3379098:allen+_roth&CAWELAID=&kpid=3379098&CAGPSPN=pla&store_code=2513&k_clickID=c72886aa-a73b-419d-aee6-f5985763159b

Yes, check out Big Chill for the retro appliances.

You might want to look at RetroRenovation for retro-inspired goodness.