can you post a picture?

depends on the layout a lot. which of the apliances are black for example which are stainless..where they are..

I'd do it if it makes sense with the other elements

what are the floors? the backsplash? all these will help you to decide and to choose a shade of the color you're thinking of

If you do decide to paint, use a paint that is *self leveling* to avoid brush/roller marks. Cabinet Coat is one brand, but can be hard to locate. I think Behr might have one, but don't remember what it's called. My son recently used it to redo the trim in his home when he had wood flooring installed. You might also want to think about glazing the cabinets if you do paint. It's an additional treatment where you paint on the glaze, usually a brown color or gray, and it 'catches' in crevices/trim making it stand out more.

I have wood cabinets (maple) in my kitchen that I am not fond of, but I prefer the wood finish to paint partly for practical reasons. A wood stain finish is easier to maintain and does not show dirt and fingerprints as easily as a painted finish - plus a painted finish cheapens the look, unless it is professionally done in a spray booth. I would not paint cabinets unless they were already painted or were paint-grade to begin with. Another thing that I do not like is the extra thickness that the layer of paint adds.

I do not like dark cabinets either, but fortunately mine are only a golden maple color, but I would have preferred a bleached finish on maple. If you do not have very many cabinets, you might consider replacing them. A lot of people have light upper cabinets and dark lower cabinets. I would not recommend replacing the lower cabinets unless you want to change the countertops also.

Thanks everyone for your comments -- I cannot post pictures, but will definitely take into consideration all the comments. Thank you again.

I think painting the cabinets a creamy white would lighten the kitchen. Would you do it or not?????

Yeah, I would.. I am. We're about 1/3 of the way done with this condo's kitchen and it made a huge difference almost immediately. The uppers around the microwave are done, rest of it is in progress so pardon the complete and utter chaos.

If you lay down a strip of aluminum foil on top of the cabinets, it will reflect a ton of light and that will also help brighten the entire space. (assuming they do not go all the way to the ceiling)

Lori --Are you using the PPG Breakthrough paint for the kitchen cabinets?? Those cabinets look fabulous -- now I'm "almost" convinced to do the painting of the dark brown maple cabinets. What a transformation in the kitchen!!!!!

Yes, we are using Break-Through in satin tinted to match SW Extra White. If you like shiny cabinets with a lot of "slip", go for the gloss finish.

Lowers are finished. Putting everything back in place this evening to get ready for demo day tomorrow. Floors, paint, new trim, counter tops, new windows will be done in the next two weeks. Might work on the pantry section at the same time, will have to see if there's room for us to work among all the trades scheduled. Or, we might have to finish the cabinets after the fact.

Lori, when you are finished with all of it, can you re-post some pictures? I am looking forward to seeing it all together!

In the meantime, could you share more details? What color are you choosing for the walls and countertop? Flooring?

I love make-overs like this. Kind of like watching Kathie Lee and Hoda pick someone out of the crowd and make 'em feel like a new woman!

I know you are liking the PPG for the cabs, but do you prefer a particular brand for the wall paint?

Ha! I love those Kathie Lee and Hoda make-overs.

Wall color throughout is Pratt & Lambert's Nickel 25-25. It shifts a lot in the light - gray/blue/green/blue-green. It's one of those colors that's hard to pin point. Which means it's a color that works with a lot of other colors. I have many brands and flavors of paint that I like a lot. BenM's Aura, PPG's Manor Hall/Manor Hall Timeless, SW Super Paint (great value IMO), SW Cashmere. This condo will be a rental so cost is an issue so I went with PPG Pure Performance in eggshell because it is a 100% acrylic paint and I had a 25% off coupon. :)

Ceiling is a custom white I mixed myself. Long story, but I love this white because it doesn't go gray or bluish on the ceiling. I think it's the perfect white ceiling color because it looks like a clean, pretty white on the ceiling and really does go with just about any wall color. Many whites will go gray or bluish and end up looking dirty, stark, cold because of flop angle. Flop angle means color appearance changes due to the angle at which it is viewed. And it's an adaptable white; it settles in as a "warm" or "cool" white, looks good with almost any other white, like quartz counter tops.

Counter tops will be Ceasarstone. One of the marble-look patterns in the kitchen, something with flakes of sparkle in the bathrooms. I have to decide on those pretty soon.

Floors are a wood-look porcelain tile 6 x 36 plank throughout. It's Dal-Tile's Saddlebrook Farmhouse SD-14.

Will definitely share pictures when it's all done. Here are a few of the master walls and ceiling colors. Big window faces west and you can see how it shifts depending on the light. I also included a shot of the tile and quartz samples against a couple other wall colors I was considering, PPG's Fog 1010-2 and BenM's Revere Pewter. In the end, I decided I wanted more color than either of these options.

I'm posting video updates on my facebook page too.

I am having mine painted even though I never thought I would. We are in the midst of a remodeling and our contractor is painting them. I am not sure what type of paint he is using-they are being sprayed and all doors and drawers will be sprayed in his shop. The color we are using is Benjamin Moore Simply White. I plan to post before and after pics when we are done.