Why are you wanting to refinish the color looks fine to me.

Natural. The colour of natural wood with your CURRENT cabs = very handsome. The colour of natural wood with WHITE PAINTED cabinets = very handsome. Please work with a water based finish to STOP the colour from turning orange over time.

Done and done. Have fun.

The floors are completely faded in front of the sliding door and there a huge circular fade mark from a round rug the previous owners had. The color of the floors is very orange and outdated looking. Hoping to refresh and update the space by choosing a different color.

There is nothing outdated about natural wood - unless you are listening to the Property Brothers - which you shouldn't - nice guys but questionable design sometimes. A water based finish will not turn orange - it is the finish, not the wood. Most of the newer design pics I am seeing have natural tone wood floors.

I think the floor seen in the picture is beautiful with the cabinets. If you refinish, natural will look great, too.

Maybe the original picture is too flattering! I’m really surprised everyone thinks I should stick with the color... I do love the raw wood look but really don’t like the yellow orange undertones. My mom made a comment they look like bowling alley floors and now that’s all I see when I look at them lol!!

They look like they are pre-finished which accounts for the shine. It will cost a bit more to have them done because the pre-finished finish is very hard and takes extra sanding to remove, but they will be flat, no bevels on the side, and don't do a high gloss finish - you will like them a whole lot more.

Thank you all for responding! I’m very torn on what to do with the entire kitchen! Originally the plan was to paint the cabinets white but with a toddler and another on the way they will need constant wiping down. I’m having a hard time figuring out what color granite would go with this color cabinet so I was thinking we’d paint them to make things easier. I am really wanting these floors refinished first because they really need it! Any granite suggestions for this color cabinet??! How do I make this space look less builder grade without changing the cabinet and floor color(possibly just a clear coat) Seems impossible! Of course the light fixture and I’ve been eyeing a new dining set but I just really want to make it look fresh in some way!

The first thing I do when I need to freshen a space is clean out my cupboards. I do this to see if any of the stuff that seems to have settled on my countertops, even if frequently used, can find a home in a cabinet. I need to do this myself as my mischievous puppies have forced me to empty some low lying baskets and find a new and safer home for those items. Is that a pantry closet on the wall next to the fridge, or doors to another room?

Next, I would assess the durability and lifespan of your cabinets. My own cabinets are 20 years old. I did refinish them before doing new counters. If the finish is fine and the cabinets are sturdy, you can proceed to look at counters. If they are not durable, don't wast your money on countertops. If they are durable but the finish is worn you can either call a refinisher to see how much it would be to have the areas with wear refinished. My mom did this to a few doors and they perfectly match the other doors. The other option is to have them professionally painted. I would wait 6 months to see how the finish stands up before proceeding with counters.

You can also look into refacing with new doors. Mid tone woods are returning, so maybe just a fresher door style - though what you have is close to the presently popular shaker door, but like mine, a partial overlay rather than a full overlay.

I am very happy with my kitchen refresh. It isn't modern, but that is not my style anyway - it is done a little vintage. I will say I have seen my countertops on white and wood cabinets:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~110720042

You mentioned another little one on the way. I think you have a nesting thing going on now. Soon the new one will be here, and you will be too busy to care what the kitchen looks like:)

Take your time. Get the floors done. Have fun looking at countertops when you get a chance - take a drawer or door with you. Looking is free. Check your budget - should you save for new cabinets rather than work with these or do you realistically feel you need to work with what you have? - not the end of the world at all.

Olivia,,,before you even consider painting your cabs, do the other options first.

Listen to the flooring pros above. SJMcCarthy is the best on here! When she mentioned natural, she meant something like this:

or this one,,,,(btw,,this countertop looks like Colonial White)

It appears you have White Oak, although it may be Red Oak. either way, having a pro floor finisher come out, completely strip/sand to take them back to natural. the reason they've yellowed, is because of the oil based topcoat used on them decades ago. it naturally yellows over time. Doing them w/a water based finish will alleviate that problem in the future. you could also check into doing the matte top coat by Bona or some of the others. she can tell you more about that.

If you want them darker, then try something on the neutral american walnut range.

above are med to darker tones, and below, your warmer, lighter tones.

As for countertop top, you prob want to stay bright and on the simple side,,,if you do decide to paint down the road, all of these will work w/your new color.

granite: (there are hundreds,,,these are some of the more popular whites)

River White

White Ice

Alaska White (Delicatus White)

and they have the creamier version, Delicatus Cream.

Quartzite:

Cristalo

or quartz,,,Stellar Cream..

After you do these procedures, get new cabinet hardware (please nothing w/white on them) and new pendant light over the sink, and consider removing that other fixture, doing a semi flush mount or just doing recessed lighting.

Wow guys!! I’m impressed with all the feedback! The cabinets are pretty basic maple nothing I would invest in especially them being only 30” cabinets. There’s are some dings and scrapes. I honestly could see doing a natural/organic feel in this kitchen. Countertops are off white Formica. The home was built in 2006 and we viewed several other homes in the neighborhood with very similar kitchens so trying to make this our own. Willing to spend some money. But not go crazy. We just moved in 7 months ago and I haven’t really touched much.. the walls are sedate gray. Should I paint the walls? What color family goes with this cabinet?

@jhmarie I really like your counter tops with your cabinets and love the edge on the island. Also @beth h love your countertop recommendations as well! I’m leaning towards granite because I know some places with great pricing and I don’t want light quartz to look like what we have now from a distance, Just light and plain but do love the sparkle of the last one.

Yea I do realize I am starting to nest! But I do way less designing around the house than I used to because of my son, so I know once I have two I’ll never have time to make it my own!

Here is more info than you ever wanted on stone countertops:)

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/countertop-geology-part-six-lets-talk-about-rocks-some-more-dsvw-vd~2692150

I like the lighter granite to lighten a space up, but some can stain more easily than others and some even darken over time - I only know this from reading post on this forum as really do not have good first hand knowledge of granite.

This is a maple kitchen - not sure how the cabinet tone matches with yours. This loos like Corian on the perimeter with a granite island:

Bryn Mawr Residence · More Info

You could remove the panels from the doors on the cabinet to the left of the sink and replace with glass, or even remove the cabinet and replace with floating shelves. Just use the bottom shelf for frequently used dishes and upper ones for decor - then you don't have to dust as much - you will be busy enough without extra dusting:)

Wall paint - maple is one of the few warm woods that works OK with gray. I like maple better with cream or a light green / gray. I will admit that I am just not a gray loving person and am riding the trend out with my light cream walls:)

Just another personal opinion -I am short and don't care for microwaves over the range - I don't like lifting things up to cook. Mine used to be up on a shelf and I took it down a few years ago - and my equally short daughters were happy I did so. If the over the range micro breaks down, consider a stainless hood. If you do a backsplash, take the micro down and tile behind it or make sure you save enough tile should you ever change to a hood to add the tile to the range hood area.

If this were mine, I would paint the cabinets first. I have white cabinets with crazy little boys & the maintenance really isn't an issue. The problem with orangey wood is it just plain doesn't flow with other finishes, so you end up compromising. And why spend money to work around cabinets you don't really like. So paint the cabinets white, tone down the orange in your floor & then you have a blank slate :) Good luck!

So the floors have been sanded today! They will begin to be clear coated with water based finish tomorrow. I feel stressed! The cabinets look even more orange now! But I really do love the floors when I look at them alone. It almost makes we wanna paint my cabinets white or two tone gray on bottom white on top! But the point of going with natural floors was in hopes of keeping the cabinets as they are. What do you guys think?!

Paint recommendations to tone down orangey cabinets would be appreciated!!

Wait till the floors are finished - the clear coat will affect the tone a little. Then wait a few days to get accustom to the look.

I did not see any reference to lightbulbs - might have missed it, but lighting has an affect on the tone of cabinets and wall colors. Try different LED bulbs from warm to cool. Wait a few days after trying out a new bulb to get accustom to the change and then evaluate. I put daylight bulbs in my kitchen and my cabinets looked much browner, but the kitchen seemed too bright for a few days. I was going to change the bulbs again, but got busy and after a week I was used to the new lighting.

I have not found gray to be very complimentary to warm wood cabinets. It became popular with the increase in white and dark stained cabinets. Warm toned woods are returning and I have noticed a decrease in the use of gray. The wall grays I am seeing are very light - often a white with a gray undertone (BM Maritime White) or a gray green. Other times the walls are simply white or cream.

Here is a pic of a newer stained kitchen - not maple, but an example of what is new in stained cabinets - lighter and lots of white:

This is maple - I think - looking good with the white / cream backsplash and gray/ green wall color - works even with the gray countertop:

This kitchen has more traditional cabinets, similar in tone to yours as best I can tell:

@jhmarie thanks for replying! I’ll try daylight bulbs! The walls are currently sw sedate gray but I’ve been wanting to paint them since we moved in. The adjoining living room in Navajo white with tall ceilings so it’s a lot of cream going on. I’m hoping to do something other than cream, just not sure what.

@lhutch13 I’m not sure. I think color would be nice but nothing too bold or bright. I’m trying to understand which color will tone done orange but keep getting mixed answers.

Olivia, when you're ready, i have a great link on painting them. I think they would benefit. I'd also advise you to finish up the island by doing a little trim work. ditto the side of the cabinet on the left.

doing something simple like this trim work will give it a nice finished look when painted

before/after w/shiplap or T&G trim work.

I love these shades of blue w/your flooring too

Love all the ideas @beth h I would love to put in recessed lights and pendants but between electrical and drywall work hubs would never go for it! Maybe I could do some type of pendants that go off the one electrical box that’s already there? Not sure. I think I’ll definitely trim out the island and side cabinet if we paint because it really does add a lot of interest.

@lhutch13 I love the way our front room looks with the natural floors! (SW CALICO) I have a tough time with paint colors because I’m really only drawn towards blues and grays on walls and some greens and it seems all these will accentuate the orange cabinets? The SW sedate gray that’s currently on the walls has a green undertone and it’s not toning down the orange.

Olivia,,,that's fine. if you can live with for awhile, just put it on the list for next year. it really will make a difference in there. in the meantime, how about some LED strips under cabinet lighting? they are cheap and plug into your outlet.