Looks like that 80's finish is throughout your home. Are you prepared to tackle it everywhere?

Are they opal oak? I remember I wanted those so bad but I didnt get it until after they were out of style. I painted mine. My husband used a solid exterior stain on them and they turned out pretty good. The only reason why we used a solid stain was because we were selling the house. If we were staying there longer, I would have made my poor husband strip off the old stain and restain them to a wood finish found in nature. That is a lot more work. You could also use a tinted varnish on them.

Vintage 1995??? lol. I used have those. mine were vintage 1980. I got rid of them!

paint them. yes. paint. and paint the baseboards and door and window casing.

the oak beams above are great. they would show up a lot better next to painted cabinets.

black or navy would look great.

even if you did that pantry in black and the rest in white

or some of these other shades.

Paint.

White will look great with your backsplash. If you aren't an experienced painter, get some professional help. Despite what HGTV implies, painting cabinets is much more involved than slapping on some paint.

Wait a few years and they'll be back in again. You will be saying what was I thinking painting those beautiful cabinets. I like them, but, I'm not a designer.

Flo,,,that's Gentlemans Gray. I love all those colors against that oak beam.

Grover,,maybe try this one.

and of course new cabinet hardware would be a must. some handles, not knobs.

I've been battling this dilemma. My house is relatively new, only 7 years old, but my 2011 cabinets are a stained "orange" maple. It feels very dated to me, although it is so new. I was afraid to paint, because I feel like this painted wood thing is going to take a turn and I keep hearing how hard it is.

I really love the look of painted cabinets that are a color. That green posted by groveraxle is very appealing to me. I'd love to see a kitchen like that.

Do you have an island or other piece that you could try out a color on? I did this recently. I've long wanted to paint my cabinets white, but I keep hearing it is hard, a lot of work, I should hire a professional. So I decided to take on a smaller project, and painted my island and pantry door. It wasn't cheap. Paint is not cheap.

I love the result. It actually makes me happier with my stained cabinets, because the island is such a prevalent thing and brings color to the room.

handme,,,the orange you see if prob the oil based clear coat. they have a tendency to yellow with time. as for painting,,if done correctly,,it should last. don't know how you did yours, but if you want to do the others, follow the instructions on this link. she has the best tutorials and info of anyone out there who does this.

https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/2012/01/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like.html

Beth, not sure what other color you wanted with the navy, so here is white:

thnx grover. that two tone one was actually a pale gray in that one pic.

But I'm really digging this blue!

Since you had the copper accents, I went ahead and played around w/some copper handles, a pendant. brought in a rug and a cute chair for the table we can't see!

if the copper accents weren't there, I'd do some polished nickel elements to match the faucet.

SUZEDAHL if you decide to go w/this, (and really,,,this blue looks so dang good!) I'd get a copper sink and do a quartz countertop, and walnut on the island. (if you have one).

or go w/gold and the farmhouse

I suggested painting above but the full view of your kitchen looks really great and now I changed my mind about painting. What don't you like about your kitchen?

suzdahl..did you see all the pics above we did w/diff colors? Grover photoshopped the cab colors, I added the hardware, light/rug. you could always do a two tone. i really love a darker color to showcase the beautiful beams.

are you going to paint them yourself? if so, I have the perfect link for you on how to do it correctly.

OH MY GOD!! groveraxle Can you do that to my cabinets? I am looking to paint them, can you do a little photoshop for me? Please?

Now that i saw a full photo of your kitchen, i think it is beautiful, wouldn't change a thing about it.

Paint the cabinets and come back on the forum in 6-12 months on how awefull they look since they will be chipped and worn. Cabinets should only be painted if they are beyond help or you need to match new cabinets into the mix. Buy new cabinets and donate the current ones.

Beth H., can you post the link on proper way to paint cabinets, please? We're in the process of painting our oak kitchen cabinets and just wanna compare it to what I've read online. I already cleaned/degreased, deglossed, applied grain filler twice, sanding in between and ready to sand again prior to caulking and priming. It's A LOT of work! If we had the money, I'd have done professionally.

functionthenlook,,,they look awful because no one took the hours/days to properly prep. To say cabs should only be painted if they are beyond help is ridiculous. Are her cabs in good shape? they appear to be. But , while the 20 year old white wash was very popular in the mid 90's (I had it too), it's Not so much now. She's asking if she should paint so I'm assuming she's tired of the look? Not everyone can afford to replace them. So by your statement, they should live w/something they don't like?

Rich69b,,,Yes, it's ton of work. I've done them a few times for friends. And by the way function, after 10 years, the oak cabs I painted for my friend don't have one chip or worn areas. So it can be done.

Rich-Sounds like you've done your homework and are off to a good start.

Here is the link. (look around and click on her links within this post she has, she does one w/wood filler too)

https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/2012/01/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like.html

it's a long post but it is absolutely the best one I've seen or read. she has done dozens and dozens of kitchens.

Beth, I didn't read anywhere in her post that she didn't like them. She asked for opinions if she should paint them. I just gave my opinion. Yes, it is different than yours, but just because it isn't yours doesn't make it any less valid.

I think her cabinets are unique. Everybody and their brother is painting their cabinets. The finish on those cabints look in great shape for over 20 years. I don't think painted cabinets are going to last that long. Sometimes people do changes just because everyone else is doing it and think they need to also.

I would not paint the cabinets or any of the wood trim and doors in your lovely house. Your wood is not the honey oak color that so undesireable these days. Your wood has a light neutral stain that can mix well with warm or cool decor colors. IMO stained wood is so much more inviting than painted wood.

Function, you said they would look horrible within a year if they were painted. All I pointed out that if cabinets are properly prepped and painted, there is no reason for them to chip and look ragged. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.

As for her cabinets, yes they are fine. they look in great shape. Again, I suspect that she is tired of them which is why she's asking what to do. I have a feeling she's vacillating on if she should change them and was coming on her to find out if her concerns were valid.

as for painted cabinets not lasting long, I'm confused by that one. we've been painting them for a century. People buy painted cabinets from the stores.

yes, you are entitled to you opinion. I'm not debating that at all. All I'm saying is that painted cabinets can still look great if done correctly.

Beth, that Gentlemans Gray.......may have just found my new master bath paint color. Even though its not SW I might be willing to wait for it and do it later!

Some beautiful colors suggested above. But here's a kitchen with same tone that looks great. Granted the lines are more modern, but the wood is wonderful. And you do have the wood beams, etc. Have you considered painting the adjoining area a very pale gray, which would up the modern quotient a lot. I'm usually the first one to whine: "Gray walls in the kitchen/dining again?" but here it would add a sophisticated palette depending on what the rest of the open space looks like.

Kitchen - red birch cabinets, quartz and live wood edge countertops · More Info

Hillsdale kitchen · More Info

1995 is "vintage"? LOL!!

functionthenlook

"Paint the cabinets and come back on the forum in 6-12 months on how awefull they look since they will be chipped and worn. Cabinets should only be painted if they are beyond help or you need to match new cabinets into the mix. Buy new cabinets and donate the current ones."

Nonsense. I painted mine exactly one year ago. They look exactly the same as the day I painted them. Sounds to me like you don't really know much about painting.

thank you Chess. That's all I was trying to point out and I got scolded. I painted my friends cabs over 10 years ago. not one chip. they look far from awful.

the reason 'everyone' is painting their cabinets, is because they're tired of 1980-90's oak! Otherwise, they would replace them. people can't afford to replace but they want something different, newer, updated. So they paint.

same type of cabinets. in good shape. should we leave these for another 20 years?

these? No one here thinks these should be painted?? Maybe it's because I had cabs like this for far too long and just can't stand them.

I think a lot of the problem w/those saying, "keep them they're beautiful", haven't lived with them for 2 decades. I don't know about the rest of you, but I like changes. I can't stand looking at the same color on the wall or the same furniture for 20+ years. If you guys can, great! think of all the money you save. But some of us like to mix it up a bit.

And Housegal, while those pictures you're posting are beautiful, you're comparing apples to oranges. Those cabs are not whitewashed or pickled either, but natural. I might also point out that they're not oak. The tones look great because of the style and everything surrounding it. you can't compare the tones in OP's kitchen and her pickled oak cabs to those.

suzedahl, I noticed you painted one door. did you sand or prime it first? and is that one coat of the SeaSalt? I think you need something with a bit more saturated color if you aren't doing white.

I tried Sea Salt in my kitchen. It's a lovely color, but it's too pastel-y...It's great in a bathroom.

I like your cabinets the way they are, though...To me, a painted cabinet looks cheaper than if I can see the wood grain.

following

following ...

That dark blue with the copper sink. *faints from the beauty

Well I still haven’t taken the lease to paint cabinets since I first posted this in 2018🤪😬

And now I’m thinking to put a pale grey stain over the wood cabinets! Any opinions?

to do those in a gray stain would mean stripping off all the previous finishes and taking it down to raw wood. That's the only way you'll get the best look. if you do over what's on there now w/a gray 'gel' stain, it will look like poo and will basically just sit on top of the previous finish.

Staining cabs professionally would cost just as much, if not more, then painting.

stripping the wood to raw wood and doing a gray stain would get you the bottom picture. (Varathane or General Finishes gray stain would be one of the two I'd use)

Gen Finishes Ash Gray:

this one is a darker gray.

what you could do is get new doors/drawer fronts, in raw wood, and stain those. (get a white oak). much less work, you'll have updated looking cabinets, and only have to worry about stripping the skeleton bases.

But, why gray stain? what about the wood beams? would you stain those too to match? and the window?

or, look into General Finishes Milk Paint in one of the gray colors. Their paint is nice to work with and gives good coverage. Always do proper prep and priming before painting