Latifolia, thank you. What do you think about two tone kitchen, with a darker color on the cabinets and lighter color on the cupboards?

No 2 tone, just keep it simple. Balboa Mist by BJ Moore on your cabinets? I think it is a great blend for your countertops............so it could be perfect in your space ! Other colors below for your floor and walls should blend very well?? Ignore the FH label, these are put together in April this year by Home Interior Design Today, on Pinterest.......Collingwood on the floor and Pale Oak on the walls? ?

Why, in god's name, did you buy oak cabinets if you plan to paint them? You wasted a lot of money and created a lot of work and further expense for yourself.

I finished my own oak cabinets when I bought my house, but that's because I just replaced the doors and drawer fronts and stripped and finished the boxes. It took 3 coats of clear finish on each one, both sides, with drying and sanding between each. They look great, but it was weeks of work in the evenings.

Oak is not a paint grade wood - maple would have been better and most painted cabinets are MDF or a combo of MDF and wood (often maple). This is because the texture of the oak grain shows through the paint - not the color, just the texture, and you will not get the smooth paint finish you see on factory white cabinets. It may also look like you painted old oak cabinets to a buyer. That said, use a good primer and cabinet paint and hope for the best - I hope you have done this before - professional results usually require experience and patience.

Warm wood tones are returning. You might consider a light stain followed by several coats of a good water based polyurethane. I refinished my own oak cabinets and while a factory finish is the most durable, so far they have held up well. Then consider a simple cream or white subway tile backsplash and a countertop that works with the warm wood. Snowbirds are my age - and not always loving the gray trend - which as has been mentioned is fading. Going with a fresh cream for walls might be better:

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I am not loving this gray floor here, but the cabinets, tile and countertop work well together:

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This is my older kitchen - old fashion, but my similar age friends like it.

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

Here is a wood kitchens idea book for inspiration if you chose to work with the wood:

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens

Attempts to stain red oak gray DIY often end up looking pretty bad.

Some great photos -- thank you very much! Whatever we do we will test first on scrap red oak. My husband was a professional painter and is very particular, so he should be able to produce a very good result, once we settle on what it is!! The cabinets were strictly a budget decision -- don't love them but have to make the best of it!

I would not go with the gray stain on red oak.

My guess is a one-color kitchen would have broader appeal, but that is regional. Then there would be the question of what darker color. So I would say choose a nice off-white that enhances your granite and choose a matching tile for the backsplash.

Stained cabinets with a proper water resistant/proof seal coat are much much less upkeep...but I too, get weary of encouraging folks to love the wood. Somehow laminate Ikea MDF board has taken over the youth who are building or flipping homes,and I am certain the paint factories are just loving it. Example: For 7 years, a good friend I have known. In 7 years, she has painted her cabinets 3 times! 'because they needed it'. For the First 30 years the house had stained cabinets...3 coats(more than that)3 painting events later, she just HIRED someone, to come in and replace the doors, and have them painted. In 7 years, 4 painting events in a kitchen. .. Would DRIVE ME CRAZY. Painting doors and drawers and hinges or removing hardware etc etc ....eliminate the kitchen totally and just have open stainless steel shelves(which you can dust weekly)with drawer under the stainless steel work surfaces. LOL. Red oak is very pretty and there is ALOT of it in this area, stained cabinets...WHite oak is nicer, BUT, harder to find for the export market gets most of it. Red Oak floors are very pretty. BUT you have to SAND IT SAND IT SAND IT. Oak is the most common wood in homes the past 40 years, with a sprinkling of ASH, Birch, and hickory, also, so that was news to me. And you do not want to finish it with a red tinged stain, likely... But, at least you did not have your cabinets built with 'stain grade' wood to 'save money'. THAT is a mess to paint. Voids and knotholes about, and if you are going to use 'paint grade' wood for your cabinets, than just plan on enjoying the rustic look in your home, which alot of people do enjoy. But few cabinet makers will reveal what those folks are really getting themselves into..

Oliviag, when you say a natural finish, do you mean just finish in colorless polyurethane?

Since selling goal is to appeal to as many buyers as possible, therefore keep it simple & neutral. White or a very light pearl paint for cabinets. Keep it bright and open in the room. The bigger the room appears the bigger the offers. I asked my cabinet supplier which is the best color for resell. They told me that 70% of cabinets being purchased is white shaker for new homes & for resale. Copy what the masses are doing. When to get creative, is when it's a kitchen that you'll own for over 10 years. I am a real estate agent & white usually gets the best response from buyers.

Hope that helps.

White will get the best initial response. Until they open the doors and see the utter junk that the white paint is covering. The interiors are not even finished on these, and blobs of glue and staples are everywhere. Better reinforce the sides if you want to put stone on them. They use some of the absolute worse crumbly 14 pound particle board that you can buy. A real cabinet production company used 40-70 lb furniture board, which has no issue supporting stone. Even the already finished junk in store are better quality than the unfinished $1.98 oak. That would have been the smarter route to take if budget was a concern.