I would save my time and money and not paint the cabinets. That heavy oak grain will show through the paint a lot. And there is a very good chance of chips and bleed-through fairly quickly. And that’s a whole lotta cabinets. Since you said you will redoing the kitchen in a few years, painting it now is not a worthwhile effort IMO.

I wouldn't waste time or money painting the cabinets. They go with the style of the home and all the trim (unless you're painting the whole homes trim as well). Get rid of the curvy wood valance above the sink, lose the tile (?) border, and upgrade the cabinet hardware for cheaper updates.

Here is the before and after of an oak painted kitchen.

BeverlyFLADeziner photo is a poor example to use. It does not show the type of oak cabinets the OP has. She is ignoring the issues of the oak grain, the number of cabinets the OP’s kitchen has, the amount of matching trim that will also have to be painted, and the fact that the OP plans to redo the whole thing in a few years anyway. That photo also shows new lighting, new backsplash, new faucet. The OP does not have plans to do that. And, Beverly, I wonder what those white painted cabinets look like up close. I bet there is bleedthrough.

Thanks for all of the commets. I have to do something with the cabinets. Not only are they faded but some of the cabinets were marked up with a marker. They are in very good condition, I have to say. We are removing the “faux stone” looking paneling on the walls. We got a good price to paint the interior of the house including the trim. We dont like the brown.

I would sooner just clean up the cabinets or stain them another color than paint them white. Especially since you plan to redo them in a few years. Don't waste your time or energy.

Good point from thinkdesignlive regarding the totality of Bev's "after" pic.

So did you just buy this house, or did you just happen to use listing photos?

If you are just moving in, I can see how the kitchen could seem overwhelmingly brown. I am not keen on the backsplash, but that's just me. I think adding some color - in the walls, a rug, a cheerful tablecloth - will help tone things down a lot.

I agree with the others about not spending time and money to paint cabinets that you won't be keeping for long. Remove the cornice above the window and change the cabinet hardware, as someone else suggested, and spend you time considering your wants and needs for a new kitchen (like all drawers!)

That is a lot of granite covering that peninsula!

Another vote to save your money towards the total gut/remodel of the space in a few years.

I appreciate all the comments about saving my money. I would luv to do that for sure. What do we the cabinets that are marked up with the words “take out”? The previous owner had plans to redo the kitchen. Not sure what happened but house was “sold as is“. @Annkh We just moved in and have taken off the panels, the rack in the ceiling. I dont like the backsplash and dated granite either. Maybe ill sand a little and just change the hardware as already suggested. Ty

There are some articles online about removing permanent marker from wood. Try to remove it and do simple things first as you may change your mind about what you want to do as you progress. See what you think after the walls are cleaned up / painted. I would next paint the backsplash. I would look into cladding the island in beadboard - not sure if that can be done - there are some construction adhesives that stick to about anything.

I have oak cabinets and am fine with them - but I am not living with all the other surfaces. I might remove all the uppers on the sink wall. My kitchen has about half the cabinets yours does and I get along fine - with 4 kids:)

This is my wood kitchens idea book with both new and older refreshed wood kitchens. It might give you some ideas as to paint or working with the older cabinets - especially if a few years turns into 10 years and a new kitchen is still not in the budget.

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

Sometimes a new house has unexpected expensive cost - new roof or furnace and the more cosmetic projects have to wait. I live happily with my oak cabinets, but I agree that there are surfaces in your kitchen which would drive me batty, and if nothing else I would attack with paint those areas before the cabinets.

A friend had her oak cabinets painted and you could see the wood grain ... but so what? It looks like painted WOOD and that is not a bad thing. I agree that this is a lot of brown in one place. Have you seen any pics of tuxedo kitchens where they paint just the uppers (assuming previous owners did not scrawl all over the lower cabs).

Also ... I know the plan is to save up for a couple years and then remodel the kitchen. That is smart because every time you live with a kitchen you learn about what you like and don't like about the workspace. But I vote for a quick refresh because 2 years can easily stretch to 5 if you find more pressing issues with the house along the way. That 2 year timeline isn't guaranteed in most situations.

Here are some pics to consider of painting just the upper cabinets and how painted oak grain appears close up. I hope it is helpful. Notice how lighting can make a big difference as well.

I have no issue with seeing the wood grain but to paint all those cabinets will be weeks of work. The prep alone to give a proper finish is strip , sand , sand again prime sand lightly first coat , sand lightly and finish coat. All you stuff has to find a home for at least 2 weeks would be my estimate this is what you need to do if you want it to last for a few years. BTW no cooking while the painting is being done because even the slightest amount of grease in the air will affect the paint job. Right now the first thing I would do is get at installing proper lighting , everything seems to work together right now so I would rethink this if possible. I understand the need to make it your own but the more money you spend the longer it will be until you get your dream kitchen. I think a new wall color and if you do the other trim and remove the fauz stone wall it might make it more liveable.

Lorrie H - Your cabinets look fabulous!