Noticing your cabinet knobs...same ones we had in our former home, and the same thing used to happen to the backplates. They would loosen, and be askew. It was my husband who insisted on backplates, “to preserve the cabinets.” Ha! Grime used to accumulate around the backplates. Never again!

When we gutted the kitchen in our knew home, I went with pulls. Pulls are much more ergonomic, and don’t catch on my clothing. Also, pulls keep your fingers away from the cabinets. Pulls come in a variety of sizes, to suit the different sized cabinets.

Could you post more pics of your kitchen, and make sure they print right side up, not sideways, like in the original post? That would be most helpful.

Not to be a PIA, but could you post a pic of the stove area? There appears to be no prep space next to the stove...? Is there ventilation?

Are you keeping the countertop? What about the see through shelving?

You have a large blank wall opposite the dining table. Perhaps a narrow (depth-wise) cabinet could be installed, to give you pantry storage.

Your floors are lovely. To save the time and expense of painting the cabs, perhaps paint the walls a color with more zing, but warm...a mid green, sage or celadon. And, of course, change out the hardware on the cabs.

Where is the fridge? Really need a more inclusive pic, taken from further away.

Btw, backsplash is the last thing to be selected. You need the other elements to come together first.

The first thing I would do is remove the wallpaper and border. Then you need some examples of what you like. What is your vision? Planning always comes first!
Your backsplash looks to be white 4x4 tiles which is classic. Do you want to keep it? Your cabinets look to be in good shape?

Question? Do you want farm kitchen or modern farm kitchen?
To me a farm kitchen has colored cabinets. I think white walls an backsplash with colored cabs would look good, but not my kitchen....what do you want?

I second Rachel, about removing the wallpaper and border. That, and paint, will do wonders for updating the kitchen.

wow thank you all so much for the input. this is awesome. I was thinking more of a modern farm kitchen.The square backsplash is questionable so I would love to do this in stage and see how things look as I progress.My cabinets are in very good shape but the painter told me I would have to get a carpenter to remove some wood (where they meet in the center) because they stay closed with pressure from pushing against each other. He said he can't paint them the way they are as they will always stick. He also suggested leaving the cabinets alone and using a paint color that would blend with the cabinets.

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I was asked what type af farm kitchen and this is one look that I like. I keep looking for a way to not hate my honey oak cabinets

and the pic of my living room was actually a video that shows my whole kitchen dining area but it didn't post as a video. Sorry

If it makes you feel any better you don't have honey cabinets but 50's era birch cabinets! ;)

I know I have so pics of updated cabinets like yours that look good. I will look and post back! Worth at least taking a look at!

Here is a link to one of the kitchens:
https://pin.it/eeoo2kv4ucksxp

a few more

I love the ones with the small white tiles, white countertops and wood shelves. You would have to loose a lot of uppers though....you could at least remove the ones over the peninsula to open things up like in the one photo.

Before you paint the cabinets, remove the wall paper and border, pick a nice, light & bright wall paint color (notice in most of Rachel's examples above, that the cabinets are not surrounded with beiges, tans, grays or dull colors. There is also lots of white when there is some beige or gray). Then make sure that the cabinets are well scrubbed and the finish renewed so that they glow. Prettier hardware will go a long way, also. Your backsplash can stay, if it is in good condition. Use the money that you might have spent on a new backsplash to improve the lighting in the kitchen, if needed.

I am a huge fan of natural wood, especially if that's already what you are starting with. And I always feel sad when wood is being painted over without considering the alternatives.

That's not to say that there aren't wooden cabinets that very much deserve to be painted. And this is particularly true for cabinets with unfortunate choices of stain.

But from the photos that I can see so far, I am cautiously optimistic that these cabinets will shine, when paired with a good selection of wall, backsplash, and floor finishes, and ideally with a new countertop, if the latter is in the budget. And yes, that hardware has to be replaced.

I keep looking for a way to not hate my honey oak cabinets

Relax. Those cabinets are not oak. :-)

IMO, slab front cabinets like those do not paint up nicely. Then end result is blah because there is no detail/ interest. The wood grain makes them interesting to look at. Paint makes them look cheap.

Greens & aquas look great with that wood color. White is good, too, esp. when you add touches of an accent color (like aqua/ turquoise) in kitchen towels, runners, small appliances...

OMG this sight and you people are life saving. I don't know how to thank you for the work and money that you just saved me from. HEARTFELT thanks

Go Mid Century Modern. That’s what the cabinets ARE, and that’s a great MODERN look that’s also authentic to the home, which gives it decades of staying power. Fakefarmhouse is over and done with, and was never authentic to begin with.

Those great birch slab cabinets will fit right in with MCM. https://retrorenovation.com/

I'd remove the wallpaper border and paint the walls first, something like BM Hazy Skies or BM Paris Rain. New, updated light fixture and new knobs for the cabinets. Reassess from there, but I think it will probably look lovely.

You posted that hall tree picture. Do you need more storage in/near your kitchen? If you post a layout with measurements, we should be able to help you with that.

Sherwin Wms 'Rainwashed' would look great with those cabinets, too.