Errant: gorgeous!!! I used a both caulking and wood putty depending on the type of joint/hole filling. I had recessed panels and at the point of recess needed caulking. Sometimes the paint will fill small gaps, but you really don't know how well until the caulking/filling phase is done. So it's just as easy to do it up front and be sure. I didn't caulk around the inside of the doors, but later I wished I had. Those paint gaps annoyed me even inside. I think I may have gone back over them afterwards. I had no shrinking or caulk issues at all in 4 years (then I moved). I think because the wood is 25 years old, it is very stable. Maybe with a lot of humidity, it may be an issue. Also be prepared that with white cabinets, they do show dirt easily. It amazed me to realize how dirty the wood cabinets were that I never saw. No hiding anything with white! I used BM Aura paint which was very durable and held up great to frequent wipe-ups. I also kept a small bottle of touchup paint handy. (Michaels: 2oz flip top plastic jars) Now BM has Aura Advance "cabinet" paint so either it's just a marketing change or presumably is even more durable for cabinets.

I am doing this even as we "speak!" I am only waiting for drying time between coats. I am also painting bare-wood cabinets and will be painting them all to match. First, I totally agree with ajc71 with the harsher sandpaper. I experimented today and got that crazy polish from the 220. Second, I have also been experimenting with brush-on primer vs. spray-on, and let me tell you, the difference is night and day! I brushed Glidden Gripper onto my base cabinets and doors, and it raised the grain on my unfinished cabs. Not too big a deal, but I did have to go back and re-sand then touch up with primer. Then I spray-primed the unfinished upper cabinet doors with original Kilz (removed them and took them to the garage) and the difference was night and DAY! Not only was it faster the finish was awesome, and coverage was excellent. You can bet your sweet bippie I will be doing the rest of the doors with a spray primer, even if I have to get something better-suited to pre-finished doors. Stiles will still get the brush-on, mostly because I do not want to have to deal with spray in the house. The sanding will be bad enough. Good luck!

arcy, I can reposition the island. Funny you mentioned that because my mom hopped on the wagon to help me figure out what to do with the kitchen and she, too, suggested I reposition it. She also pointed out that the otherside of the island is much more attractive than the side that's exposed to the dining room. I will turn it next time I'm at the house and see what it's like. Thanks! Also, thanks for the wallpaper suggestion. I'll check out the collection at SW for ideas just in case. :) annkathryn, your cabinets are GORGEOUS! Thank you for the inspiration photos. They are gentle reminders of ways I can live with what I've got for now until I'm able to do what you did with transforming them. Great job! As promised, here are better photos of the kitchen: Here you can see the two green samples as well as a TINY bit of the Toasted Cashew I tried to sample peeking through Backsplash details (there is some splattering from cooking, that's not the tile) Close up of the tile in the kitchen (the grout will be cleaned when we move in so it'll lighten up a bit, the tile that will be installed in the dining room and living room will be similar in color to the lighter tile in the dividing strip shown here) Looking into the kitchen from the DR Someone requested a photo of the view from the back of the kitchen looking out to the DR -- pardon my lovely SIL, she was rinsing paint from her hands and the mini rollers, and my hand wasn't very steady here My mom suggested I take advantage of the side of the island shown in the above photo and turn it outward towards the DR. She also mentioned the idea of painting the island as some suggested here. I really like that idea! Hope this helps you all more than the previous photos did.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I need to stop over and get better pics. Were moving into the house but aren't going to do anything to the cabinets so I'm really looking for accessory suggestions on how to distract and have a more updated feel. We are changing the counter tops but they not in. Were going with a lighter cream or white granite with darker veins. The floor is a very light tan. Basically I'm imagining my kitchen will look like a traditional kitchen ppl usually do in a flip home. I don't want that but can't really change anything aside from accessories and other furniture that might give the room a more updated feel. As mentioned the walls are Parisian taupe. I feel like it's going to just be too yellow/tan feeling in the end. What kind of light fixtures, kitchen tables, colors, rugs, etc would help update honey oak cathedral cabinets with a lighter granite counter top and light tiled floor with Parisian taupe walls for example I found these ideas on Pinterest.