Live with it for 6 months to a year as any money dumped in may be a complete waste as you may hate the functionality more.

Live with it don't do anything for a few years, see what you like/don't like in the layout, save up for a full renovation with new cabinets, layout etc.

Not a pro, the floors look dated to me. I am not sure how feasible it would be to remove paint and stain, I think it would be too labor intensive and not worth it. You could paint it white, of if you have enough light, a darker color.

If you are thinking that you can strip the cabinets and re-stain them, you might be in for a disappointment. Oak is not an easy wood to deal with, and once painted, there is no guarantee that the wood will take stain evenly. You could end up with a blotchy mess. Your best bet would be to have them painted a color that you like. Absolutely put in wood flooring. Keep in mind your counters are cool toned, so unless you are able to change those as well, you're not going to have the warmer look you gravitate toward.

Flooring with some color, darker, and stainless appliances will lessen the dullness. But I agree with living with it before you put too much into it. We put up with a crappy kitchen for 3 years before we addressed all the issues and did a remodel.

I agree with sushipup. Looks like this was likely done in an attempt to "appeal to the masses", because apparently a lot of people out there think the "masses" all want the same trendy look in a home. I see the disconnect created by the gray cabinets, and understand why you don't like them. If I were to buy this house, I would give serious consideration to having the cabinets professionally redone before I moved in if I didn't think I could live with them for a time. That said, waiting and assessing the possibility of a complete kitchen redo might make better fiscal sense. I would not advise trying to repaint them yourself, though. Been there/done that -- never again.

I would buy a large rug from ruggable (washable rugs perfect for a kitchen) with bright colors and then think about painting the walls vs cabinets-- dont spend allot to change right away

Refinishing from paint to stain would be a messy nightmare. Strip, sand, sand, sand to get every last little bit of paint off what are likely lower-end cabinets (based on what the end panel looks like.

Then what? Realize the counter doesn't go with them? Kitchen floor?

If you really, really like the house otherwise, factor in if you would like it at the current price plus what a remodel will cost to make the kitchen the way you want it. Still like the house at that new price? Then consider it. If not, then move on.

I would (1) use grout paint to lighten the grout in the tile floor, which will make it look much less dated, (2) add a lot of color via rugs, towels, and art, and (3) live there at least a year before doing anything else. It looks like you have reasonable appliances, storage, and counter workspace, so once you get the place happied up, it will probably be a perfectly nice place to be. I lived for 15 years with 1970s almond melamine cabinets and matching appliances, and we were just busy with other things -- the kitchen worked fine. By the time we got around to updating it, we had totally different ideas of how the whole first floor might function, and I knew a lot more about home ownership and renovations. There's no need to get Everything on day one. You make your life *in* the house, not *via* it. :))

It is highly unlikely that that is the original color of those cabinets. You could repaint to white or another color. But it will still be a ton of work. And probably not worth it. Another opinion that the realtor suggested painting the cabinets.

Living with them is probably the most feasible plan until you understand how the kitchen functions.

Did you try opening the drawer next to the range? Does it open all the way?

mainenell, it probably does if you open the oven door!

I would live with this and start saving for a total redesign and remodel. Lots of wasted space with those partial overlay cabinets.

Either don't buy this house or be prepared to do a new kitchen. This was "lipstick on a pig" when the sellers painted the cabinets gray. Everything about this kitchen says "dated". They layout is awkward, the cabinets don't go all the way to the ceiling, no drawers - it's just not what one would want.

I bought a house thinking we would gut the kitchen and get new cabinets as the kitchen was a hot mess. Then we discovered what a new kitchen would cost. We were lucky that the doors on our cabinets were almost flat - just a slightly rounded edge. We painted them and added cabinets and it was 32 years before I finally got my new kitchen. I'm glad I didn't know how long it was going to be then!

You know that saying "one thing leads to another" ? Well, you got that problem here based on what you envision. White appliances and the flooring is going to stick out like a sore thumb with stained cabinets. And the current counter is more than likely not going to work either. Truthfully, 99% of resale homes there is always something not right for a buyer and in your case it is the kitchen. If this is THE home for you except for the kitchen then you have to decide if it is worth to keep looking for that home that has the perfect kitchen with something else not right or is it worth it to save and save some more and eventually redo the kitchen to your liking. And in the meantime, this kitchen is pretty neutral and there is no reason why you can't add bright colors to it. Even add bright colored counter chairs to mix it up a bit.

If this is the only thing holding you back from buying the house -- buy the house.

Then you have 4 choices: paint the dated cabinets a different color (you will not be able to take them back to stained) that you do like; or have them refaced; or rip them out and replace with Ikea, or Menard's ClearVue, or a Big Box store's most affordable line; or live with them until you have the $$ to do a complete remodel with new floor, counter, cabinets, lighting (which appears to be needed) and layout.

I, too, am a Fiesta lover. What about painting a Brighter color on areas of wall? Cheaper and easier and with a bright rug in there could detract from the grey you don’t like

if you strip the wood properly you can stain it

I‘m with you on color palette preferences. Also agree looks like they tried to update it whether for themselves or to try and appeal to buyer. At least the whole house isn’t gray!

How are you with diy projects? Painting or stripping and staining can be a lot of work but it is possible. It Doesn’t look like you have a ton of cabinets which is on the positive for doing anything. With the white appliances nothing seems too jarring visually. If you stain them, and I like stained cabinets, think about all the areas of sharp contrast and maybe try and find similar photos too see what you think. I’d probably paint them a white (that relates best and the warmest you get away with your hard finishes).

Even if you did nothing, I think adding color, area rug, maybe woven romans, art, wood cutting board or baskets somewhere will help warm things up for you.

Even if the function isn‘t the best people can and do adapt. It doesn’t always mean you have to remodel.

it is a dated kitchen..the color is irrelevant. work this into your offering price.

if you strip the wood properly you can stain it

says the person that has never stripped paint from cabinets or stained wood. this would be such an ungodly amount of work, it would be easier to find oak cabinets that someone is selling on craigslist and exchange yours for those. Which, actually, might be a good idea. I see those 90's oak cabs for sale on there all the time. $500-$1000. If you really want the old oak, start there. or a Restore place.

otherwise, save your money and get the cabinets you want. Or paint these a bright blue and white, which would be more work. just live w/them for awhile. they aren't that bad.

save up and get new cabs/granite

Never put more lipstick on the piggy already wearing lipstick .

At some point, you just want new "lips"

Agree with Herb. Also the layout is not very functional. Paint the walls a fun color and wait to do anything else

Are those Walnut floors in the adjoining room? Maybe prefinished? I would first make sure you can get more of it to bring into the kitchen area. If not, you'll need to commit to keeping tile in the kitchen. If you can get more of it, any cabinet finish decision should start with finding something that coordinates with that flooring.

Beth you don’t know if that person ever has. Yes it is A LOT of work but there ARE people in the world that have excellent diy skills and take pride in the journey and end results of diy. It’s good to remind people of the effort involved to be sure they have the time and skill, but it can be done.

Paint the walls for now. Depending on the rest of the space, I might lose some of the upper cabinets,replacing them with thick wood shelves. Then I'd live with it for a bit. Or try Beth H's idea of swapping the cabs out.

The kitchen tile doesn't look bad -- it just looks like kitchen tile. Would keep it or replace it with other tile you prefer unless and until you can both match and afford wood flooring for the kitchen.

You might check to see if there is undamaged kitchen tile beneath the peninsula and, if so, rip out the peninsula (You can use it for garage storage?) and use a door from the peninsula for the base cabinet to the right of the stove. If you (or someone in your household) might be DIY inclined and take the time to research how, you may be able to move the outlet at the end of the peninsula yourself -- just make the correct breaker is turned off before any electrical work is done.

With the peninsula removed, you'd have room for a small island or wheeled island cart -- something you can reuse later (if not in the kitchen, elsewhere).

With the peninsula removed and your new island in place, now repaint the base cabinets (less visible from the living area) a darker color -- something that works with your new island. Before painting the upper cabinets, see how well that paint job works out. If you're reasonably satisfied with it, then you can also use the same paint on the overhead cabinets, improving the look while you save for your complete kitchen remodel at a later date.

I would do some painting of walls and add rug and accessories that work with my Fiesta ware and see if that is enough for now. A bigger design project for greater functionality might be best but you need to live with it for a while.

Sheeisback, simmer down.

Beth you don’t know if that person ever has. And you know that she has??

That comment (about being able to stain cabs) was made to this prospective buyer like it was no big deal. I'm going to bet that very few DIY'ers have the skill to strip paint from kitchen cabinets and completely redo them. I do have the skill and even I wouldn't attempt it. It just isn't worth it on those quality cabinets.

I'll also bet that if this OP had an ounce of those skills required to do that, she wouldn't be on this forum asking, "what should I do".

As for acting like it can't be done, where did I say that? Stop reading into peoples comments and going off on a tangent. Can it be done? of course it can. but just because things can be done doesn't mean they should be. These aren't priceless wood cabinets. The skill require to this entire kitchen and bring those oak cabinets back to stained wood, is beyond the abilities of most DIY homeowners. I'm keeping it real, not giving homeowners false hope that, "oh, all i have to do is remove the paint and i'll have nice wood cabs again'. Come on.

I have painted oak - not liked it and striped it back (in a bathroom) but I would not do so in this case - too much work. When I have had a kitchen which is older and not quite what I wanted, I have a little fun with it knowing I can't mess up too badly what needs to be replaced in time. Sometimes I like the result and end up living with it longer than expected:) If you have the time and don't mind the work go ahead and have a little fun. If the gray paint was done reasonably well, you many be able to paint right over it or do a tinted primer coat and a top coat.

I also personally prefer stained cabinets - and am not fond of gray. I do like some of the painted cabinets in colors like blue or green. I would probably not do a new kitchen in those colors, but I might experiment with an older one. The thing that might give me pause is finding a paint that works with the counters. If I was a long way out from a new kitchen I might do wood counters. If you paint and like the result, live with it for a while before buying expensive counters. Sometimes paint jobs don't hold up that well.

Greens can sometimes manage to bridge the cool / warm divide:

I like this white upper with blue lowers. (If you change out counters, a "short apron" Whitehaven farm sink could be installed on your standard sink base cabinet - its a little shorter than a "tall apron" but the same inside - I love mine.)

Your white appliances will look pretty with a color too. Consider removing the over the range micro and put up a hood - if you can match the backsplash tile or if they have tile leftover to fill in the space.

I like dark blue with white uppers too:

White will work well with the counter. Wood shelves and a pretty window treatment can warm the space up:

I'm not a pro, but isn't it a questionable decision to paint, strip or do anything to the cabinets if the layout is so disfunctional? For example, the oven is right next to the dishwasher, and it looks like the top drawer by the oven won't open (unless the oven is opened first). It might be a good idea to make a lower offer on the house, and then live in the house for a year, save up a bunch of cash, and do a complete kitchen remodel, with a new layout.

There is a lot of natural light which is nice, and the adjacent floors are really pretty. If you like everything else about the house, such as location, school district, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc, then you might want to buy it and just plan to do a remodel later. Are the bathrooms okay, or do they also need remodels? If the bathrooms are horrible, then you are looking at even more work and money. It could be tricky trying to low-ball your offer to make up for what you see as future $$$ projects. Talk to your realtor about it and hopefully they will advise you.

My goodness I didn’t expect so many comments! Finally had time to check back this evening. But i love the suggestions. As far as being a DIY-er, I know stripping the paint on these cabinets would be a JOB and then to stain them? Shew! But luckily it is a neutral kitchen, and by living with it for a few years I could get a better feel for the space and why the layout is crappy (the drawer does open by the stove thankfully, I opened it to make sure!As far as drawers, there were 7 total I believe...) but overall, I love everything else about the house! Maybe once I add my touch of color like Jan suggested it wont stick out to me so bad. Thank you everyone for the wonderful suggestions and input!

You'll get used to the kitchen. If you love everything else, go for it and ignore everyone who is talking about dated features. The only dated thing I worry about is my husband. And I'm keeping him and the cabinets.

It looks like these were lovely oak wood cabinets but painted to sell easier. I understand why you don't like them. But if they are the only thing you don't like in this house, surround them with details and elements you enjoy. If you can't live with them, just buy new cabinets as soon as you can. Painting them would be too much work without a predictable outcome.

You need to hope they did more than a DIY--or very soon you will have to begin a new due to the chipping. Not sure why anyone would think gray is preferred to the lovely oak they no doubt were...I feel for you. Sooo close to a beautiful kitchen and yet so far.

Offer less if you love the location and rest of house. Set aside the $ difference. Keep saving Live with it for at least a year. Remodel to what you truly want.

Paint cabinets navy or black and saving for the kitchen you really want.

have you thought about carrying the hardwood into the kitchen? you will have continuity between rooms while bringing some of the natural wood into the kitchen,. who knows you might just like the contrast between a darker floor and lighter cabinets

Just remember, if you redo the kitchen, you will be redoing the flooring too due to cabinet changes. So, hold off on flooring changes until you have a complete, well outlined Master Plan for the kitchen.

You can strip the paint off the doors, but you sure can't strip the paint off of the side panels that are particle board. Or the veneer trim on the cabinet boxes. And why would you even bother, these are inexpensive builder grade cabinets. And you will never get them to stain evenly.

Though not all of these kitchens are the same color as your grey and some of these the color is in the backsplash but I thought maybe it will help give you a visual how bright color easily works in a grey kitchen. And it can be achieved as easy with just rugs, towels and bright curtains. Or soda bottles I guess based on one of these photos-lol... just need to think a bit out of the box...

Parkside Contemporary · More Info

Eclectic & Colorful, Greensboro, NC · More Info

Colorful Kitchen Splash · More Info

A Bernal Heights 2 Residence · More Info

If you buy it the gray will make a nice backdrop for all your bright color pops.

If you can afford to upgrade the appliances and replace the countertop, it wouldn’t be that bad at all...

If we do end up buying, it will be a few years before we could do a reno. By that time, I probably won't even notice it LOL. But I think for the time being a colorful rug, towels, and such would absolutely do it favors! Maybe even incorporate a gray/brown color scheme into the family room could help the gray feel a little warmer. As far as the flooring, given time we could change out the tile along with new cabinets, appliances, and floor plan for the kitchen.

tedbixby thank you for the pictures! I really like the one with the blue chairs!