It’s a lot of cabinets. What I’d try to do is just break up the same ness that exists now. What I would also do is try NOT to undertake such a large paint project due to the age ( no drawers) and wanting to leave the counters and splash as you indicate. So what I would do is get some glass doors on chosen uppers.... .( standard honey or praline on maple and source the glass locally) And proceed w the deep paint color ( black or near black) on the small island . Change the hardware, and paint the walls and get a better lighting plan Especially.

If this were my kitchen I would do what herb flavor suggested - paint the island black, but don't bother with the rest of the cabinets - it's a lot of money to spend on cabinets that probably don't function that efficiently anyway. I would, however, paint the walls and change the backsplash. They are both basically the same color as the cabinets right now and are really contributing to that sense of too much sameness.

If you wanting to keep color of walls and backsplash, I would consider a creamy white rather than bright white. Although it’s trendy to have the island a different color, I would paint the same color as the cabinet color you choose. I do agree consider adding some glass upper doors but if the current workspace works for you that is what matters most.

So essentially you are headed to black and white--but your back splash and wall color will be fighting this theme? No you cannot leave the back splash if you remove the reason it was chosen--the wood tone cupboards. Even leaving the island unpainted will not make the back splash blend. Your crown really POPs--are your ceilings not white? Frankly I think this kitchen NEEDS new counter tops and white appliances. THEN it will be cohesive. The black makes no sense as is.

Our son painted his kitchen cabinets himself. He used a sprayer...He used a filler first to

fill in the oak first, then a coat of primer, then two coats of paint. I highly recommend a filler,

its extra work, but you’ll get a professional job and your cabs will look brand new.

Our son painted his Island a blueish color and the cabinets a light grey.

Light grey would look awesome with black countertops. I’ll get you pics.

These are the before pics...ugly, with track lighting over the window.

I’ll get more pics of the during and after pics.

The first thing he did was to put up crown molding, His wife didn’t want white cabs, so

the light grey was a compromise. It turned out to look awesome, so soft and subtle.

Here is a couple of pics during the process.

He made a mantle over the 9 ft window with scone lights. He purchased a motorized

solar shade in grey.

The first pic is without the mantle over the window.

I’ll be back with the finished pics.

Finished kitchen.

He also built in the fridge with walls and crown molding. Before, it was just sitting out like a sore thumb.

I hope this helps in your decision in painting your cabs and leaving the counters as is.

I think white cabinets will look great. I guess I would just keep the island white. Replace the backsplash with something classic like white subway. You could do a larger size, like 3x8, maybe with a little bit of a handmade look. If the cabinets get painted white and you think you need to change up the island, I'd consider light gray, black, and smokey blue.