The cabinets I think were Cypress. I live in Louisiana & I have the remodel plans from the person that built the pool house addition & they call for cypress. That is a wood that is native to here but, the grain is much like an oak so maybe it is cypress or maybe it is oak. Anyway, there is definitely a grain to it. DH and i argued about the primer coats & how many to put. I won that won (not that it got me anything) because the ones I did don't show any graining with 2 coats of primer. The ones he did do. So if you have thick coat of stain and/or any top coat on oak, you have to sand really well first. Then 2 coats of primer are a must - IMHO. I can see the grain in the ones that DH did and it drives me nutso. Like the underneath of the upper cabs for example. If he had sanded better & done 2 coats of primer, I don't think you would see it since I don't see the grain on the other surfaces. Who knows though because they were custom cabs, the cabinet guy could have used other woods too. They are 8 years old. Don't be afraid though. It is a lot of work but, if you follow the advice on this forum, the result is worth it. The cabs are not that shiny, it's just the lighting in the pool house is not great. They are very pretty. To the poster that asked about DIY cabs, there are some, mostly though people rip out old and put in new. I think that totally depends on the age of the cabs and the condition. If you can save what you have you are technically "going green". How in vogue is that? If they are nasty and have no character to them, then you have to start over. I have seen several posts for people that re-did therofoil or whatever it is called. It is more detailed what needs to be done but, nonetheless, less than new cabs are. I have friends and have seen many posters whose cabinets were $75k. Wow, that's a ton of money. So if you can figure it out, use what you have! Go for it. A little at a time is fine too. If you hate your cabinets, paint them. There are many posters here that have black, blue, brown or white cabinets. All look good. If you can use what you have then a little paint is so cheap compared to new. To be honest, I have the same types of cabinets in my kitchen, laundry, DD bath in my 1950s/remodeled in 2000 house that are 8 years old. All of those cabinets, I will either paint or have painted professionally, the wood is not really nice enough to restain. The ones in my Master bath & guest bath that are original to the house and then painted from 1950, they are out. They are just flat front wood nothing cabinets. There is no saving those. Anything in the last 20 years thougth might be savagable. There are so many options for colors. I can post some colored cabinets from my inspiration file if you would like to see them. that will show you paint grade cabs that are just beautiful.

Interesting suggestions, all! I have the Samplize of Simply White and many times i have seen people say they see "yellow" so I'm a bit leery of that. Mountain Peak White - yes, need to check that out. And White Opulence isn't one I would have looked at but now I'm thinking maybe? But I see bit of pink - and I have seen a wee bit of pink in Pale Oak at times - would White Opulence bring it out even more (which I don't want). What color white would have the opposite effect (keeping it the greige that I see in "normal" light)? That is one thing that is keeping me away from the White Dove, I read somewhere that the grayish tone was bringing out the pink in Pale oak. And thank you to Beth H for that pic on lighting. I have to check into what we have selected and whether I need to adjust that.

I just painted our entire master suite white dove and find it way too stark! Regretted now…

The safest answer is to get the cabinets, get a white that matches the cabinets to paint the trim and then pick an off white that looks great with your whiter white for the walls or use the same color for the walls and trim and cabinets and use different sheens on the walls and trim.