I would personally remove the existing countertop, paint the cabinet, then put on your new countertop.

IÂm not sure what the "right "answer is to this question but I would paint the cabinets first. The reason is that painting kitchen cabinets properly is a tedious long drawn out process but when thatÂs done the rest is the frosting on the cake or the "prize". ItÂs kind of like when you paint the exterior of your home. After all the hard work and prep if you paint the front first it looks so nice but then itÂs so hard to motivate yourself to do the rest. If you start in the back your end result prize is getting the front done so you can admire all the beauty. Hope that makes sence. Best of luck!

I also say paint first, install floors afterward. Mind you, we just had hardwood floors installed in the bedrooms last week and there was dust everywhere. We allowed them to cut the wood in 1 of the empty bdrms and need to wipe down the walls from the sawdust. (It was a long hike up & down the stairs to 3rd floor master bdrm...) If there's a concern with sawdust & wiping down freshly painted walls, perhaps it is better to install floors 1st provided the painters cover those beautiful new wood floors carefully!!

After doing two gut job remodels, I can safely say you should have everything picked out before you even demo. It's pretty easy to get samples of your cabinet doors, countertop materials, flooring, and paint chips and make a board that you can check in the various lighting conditions of your kitchen area. I'm also a stickler for detail...after spending that much money on a renovation, I want the paint job and tiny details to be as clean and exact as possible. Cutting in paint against a line of cabinets is iffy at best. Painting the wall before installation guarantees you a perfect line at the wall/cabinet interface, without a speck of paint on your cabinets or a hint of primer or background color sneaking in at the interface. As for knicks, scrapes, and other things after installation...any good painter or homeowner can completely cover those mistakes with good painting and patching techniques. They've been discussed to death in here and they work. I freaked out about that during our last renovation, but ended up being quite proud of the totally invisible corrections I was able to do to the drywall and paint. No extra sheen or flashing to reveal where the patches were. Generally, the more you plan and purchase ahead of time, the more efficient and economical your renovation will be.