I get it… but she literally doesn’t have the budget and is painting them herself. So if you were to paint the cabinets… Which color would you do?

I can tell you, already, that I hate the one that is taped above the counter in the last picture. She needs to pick a color from her counters, and find a paint match for that, to paint the cabinets.

She doesnt need a backsplash, she already has one in that strip at the back of the counters. Adding more backsplash wont look good. Just repaint the strip of wall, when she repaints her walls. She could probably use an actual color on her cabinets too. Its hard to tell the colors in the countertops on a monitor. There is a lot of prep needed to repaint her cabinets. Please tell her not to skimp on prepping. Its a boring tedious job, but, it is the most important part of painting. Once they are thoroughly cleaned any places needed are filled and its all sanding, then a thorough cleaning to remove all debris and dust, so that the area she is painting in is free from all dust. A coat of good quality bonding sealing primer is needed on those cabinets. Please tell her to make sure to follow the dry times on the cans, of primer and paint, so that it doesnt get recoated before that amount of time. The cabinets will need at least two coats of paint, and possibly 3. Its a job that can take many days, and shouldnt be done in a hurry.

IMO she has a backsplash do not add tile on top of that .IMO narrow it down to 3 or you will make both of you crazy. Is she willing to paint the other walls next to this ? Those cabinets look to be in pretty rough shape so a lot of prep work before painting and also priming . DIY painting of cabinets is huge job and if done poorly looks even worse than what she is starting with . IMO there is no good wood under the paint so do not attempt to strip those . A good sanding paying cloose attention to the areas where the paint has chipped off is the fist step. I think choose a color from the lightest part of the ganite then have that cut 10% and that is the color to go with. If possible removing the doors and the drawers and all the hinges and rent a spryer if there is a spot like agarge when you can create a nice spry booth no dust not wind and a spry finish then only the boxes need to be hand painted , IMO that is the best way to get a decent finished look.

Have her move in with you and rent her house. A few months and she can replace the counters and cabs. Otherwise look at Cabinet Coat or Advance from Benjamin Moore. A lot of work is ahead of you guys. Cause she'll need a friend to help and keep motivation up. DIY How to Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets A to Z - YouTube

Does she have a garage to use? That's what I did In 1980 and they lasted fine.

Remove all the doors and hardware. Clean will. Sand with medium and then fine sandpaper. A small power sander helps. (I had a little Black and Decker>)

I cleaned with a deglosser/degreaser.

I painted with semi gloss paint in an off white. I used Sears Easy Living, which is not made anymore. )t was made by Sherwin Williams and is the same color as their "Antique White"

I used a brush, but you can use a roller. The painters that redo the whole house inside, including the kitchen, Use mostly a small roller. I used a brush, to give texture.

It took two coats and was dry to touch soon, and I rehung the the doors, but don't close for at least 30 days to let the paint cure or they will stick.

I have a 4 inch backsplash and just painted the wall with the same paint as the cabinets.

It is a lot of work, but is worth it in the end. I really liked my original paint better that what they did. The painters gave it that smooth finish and I prefer the lines that look like wood grain under paint.

I love the granite. That is a great color and is one of the harder ones. I detest the word "dated".

ETA: Mine was the same sticky mess and it turned out great. It just takes time and effort. Some of us have more time than money.

Thanks for the feedback so far. She has a garage to use. She plans to remove the granite backsplash and replace with tile.
I’ll pass on the paint prep advice!
Anyone has any color suggestions?

this blue of the island works with warm amber tones....and all her walls are caramel and floors are warm wood so this could be the best bet with counter and everything else. get a bonding primer at minimum and apparently shes willing to accept whatever the outcome. dont pick ugly greige or grays or beiges. white can be okay but the blue makes it a bit interesting even if not a perfect quality job in the end.

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This just posted.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6308872/before-and-after-cheap-on-the-fly-kitchen-makeover#n=5

@Verbo.... Which bit of ..She has very dated black/brown/gold countertops. She doesn’t have the budget to replace them. are you not understanding .. so you ...Then, replace the counters. That can be done with a basic stone for 4-7K, a medium priced stone for 7-10K, and a upgraded Quartz for 10-13K.

DIY painted cabinets need extreme prep, as everyone here has stated. You can't rush the painting or curing, either, so be prepared to live with the doors in the garage for weeks. Learn about primers and don't skimp on cheap paint and get some that self levels. The doors are going to be painful to deal with. Regarding color, think about black satin. A friend just did a custom kitchen and it's striking. Pulling off that backsplash may take the wallboard off with it, depending on how it was installed. Good luck!

I agree, that black satin cabinets are beautiful, but, these cabinets have way too many flaws, and every one of them will show up with black.

How accomplished is your friend at DIY? Is she planning to remove the backsplash herself? In addition to damaging the wallboard, as noted above, is the possibility there is a gap behind the countertop. Is she planning to do the tiling herself? Does she have the missing cutting board, or will she be fabricating a new one?

Why is she doing this: to list her home or for herself? If she doesn't have the right tools or the perseverance, there's the possibility this ends up looking worse.

This might be affordable.

No need to reinvent the wheel. The white color that is there goes with the granite. i agree with SW Alabaster.

Tile with a creamy white for tge backsplash.

Everyone is assuming this is DIY. Is she?

"I get it… but she literally doesn’t have the budget and is painting them herself. So if you were to paint the cabinets… Which color would you do?"

yes

Keep the cabinet color light. Not any of those dark colors that you're showing.

Agree — don’t do a dark paint (it will show imperfections) and don’t remove the existing backsplash unless she is comfortable with the can of worms it might open.

Only your friend can say, but I’m not sure those sad cabinets are worth all that work. I think griege is risky— many of them are way too cool for that granite. Warm white or a light beige/tan is probably best.

I think alabaster will go with her countertops very nicely. Hopefully, she can fix the mess those cabinets are in, and all will look good. It is possible to do, if she takes her time, and does a really good prep.

Thanks! I’ve suggested Alabaster. It’s actually really close to the color we picked… Dunn Edwards White Heat. They are going to remove that granite backsplash and do subway tile. A a
Warm white.
She and her husband are retired. They have lots of time. They know to sand and prep, etc. Her hubby has a spray gun too. He retired and paints bicycles as a hobby…

P.s. they are accomplished DIY’ers. She and her husband have done lots of projects… most recently a bathroom in which they tiles the walls and the floor. They did a great job. Her husband restores bicycles and has a lot of paint equipment. They can pull this off. I just needed to determine a color. When it comes to colors and style they need help.

They should be able to do that granite restoration that I posted above. It will make a huge difference.

The very last color to pick to go with that countertop is gray.

It’s a very busy pattern with multiple warm colors - I think a pale warm white would be best. Not a blue-white.

I agree that a backsplash is not needed. She should save those funds for a new countertop.

An interior designer friend taught me that one of the best ways to tone down countertops is to pick a medium color in the countertops and paint your cabinets that color.

A soft creamy white.......and a LOT of prep work.

For cabinetry/ counter tops that don't ( sadly ) deserve the money/elbow grease effort. I get the budget, but honestly...

I'd start a piggy bank.

Leave all granite and skip backsplash. Use that money to buy more modern simple pulls that are all the same. I would paint the cabinets a creamy white. Greige is too cool a color for the warm colors of the granite. Paint the wall space above the cabinet a warm blue or green for a pop of color to interest. You can find SS modern 5" t-pulls on Amazon for ~$1. As a realtor, that's the budget kitchen upgrade I would recommend to my clients before putting it on the market. Obviously, the painting of the cabinets needs to look professional so buy/rent a paint sprayer.

You can already see what kind of attention a light color brings to these counters. Go medium as herbflavor and Norwood Architects suggest, and put the alabaster white that plays nicely with the granite on the walls.

Benjamin Moore Heather Gray.

We did cabinets in this color for this kitchen/dining room. Looks fab.

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Sabrina that's a nice neutral color that would most likely work with the counter tops. I personally think granite will always be timeless because every new kitchen I see now has white man-made countertops faked to look like marble.

You may want to try a sample of SW Crushed Ice. I have a small dresser painted this color and it reads as off white.

would you at last have them check out this link first?

https://www.paintedbykaylapayne.com/how-to-repaint-kitchen-cabinets/

Kayla does kitchen cabinets. She will give the steps on the proper way to do it, unlike the person who has previously painted those.

check out this one too for picking the right color.

Picking a Paint Colour that Matches Your Backsplash & Countertop

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/painting-kitchen-cabinets-how-to-pick-the-best-paint-colour/

here's a white painted cab w/a busy granite and a soft gray tile splash.

BM White Down, with this warmer, busy granite, was the after in this redo (and think about adding some glass to a few uppers)

I've painted 3 sets of cabs over the years and I'm an expert painter. I can tell you, it's a huge amount of prep work. I'm sure they're capable. but if they don't want it to chip in 3 months, there are things that need to be done.

The Alabaster would be good color for that granite.

**Make sure to mark where every door and drawer goes. don't mix them up or else they won't fit right (mark the hinges w/numbers)

fill all of the hardware holes PRIOR to painting. use a good wood epoxy.**

Drill new holes for new hardware prior to priming.

Why are they doing a tile backplash before the cabs are painted?

What color tile did they pick?

BTW, have any of you looked into Pre-Fab countertops? I don't know how big the kitchen is, but a 9' X 24" pre fab costs about 600 or so. It's cut on site and installed. maybe another 800 or so. just depends who you get.

I get that the cabs need to be done anyway, but if they really hate the granite....