I painted some chairs black and I HATE the black because they always look dusty, plus every flaw in the paint job jumps right out at me. Medium tone to light is easier to keep looking nice IME. Remember, black cars look the best after they're washed -- for 10 minutes. White cars will look clean weeks longer. Sorry, don't want to be a downer. Dust is worse in my house because I have a cockatoo and a Grey (plus two less dusty parrots and three dogs). So maybe it's just me, but my experience is the easiest to keep looking nice is stained wood. My kitchen cabs are the palest yellow and I love them. Either way you go do you know about Zwipes? I got a 32-piece package at Amazon and it makes all my cleaning MUCH faster and easier.

I personally love Aura by Benjamin Moore. I have painted lots of woodwork with good results. It seems to take awhile to cure out hard but once it does it's a great finish. The best part is you can get just as hard of a finish in the flat as you do in the semi gloss or gloss - something not true of other paints. I personally do not like any shine to my wood, especially furniture and cabinetry. Aura is self priming. It's different than other paints in that it flashes really fast so put it down and then leave it alone. Don't touch it up or overbrush, you'll have a mess. If you see you missed a spot or have a drip, leave it be til it's super dry and then spot sand/touch up. I'm a big painted furniture/cabinetry fan. I really love the look of properly painted woodwork and prefer it to stain, especially if it's nice and flat or satin. Your lines won't go away if you apply even coats and don't go to heavy. Use a good quality brush for the wainscoting (so you get down in the grooves without having to layer it on thick) and either a brush or foam roller for the other depending on how flat it is.

Thanks so much for posting that - I really want to paint my cabinets, but I've been afraid to do it. I don't want them to look like I did them myself - I want them to look like they came that way. Yours look great. Did you use an oil base paint and urathane? Priscilla

Sometimes in life, redefining a problem as a non-problem is the best solution. This is one of those times! It is (or will be) painted wood and seeing the texture of the wood is part of the charm of painted wood. Otherwise it would just look like..... I dunno, plastic or laminate which is ok if that's what you've got, but if you have painted wood, why not just enjoy it being painted wood. That said, quality of your sanding, prep and application is important - a silky smooth finish applied correctly should give you many years of satisifaction. Hope youll post before and afters - Ive seen the Transformations products in Menards and have wondered what kind of results are possible. The choice of colors is good imho. Ive always had luck with rustoleum products over the years - hows that for brand loyalty.