Used correctly, FPE's Brushing-putty or Swedish-putty can give you a glass-like base. NOTE: FPE stresses that BP must be primed with Oil primer after it's dry/sanded/tacked-off. After the laborious prep., why wouldn't you want to put the "Ultimate Paint" on? * It's not that much more, and will add to your projects/homes value, not to mention the sheer beauty & enjoyment of it! * I'm absolutely in love with their Eurolux Matte I used in my downstairs bath! ONE coat...serious. I can firmly rub it, with NO trace of burnishing. * Their ECO-series paint would look awesome on your cabs! * BP link below, if you haven't already read it... Faron Here is a link that might be useful: FPE Brushing-Putty page...

I've painted over 3,000 kitchen cabinets and I've never used lacquer. Some guys are married to that stuff and that's why they push it. YOU DO NOT NEED LACQUER. Lacquer is one of several hundred options. A quality 100% acrylic enamel or a hybrid like Advance, Cabinet Coat, etc. work well on kitchen cabinets when the substrate is properly prepared. Properly prepared is super, super clean with Dirtex or Jasco TSP substitute, sanded dull, primed and two coats of quality paint. The paint is probably soft due to excessive coats and improper drying times. Some questions for your painters. 1. What did they use to clean the cabinets? 2. What primer did they use? It should have been D&E specified primer. 3. What is bleeding through? A rough surface? The paint is slow to dry. If there is any dust movement in your house, the finish will be rough. Change the air filters and switch off the furnace during painting.

In order to brighten things up, look at the off whites. They look like colors on the little sample cards, but when painted on the wall, often look more like a pale color than a white. I'd go all the way up to the lightest colors. I really don't see how you can go wrong, your choices so far are so neutral. I think you could go warmer, or cooler, and it would make sense. In order to brighten up the space, I would do these things: -think about shiny, beefy drawer pulls/knobs, like polished nickel -think about maybe glass subway tile (or other pattern), or even a metallic tile. Something that reflects light. -make sure your lighting is excellent in every regard: overhead, undercabinet, pendant work lights. That will really help.

Gray IS neutral, as are beige based and off white colors. Why invest in "trends"? Invest in a more timeless color that is not subject to fashions trends. That is sound advice when building a wardrobe or adding elements to your home. Who cares what "NO ONE" wants? The real question is to ask what it is that YOU want? "NO ONE" does not live there....you do. You cannot go wrong with a neutral and non dictating base color. You can always add accent colors. Those should be the trendy colors---the accent colors. They are usually the things that are more easily changed out. This kitchen needs more that just a change of color for the cabinets, though. It is almost a moot point. I agree that painting them is not always a good choice. I had painted some cabinets in my kitchen at one time. Once you opened the cabinet door, you saw that it was really an old cabinet. Unless you are going to go behind the doors and renew that space as well, you might as well not waste your money and time. They almost never look good. I have seen some that do. But, most times it is not a good look. Besides, the finishes on a new cabinet door are finishes that I could never attain from using ordinary paint. And, to get such a resistant and smooth factory finish as what is on my KitchenMaid cabinets would require materials and tools and techniques that are not readily available to me, the DIY person. One advantage for you is that your doors are a slab door and are easier to work with. The two colors that you chose are beautiful. It looks like what ever is on your floor has a gray tone to it.