You have beautiful cabinets, why on earth would you paint them.

Sooo dark and 20 years ago. Just want to brighten it up. Ironically I understand wood is making a comeback. The pictures have 8 lights on. But thank you

Have you considered changing the backsplash? I think the cabinets look great, but the backsplash does not compliment the color of the wood. A different backsplash and possibly new countertops might give me a welcome update.

In my opinion, what looks dated is the countertops and backsplash. Very. To the extent that no matter what is done with the cabinets, the kitchen will still ooze datedness, if that’s even a word.

I would replace countertops with something that will look good with both cherry and gray paint. Ditto the backsplash.

Then see how you feel.

If one cares about being on trend, it would be kind of a shame to live with off trend cabinets for a decade, then change them right as they become on trend again.

Sherwin Williams has a paint visualizer that will work for cabinets. It’s not great, but it may help. Choose Paint a Picture, upload your photo and your colors.

There are other ways to brighten a kitchen. As others have pointed out, you need more, better, and more modern lighting, and you will benefit tremendously from under cabinet lighting.

That said, you have a glass door and a window in that space and it is still very dark. Part of the reason for this is that you have older window coverings that block a lot of natural light from coming into the space. You are going to have to remove them to have the cabinets painted anyway. Try removing them now. you will have 33% more light in the space removing the window treatment over the sink alone. I can’t see what you have covering the door, but the same principle holds.

New stainless fridge and dishwasher, brighter knobs and pulls, new light fixture over the dining table. I like the cabinets better than the countertops and backsplash.

Your cabinets AREN'T the problem. Comments here are excellent in terms of how/where you should spend your money to brighten the space up.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I’m postponing any cabinet painting, and will look at your suggestions regarding lighting and window treatments..

I love white cabinets so I say go for it….but I think in your case only do the uppers in a warm white…change out the black fridge to stainless..it will make a huge difference! can you post a closer photo of the backsplash please.

Swapping out a lighter set of table and chairs will also really help. Notice how your range and microwave are a burst of light in the space? Think about chairs that are chrome or have some reflective quality to them to lighten up the space too.

New stailness fridge and dishwasher will be much less expensive than a quality cabinet paint job.

White uppers just look like a half done job.

Spending 8K on a pro to tackle those with a (ugh) gray, will just make the entire house look like a bad flip. Gray is DONE with. What is in, is wood cabinets, with light and bright counters, and a better lighting plan than what you have. Don't waste a dime on paint. Put it into replacing the counters and backsplash. It will be cheaper to do than painting.

Have to laugh at all the posts saying wood is back, don't paint your cabinets. In five years it'll be: wood is over, do painted. So please make a decision that's based on what you like, the effect you're trying to achieve, the rest of your house, and what's doable within your budget rather than trends. Even if you're going on trends, dark cherry cabinets are not trending, at least on my feed; the "wood trend" is mostly about lighter woods like rift-sawn white oak and alder and even that's already becoming passe.

Instead of gray, perhaps you can consider taupe for your cabinets with brass hardware, a warm white for the walls, and light colour upholstered chairs for your table with a brass chandelier. Something like this...

Life got in the way of my kitchen remodel a few years ago so I decided to keep my dark stained cabinets with marble tops. changing light fixtures, hardware, faucet and painting my walls a white that worked with my counters made a world of difference and now even though we can redo the whole kitchen I am reluctant to because I love what I have. Here are alot of my inspiration pics that I borrowed ideas from.

I love the brass hardware in this inspiration and the subway tile brightens it up a bunch.

Again I love the brass and the faucet is stunning

simple yet fresh. White counters lighten the look a lot.

Maybe paint just the island.

Thank you very helpful and beautiful!

Wood cabinets are very much back in favor right now and grey is out (sorry!) I agree that yours are beautiful. As others have suggested, new stainless appliances, lighting, and modern backsplash will make your kitchen gorgeous in my opinion! i also would pass on painting the island. it will make your island look like an afterthought where you could not afford to continue the wood. Finally, replace the counter stools and dining table with something more modern.

Easy ways to start: put a light or bright colored table cloth on your table, and maybe some bright colored replacement cushions on your existing chairs and bar stools. Next cheapest things to do are replace your kitchen table light and your cabinet hardware. If it were my kitchen, I'd do those easy things first before anything bigger and more expensive.

I wouldn't paint the cabinets; if I were going to try painting anything I'd start with the stools and the chairs. (And if the refrigerator goes bad, I'd replace with SS as others have said.)

"Just want to brighten it up."

Uncover the window.

Whether or not gray is still in style, I don't think gray is going to look good with your warm colored countertops and floor. You have a lot of great suggestions for other ways to lighten and brighten the kitchen.

Tile and stone choices will make a kitchen or bath look dated before the cabinet style will. Lighter counters and backsplash will brighten the place and probably cost less than painting the cabinets.