Darker! Or paint

Your kitchen looks very pretty the way it is. Would darker cabinets darken the kitchen just a tad too much?

are you crazy those cabinets are wack ...like the other person said darker or white ...I personally am sick of white everyone is doing it ....

what does wack mean?

This would darken in a different way, but looks suitable to your cabinet style:
http://sherimartininteriors.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/hbx-well-lillian-lucas-blue-wooden-kitchen-island-blue-cabinets-cropped-1111-mdn_thumb.jpg?w=379&h=504

also, the cabinets have been slowly changing more to an orange tone..and I do not like it... also , have been white and did not like them

Add a coloured rug or make it bolder

by changing the color of your walls

Wack...great

That effect is done with a coloured stain, applied opaquely, but can be done to allow more grain to show, if preferred.

Go darker! It would look very elegant. There is a gel stain that may work. Or you could try painting. I would try the gel stain first, so that you could still get some of the grain coming thru. Then maybe dress it up with some orange accents. If you go darker I would paint the inside of the cupboard just to the left of the sink on the bottom (the one with no door) Less of a contrast. Post a finished picture. Good luck!

this is what I envisioned.......... what do u think?

That would be beautiful.

I had light honey oak, similar to yours and we got tired of it and decided to strip them and restain them ourselves. We decided to go wit a bourdeaux color (like burgundy wine) with a chocolate glaze. Everybody who has seen them has fallen in love with them. Before we stained them the color we liked, we tried other colors on them first. We were fortunate that we had a few spare doors that we could test a bunch of sample colors on to see what we liked. We tried many different colors and brands before we found one we really liked, and tried all the colors of the rainbow. One secret to successful staining and stripping, is after you strip and sand it really good, make sure to put a wood conditioner on the wood before staining it. It evens things out to give it a uniformed look and keeps it from being blotchy. Think of it like a primer or kilz. Best of luck on your project......... We are still working on ours. Cabinets are done, floors are being done as we speak, and repainting the walls, but are thrilled with how it all came out and if you take the time to do it right, I am sure you will love yours as much as we love ours.

I think it is a wonderfully rich colour that may then lead to a change in counter tops and paint., but that you should get some stain and test it to see what YOU think -and tell the paint clerk what type wood you are trying to refinish for some additional tips.

If I was able to upload the right picture, you will see we are in the process of doing our kitchen right now. If you look at the dishwasher area, you can see the color my cabinets used to be. We currently have green laminate countertops and are waiting for our black galaxy with black chicklets granite to come in. There are a number of websites out there also where you can upload pics of your kitchen and try different colors on the them to see how it would look. Good luck.........

Excellent advice from studio10001. I think your inspiration photo is beautiful and so are your cabinets. Your cabinets are heavily grained though and you may not get exactly the look you've pictured. A new look will still be beautiful though.

Definitely worth discussing with someone who knows about stains. Also, as suggested earlier, maybe test on the inside of a drawer front or door that isn't easily visible.