I would definitely paint. You can see how I revamped my clients outdated oak here.
http://www.houzz.com/projects/54374/Outdated-Oak-Revamping

I discussed painting your oak cabinets in this blogpost with. Some before shots as well.
http://www.jenniferbishopdesign.com/2012/05/20/should-you-paint-your-oak-cabinets/

Try adding some contrasting crown moldings and light rails

This is the before and after of painting my oak cabinets last week. The only other thing I added were pendant lights above the island (removed the hanging pot rack). You tell me which one looks better.

If you like to see the woodgrain but want lighter, there is a technique where you paint with white paint and then wipe it off while it's still wet. You might look into that.

The most dating feature in your kitchen/living room area is the wood trim. Paint it white ! Concerning the upper cabinets I would replace some of the fronts with glass. You could apply charcoal paint to a few cabinets for a more contemporary look. Keep the flow of wall color as is. Put a rug on the floor and voila. It's really a lovely space !

Do keep in mind that keeping white painted cabinets clean in a kitchen is almost impossible - dirt around the pulls and an inevitable grease build-up if you like to cook

Extend the cabinets to the ceiling as per "nj momma" reference pix

dont do hardwood in the kitchen because of water, instead they make ceramic to mimic wood. Darken the cabinets with stain or paint white. Use a more neutral backsplash, like all shades of brown

Don't listen to people that tell you your cabinets are great the way they are. If YOU don't like the color change it. I don't recommend painting Oak because few people are happy with the end result as Oak's open grain does not paint well. There are gel stains that work perfect to do exactly what you are looking to do. These stains are applied directly over the existing with only a little prep work. Here is a video on how to do it, and there are many more you will see come up in the margin when you open the YouTube video. Good luck!

Thank you everyone!! I am overwhelmed and grateful for all the great ideas and options! Now to figure it all out. The staining option sounds great from a cost standpoint but the amount of skill/labor scares me. Would hate to mess them up. Happy to post an after photo after I get all this sorted out. :)

Can someone tell me the product you use to paint or lighten the grout? How do you match it to the tile?

I have honey oak also. A decorator recommended Wythe Blue by Ben Moore for the walls. It is a medium greenish blue and the 2013 Pantone color of the year! It's the perfect antidote for calming the oak. And looks great with black. I did nickel hardware, and those large porcelain tiles at an angle... Neutral color. I also have a valance in a loud, mod, but retro floral that let's me accent in deep magenta pinks, apple green and turquoise. That is, try paint, and flooring before the cabinet painting headache. Imo

back splash in simple subway tile to start then paint all the trim in kitchen white!!!! and pick a great wall color! The trim around doors and window just amplifies the oak in the space. Finally change hardware to nickel.

PAINTING GROUT- I have heard of Polyblend GroutRenew from a website called "thefrugalgirl.com" she goes through the step by step process of how she painted her grout and shows pictures too- it looks pretty simple!

You'd be amazed at what just painting the cabinets and changing hardware and backsplash will do. Especially if the bones of the kitchen is still good! I have an example of a facelift on my profile called Daughtry. check it out!

Please get a lighting contractor in and change the ceiling fixture and add some recessed lighting to replace it. (This is my most expensive suggestion. Everything else is pretty inexpensive.)
Add wide crown molding to the cabinet tops to give them a finished look.
Leave the oak cabinets for now and paint all of the trim in the house a nice white or creamy white first.
Paint your walls a soft green or gray green.
Change the cabinet hardware to something you love. My personal favorite for those cabinets would be brushed nickel bin pulls and coordinating knobs. If you decide to paint your cabinets later they'll still be fine with either light or dark cabinets.
Leave the faucet unless you hate it. It matches your stainless appliances.
Good call on the exhaust fan and upper cabinet.
On a recent episode of "Flip or Flop" they showed a stair railing and spindles transformed by painting them black. What a great change and way more practical than a white bannister!
Throw a colorful rug over the kitchen floor and it will literally disappear.
Live with these few changes while you find your dream kitchen on Houzz. You may decide you need to add cabinets or counter space or extra storage along with a change in cabinets.
Have fun, your kitchen looks like a nice efficient workspace. Enjoy.

Change the flooring a neutral colour because you have to think long term. If you Change them a terra cotta colour you will always be stuck with that colour.
Change the hardware on the cabinets to stainless steel or brushed nickel.
Paint the trimwork to white.
A dark colour on the walls will look good with the oak. This is where you could use the terra cotta colour and when you want a change it would be easy to update. Because the cabinets are a yellow tone I think you need to stay away from yellow tone paint colours.

Have them professionally painted. It will make a dramatic difference in your kitchen and choose a simple backsplash tile like in the pictures posted by fauxfilled walls decorative painting and California Kitchens. Also consider changing the floors at the same time. We painted our out-dated cabinets and it made a huge difference. You can go to my ideabook and look at the before and after pictures of our renovated kitchen. We still need to change flooring...next on the list. Good luck!

if you really want to paint the cabinets, oak looks fantastic painted black. eggshell or satin finish. they will need to be primed using steel wool in gentle strokes to get paint to stick as well as primer. http://tmoml.com/the-sweet-design-of-the-painted-oak-cabinets-with-the-wooden-matter/the-amazing-design-of-the-painted-oak-cabinets-with-the-black-wooden-storage-on-white-wall-also-the-black-chest-of-drawer-on-gray-ceramic-floor-in-the-kitchen/
this allows you to paint in any colour you want. or use the rustoleum kit. http://www.rustoleum.com/project-catalog/kitchen/cabinet-transformations-submitted-by-amanda-j/ or sage green. http://homeimprovementinsights.com/harmonize-your-sage-green-kitchen-cabinets-in-these-wall-colors/sage-green-kitchen-cabinets-with-black-appliances-2/ i would not bother changing the floors til you know if you will remodel. the floors are neutral. you can regrout in a light grey to lessen the impact of the grout. i think white is too obviously a cover up. i think you have a gorgeous house with so many possibilities! or leave the cabinets and woodwork and paint a soft sage green which will lessen the wood tone a bit. very soothing colour. it would also look lovely in your stair area.

Regarding your comment yesterday asking for a photo of the cabinet pulls. See photo. I also enclosed a larger photo of the flooring. Do u think they are to dark?

I just recently replaced my mismatched hardware on my honey oak cabinets toa charcoal black square design. I have black / stainless steele appliances. Silver finushes seemed to make the cabinets even more orange. Plus the darker color is more neutral so it still goes with my brushed nickel hardware

My comment got cut off. The rest of my house luckily has all white trim and six panel white doors so it helps with having less oak. As far as color I would avoid blues, greens or white since it makes the cabinets look more orange. I have a taupe color. It has just enough warmth and depth to complement the color aka blend it in.

If you can see the hinges make sure to match it with the pulls. U can either replace it or take them off and spray them to match. Make sure you get one with a primer and top coat in one to save time.

Cabinets look beautiful to me, not dated at all. Painting them would be destructive. Kitchen just needs some small touches to make it homey. That happens when you live there for a while.

If you see very old houses ftom the 1940s, you will notice all their cabinets are painted. ..... Painted cabinets are not new.

Oak is always a perfect wood for pickling. There are plenty of sites and Youtube videos online that will show you how.

I may be too late but if not, here is my simple suggestion. Change all of the hardware with pewter or stainless steel. Paint all of the walls, kitchen and dining area in a medium grey, lighter shades on different walls and trim. If flooring replacement is not an option, carpets (maybe Persian style) on the floors could help. It looks quite bare and once you hang some pictures, etc. to add warmth it will look a whole lot better.

I'm in a similar situation, and I find all of the comments about painting the cabinets to be amusing. When I was a teenager, my family moved from a beautiful Victorian house to a tract home that had hideous cabinets in the kitchen. My dad painted them white, and I remember how embarrassed I was because they weren't "in style". Just remember, in style only means that it's like everyone else's. If I see one more post about painted cabinets and gray walls, I will lose my mind. Unless you are looking to sell to the every day Joe sometime soon, don't worry about what is in style. Think about timeless, classic, and what pleases your eye.

Change grout color on floor tile to match the tile

Tried to read posts...this is my take...it will be much cheaper to paint out your cabinets than to replace all your flooring!! At that point it would be the time to replace cabinets since the entire house would be pulled apart.

I would remove some upper cabinets and paint out the remaining in SW Alpaca-7022 a wonderful light Gray...add stainless steel open shelves to replace cabinets that will be removed. Change out all hardware to larger more contemporary/modern handles no knobs. Get yourself new appliances...and lighting.

Oh you already have stainless appliances..Great!

OLD POST!

Ok...who brought this old post back to life??

it was Kathy999...caught yah!

remember, painted cabinets are a trend and will soon change - you can paint ANY cheap wood and they would all look the same! Lived in my 1833 farmhouse for 33 years - didn't like some of the wood work was painted - but just freshened it up over the years - and then, it came in style! Was ONCE tempted to paint my custom cherry cupboards, but was SO happy I didn't! So, the farmhouse had a nice balance of painted and unpainted and I came to love it all over the years!

@Linda -- Post is 2 years old. probably they figured something out.

I know this post is 4 years old, but for anyway facing this dilemma currently...In reference to the original picture posted I would definitely paint all of the trim white. I have honey oak cabinets (thank you ‘90s), but first I painted all of the trim in our home an ultra bright white (it too was honey oak-ish) and I paint the walls a warm cotton knit. Wow!!! It brought our home into a new era. Seriously, the cabinets don’t bother me quite as badly now. They’re still getting a face lift but the urgency is definitely at bay. Hope this helps :)

I’m in the same situation. I will not paint the cabinets they are in perfect mint condition. I’m not sure if I should work with the floor or replace but to what? The counter, what granite color or quartz? I plan on getting stainless appliances and changing hardware to brushed nickel. The fixture will also be replaced.

gizma, if you post your own dilemma (this one is almost 5 years old), you will get more help.

start your own and post these pictures too. Have you moved in yet? post real life pics, not realtor pictures.

Gizma, I bought a house the weekend and it has the same basic honey oak kitchen except the door design is ugly cathedral. Has anyone glazed these like with black or something? I don’t want to paint them. Is it economical to restrain to a darker color or something like that. I hate them. Always have but the house was the right one.

Restain to darker color, durn autocorrect!!!

Paint the cabinets! Staining is very hard to do especially if any parts of the cabinets aren't real wood. quite possibly the ends and or filler and toe kicks can be made of a vinyl or laminated product, which can only be primed and painted. Painting would most likely be more affordable and more current with today's trends. It will also brighten up your space! You have a galley kitchen which would only close in your space if the cabinets are darker. Also, I would stay away from antiquing techniques. That will only draw more attention to the arches. It's not in style currently.

Thanks. Great advice!!

I like the paint color.

Paint the walls a color close to the cabinet color. It will make the kitchen look much bigger by eliminating contrast and make the cabinets look much more appealing.

Gantt...2 year old post

I was selling my home in 2014 and didn’t want to replace cabinets so I painted walls a green that made the honey oak more updated. I also spray painted my pulls with bronze spray. I think it made the kitchen more updated. The buyer thought so as well, said loved kitchen.

@Jennifer Bishop Design do you know what color/brand of floors your clients installed in the honey oak kitchen paint job?

Michaela Davis this is an 8 yr old post that belongs to someone else. Jennifer isn't going to see this unless she has notifications turned on. you're better off messaging her directly and putting in this link, and the link to clients house you like.

2014 post. I personally have the same green color in my kitchen with white cabinetry and love it.

Felizlady would love to see your green kitchen!