Take a look at rustoleumtransformations.com for a new product getting good reviews.

I agree with Deborah, re-staining standard oak cabinets is challenging due to the heavy graining - it is difficult to get the original finish out of the grain so that the new finish adheres properly. I would recommend a espresso or black paint done by a professional, if either color compliments the countertops, because these dark colors accentuate the grain of the wood nicely. Once you have nailed down the color of the cabinets then you can pick the flooring with confidence.

Would you be able to lightly sand off the gloss on the oak cabinets and then apply a stain and finish that makes it darker? We like the grain in the cabinets and dont want to go to a full color paint on them, but maybe that will make it easier?

I agree that an espresso or black paint would be best. It would have good contrast to your stunning granite countertops and they would be showcased more.

Yes you can stain the cabinets, but what we are saying is that it is going to enhance the grain of the wood. You need to thoroughly sand (rather than lightly sand) off the existing finish so the wood will accept the stain. You may want to test the inside of a cabinet or some other area first to make sure you like it.

Great ideas, thank you everyone. As far as a good wood laminate flooring suggestion, do you typically want the floor darker, lighter, or the same color as the cabinets? Paint wise were looking to go a lighter tan color or even a lighter sunshine yellow-ish color (sorry, not good with describing colors).

Hi---Love the granite---not in favor of the oak cabinets. I suggest having them painted to a very soft/pale taupe hue then glazed for an antiqued look. (see pics of kitchens for ideas---one is traditional-the other contemporary) For floors-instead of laminate try wood-looking porcelain tiles... (pic). A stone backsplash done in an interesting pattern would look very nice with counters and new cabs and floor. Hope this is helpful-Congrats and Good Luck!

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The Shakespeare Tan is a sort of yellow tone that goes well with the golden crystal granite. The floors should not match the cabinetry - either go lighter or darker depending upon what you do with the cabinetry.

Wow I really like that color. Very soothing and inviting, especially with a darker cabinet color. If we go darker on the cabinets, I'm thinking a lighter flooring color would be better, am I correct?

This may be cheating, but while ordinary stain wants to soak into nice, porous, open wood grain, gel stain is basically paint masquerading as stain. Though this is not recommended, I've used it right over varnish (then put another protective coat on top, of course) and it worked. But this is basically painting a stain color, not staining as traditionally understood. (I wanted to darken up some oak pressback chairs and didn't have the patience to chemically strip the varnish. My results were very good, but I achieved an allover darkening of the color that was there. If I had sanded and stripped the chairs bare first and then used real stain, it would have showed a very high contrast along the grain pattern because of the way oak typically accepts stain. I actually reduced the contrast using this method. It was more comparable to, say, glazing.)

So, I would say you could do a light sanding (to scar up the varnish and get it to adhere), a very VERY careful, very even application of a darker color in gel stain, several days for it to dry, and then several coats of varnish or lacquer over that. A DIYer can do this (I did). HOWEVER, this is not the recommended method for these operations! And for something as visible (and flat) as cabinets, any errors will definitely be visible. And if you're already hiring a pro to do your kitchen, yeah, just tell them to strip and sand all the finish off and start from scratch with the stain.

As decoenthusiast suggested above, www.rustoleumtransformations.com is a good product with a lot of variations. Each kit comes with a glaze if you don't care for the total paint look. There are lots of colors to chose from. I've done two kitchens with great results. They have a ton of before & after pictures.Take a look for ideas.

This press release for a new cabinet paint just came across my screen. Check it out.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/13b438fe4179ed03

IKEA have good inexpensive Kitchen cabinetry for every taste,