I love white cabinets. Some people associate them with low end/apartment style furnishings...but I love the clean look of white cabinets. I have never seen painted cabinets in real life- only on TV. They look nice on TV but I don't know what they look like up close.

Lots of people on the kitchen forum love white cabinets; I read a post there recently where someone's kitchen designer said statistics show that cherry is in, however 7 out of 10 kitchens they were designing were going to be white. There's also a variation where they use glazes over white to distress. Anyway, I wouldn't bother painting your white cabinets since they have mass appeal.

Try looking at some sample kitchens at a website called Home Ideas. I found the exact look I wanted on that site. They used to have a deviced called color assistant that let you paint different colors in a room. It was great but I heard that they have changed things. I think Benjamin Moore's site also lets you do the same. I personally love color but white can be terrific especially in a smaller kitchen. Have fun! What's your new house like?

I would not paint them because the new owners may want a different color.

If the white finish is in good shape, I'd leave them as is. You might consider changing out the hardware if it looks dated; I have seen kitchens with older cabinets look amazingly "new" after getting more modern pulls and knobs.

If the finish is dingy/faded, I would repaint them white.

Take a look at the kit forum. Many, many of the high end kitchens put in white cabs or some shade of white.

I happen to just love white cabinets and feel that they never have been out of style! My current home that we are leaving, has white formica cabinets and it was a big reason why I bought. I find them clean, bright and timeless! My mom's home also has white formica cabinets that were installed 40 years ago and they look brand new. In order to update her kitchen all she has to do is replace the formica counters with granite and updated knobs. I have always felt that wood cabinets, depending on the style, get dated and people have to replace them. I do love the whitewash look in wood cabinets, though. I am probably not in the majority with my love of white, but that's just me. It never goes out of style - think avacado, harvest gold, persimmon, even almond in kitchen appliances! While they are en vogue for a while, they become dated. I guess I have been around for way to long and seen styles/trends come and go. There are certain styles that are classic and just never go out of style (OH, MY!!! I've been living in CT for way too long! I've lost my NY Soul, LOL!!! ). White goes with everything!

I know that when I posted my photos of our current home, there were many readers who felt my kitchen was too stark, but the home sold and we received no complaints about our kitchen or our unrenovated 1970's extra bathroom.
We did have one realtor suggest that we redo that bathroom and put a hunk of granite on the kitchen counter to give the people a vision of what could be done. We did neither.

The best advice we got from one realtor was to "Fluff and Puff"! And that is what we did!! Everything was clean, freshly painted, uncluttered, depersonalized and neat. Plus, while we were overpriced at the begining (all the agents felt because of the type of home we had - a large ranch in a sea of colonials - we should give it a shot since at the time, they did not feel it was overpriced). Because our housing market is so depressed in the higher price range, nothing was selling and home sellers were making small price drops to no avail. We bit the bullet, made two large drops and took an offer immediately after the second drop! Our first drop was just following the rest of the houses and did little, so we had to get below them.

To start renovating, changing cabinets and remodeling was just not worth it for us, as it would have cost us time and money which we proably would have just about broken even! Besides, there are so many homes in our area that have upgraded kitchens and bathrooms and even at reduced prices they are sellling. Also, most of the agents who showed our home were saying that their buyers would rather put their designs in the kitchens and bathrooms and not pay for the home sellers upgrades that they do not want.

Depending on your market, really think about listing or dropping your price well below your competition. Buyers don't seem to react to little drops (and the homes that have been doing that are continually dropping little drops and not getting offers). In my opinion, you want the buying public to take notice and a well priced home below their competition will do that. I still study the listings on Listingbook.com daily and have seen that unless you set yourself apart from the competition, "you ain't going nowhere" in this market!!!!

Please don't paint your white cabinets. I can't think of another painted color that would be as popular as plain white or off white in selling a house. Updated hardware might be good if the hardwars is dated.

Selling a house isn't about what you like. If you have painted white cabinets that are in good shape, leave them alone. If they are in bad shape, a fresh coat of white paint would be in order. Changing them to your favorite color would be a mistake though. You don't want to be remembered as "the house with pink cabinets"

Another white cabinet fan. When I see a kitchen with white cabinets, the first thing running through my mind is that even if it weren't my preference, and I intended to change it out later, that I can really change and make personal a kitchen with white cabinets, just by working with accessory paints and decorations for quite awhile. However, if I dislike somebody's choice of woods, it would register in my mind immediately the expense of having to change it out, or the trouble of making do refinishing it.

Cabinet finishes come and go, but the white alternative has always been around and likely always will be. However, some woods go dated quickly.

This was very helpful and I appreciate everyone's input.
White it is!

Jodie

What material is your cabinets and what do they look like?

I've passed on any white kitchens when looking at houses.