Additional picture.

do you like the pulls on it now?

The gel stain route isn't appreciably less work than painting. And painting would be the better choice with your door style. It would also let you fill the holes to be able to change the pulls as desertsteph alludes to above.

Thanks for the replies so far. In regards to the pulls, I don't really like them. The are way to ornate, especially for the doors. If I made them slightly darker, I would want something more current and potentially silver. Although, I feel that the door style is quite limiting. What "style" is the door trying to imitate anyways?

In regards to painting, I suspect that something between a white and beige would look best. My concern is keeping it clean and staining. As this kitchen is heavily used to prepare Indian; I feel that staining from the spices would be a concern. Do you guys feel that the brown mahogany might be too dark? I was looking at Nutmeg, but that almost looks lighter.

Thoughts greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I actually like your cabinets and your hardware. I wonder if gel stain works on catalyzed finishes?

I have painted and stained cabinets and have to say that with staining it was way easier and faster to achieve good-looking results. I found it a lot more forgiving, even though the first coat freaked me out because it was all blotchy. After the second coat it looked great.

I'm not sure about catalyzed finishes. Thanks for the advice so far. I will have to order the gel stain online. I feel as though I should go with candelite and then do extra coats if I'd like to go darker. My only concern is that the actual stain color might end up being lighter than the cabinets to begin with. With brown mahogany, I feel as though I would only be able to apply one thin coat to avoid ending up too dark; the colour looks so much darker in the after pictures compared to what I expected.

Not sure about the hardware situation. I almost want to remove the hardware, fill in the holes, stain, and then start looking for hardware. Perhaps something simpler and more modern, both in terms of design and placement.

More ideas appreciated.

I've used mahogany in Old Masters. Your cabs look almost perfecr....I wouldn't gel stain those...all the yellowing has occurred and you have a nice maple door in very good condition with a nice caramel stain. Talk to an antique restorer about the dislike you have of the hardware and what you could do with the "holes" or markings if they were to be removed....maybe an interesting "backplate"with new handle/knobs can be found to cover over. What do you want to achieve? you don't mention backsplash-that can change the look of the space dramatically rather than altering good looking doors that are in excellent condition.

'They are way to ornate, especially for the doors.'

yes, I've seen worse pulls tho. I do prefer very plain, smooth pulls these days. Mostly for cleaning reasons and my hands. I also need a deep projection on them. Yours seem to have a good projection.

I'd be concerned that the wood of the door would be discolored where the metal meets the wood. i'd take one off to check that out.

The doors are in very good shape. I'd probably keep them as is if I could easily change the pulls. If discolored in that area, I'd probably check with a few people who make cabinets and /or stain wood on a regular basis to see if it could be fixed.

It's the yellowing that actually bothers me, but I guess that's part of maple. There is poorly applied coat of Varathane (more shiny in some areas, brushmarks, etc.), which makes them look less than perfect. I will give them a good cleaning tomorrow and see what they really look like. Does anyone have a recommendation for a "clear coat" I could use instead of a coloured gel stain? I would like a glossy, smooth finish. Perhaps the General Finishes Satin Top Coat would be a suitable alternative.

The hardware isn't much of a concern if the doors aren't changing colour. Currently, there is no backsplash. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

I least like the faux butcher block countertop. Not sure what can really be done about that, without simply replacing it. It seems as though many have achieved success with the Giani granite kits, but that look might a bit much.

The cabinets have a very cottagey casual design aesthetic. Painting them white would accentuate that. Now the question is, does that go with the rest of the home's style? If the house is a cute Craftsman or Cape, then yes. If it's something else, then "maybe". I'd analyze what would work best for the overall home design before I decided on a course of action.

If you are worried about buildup of cooking vapors and grease on the cabinets, then the cure for that isn't to make them some color that won't show that. The cure is to address the ventilation issues that the kitchen has. You need a higher CFM vent that exhausts externally. That's where your dollars should go instead of the "look".

What about using Restore-a-Finish? That would even out the varnish on them. Also, could you change your wall paint color for a much easier update?
Also, second looking into what it looks like under the handles. New hardware would make a huge difference.

Thanks for all the replies. When I clean the doors today, I will take off the hardware and take a look underneath.

I don't feel as though white cabinets would go with the rest of the house, despite looking very nice with the design. There is a high CFM fan, so it is actually contact stains that I am worried about.

I have a few pictures at the moment that may be off assistance. The house is "only" 30 years old. There is v-joint/tongue and groove paneling that also has the same varnish problem and scratches and water spots. I feel as though the wood cabinets help balance the wood paneling that is found on certain walls inside the house.

I will post pictures of the entire space later.

Part of exterior.

Slightly wider shot of cabinets.

What a lovely home! What style would you call it? Do you enjoy a lot of wood and darker finishes?

Thanks for sharing your photos.

Thanks for the compliment arkillery. I think that the exterior has some Tudor design details.

I feel that the wood paneling adds character to the inside of the house, but since there is a fair amount of it, I feel as though the medium tones are as dark as I would like to go. I don't have a strict preference when it comes to wood and finish colour. It just depends on the mood the entire space creates.

I just cleaned one of the cabinet doors and it made me realize that I may be happy by just applying a semi-gloss clear coat over them.

I unscrewed one of the handles and was confused as to why it wasn't coming off. I highly suspect that the old coat of Varathane has basically glued them in place.

I am experimenting with General Finishes Gel stain brown mahogany. I have the honey oak and I'm trying to figure out how to improve the looks without having to resort to painting them. I don't mind the wood grains, I just don't like the color of my existing cabinets.

Here is what I have so far:

This post was edited by frugalnotstingy on Thu, Jul 18, 13 at 16:42

Thanks for posting the pictures. It's amazing what a difference a second coat can make. I like the red tones that become apparent after the second coat, although I'm not sure if that would work in my space.

If you do keep the cabinets as they are, I would recommend a contrasting cream or light colored countertop and a maybe a medium colored backspash maybe such as the one posted in the picture with the white cabs I posted.

A lot of Indian food is cooked in our house too, I wouldn't do white cabinets or countertops, you'll have turmeric fingerprints everywhere. lol

I have counters like yours (except the grain runs the other way, yeah, I know, what were they thinking?), whatever I figure out to replace them with it'll be a medium or darkish tone, same with whatever I do to the oak cabs. I'm thinking of trying Restor-A-Finish in dark oak on them, my only sticking point is having to wax them now and then, not sure I'll like that for very long.

You have a really nice home and kitchen, once you work out the details it'll be beautiful. :)