If you can DIY, you could get some cheap cabinets either off the shelf or Ikea and make it look very nice too. Or, paint, put a new vinyl floor on top - I got ours at Home Depot that comes prepackaged for $60 for 9x12 (not planning on that but saw it and it worked), and slowly replace the black with white appliances when you can pay cash. And paint... Home Depot has some new fresh air paints that are no voc and look really nice - we plan to try them for the same reason. And, a few nice light fixtures should help.

Here is a picture of my master bathroom. I painted the stained oak cabinets and walls. I intended to glaze the walls, but I've never gotten around to it. I really like the colors and think they would work well for you with the white.

Benjamin Moore has a low VOC paint that we used on these cabinets and on the dark brown trim in our meda room. It was a pleasure to paint with it.

The colors are Benjamin Moore Georgian Green on the cabinets and BM Ambience on the walls.

Good luck!

Can you post pics? Also, have you throught about replacing the doors with Ikea doors? i did that on a very similar-sounding kitchen and would love to do it again-- it was inexpensive and made the whole kitchen seem like new.

I figured out how to put the pictures in the thread. I'm really new at this. I've been lurking for years.

We can't go cheap or do new cabs at this point because of formaldehyde issues, but hadn't thought about just replacing doors. Thanks for the idea, skatiero. Maybe I could have my GC (my nephew, who is also an excellent carpenter) build us formaldehyde free MDF doors instead of fixing the old ones. What do we do with the boxes of the cabinets if we do replace the doors with IKEA rather than new doors and paint? We are not experienced DIY'ers. I did help our builders tear down and dispose of walls and debris 6 years ago when we remodeled, but haven't done more than paint otherwise.

amylovesbud, What type of Benjamin Moore paint did you use? Does it chip at all? Your bathroom is beautiful. Thanks for the ideas and pictures. What did you have to do?...strip your old cabinets, prime, etc? If so are there low VOC products for that too?

I think my husband prefers the sage on the walls. Will camel work on the cabinets? This color scheme is all just first thoughts, so we are open to all your ideas.

Thanks for the input...keep it coming, please.

I can't remember the name, but it was made for cabinets and is low VOC (my designer friend is a green designer, so she got the paint for me).

I only lightly sanded, used a good primer (BM also offers) and then painted 2 or three coats. It was not a bad job, especially if you can break it down.

I think camel would look great with the green.

Happy planning!

Your kitchen is a nice example of modern (for its time) and if you can stand it, I'd be tempted to make it more so by paint and accessories and would not paint the cabs or replace the hardware. Maybe retro it a bit more than it is.

Over time, replace the appliances to white like you're thinking, use a nice lino instead of the vinyl (vinyl's off-gassing rep is terrible). Retro laminate counters, maybe find some 50's-60's type wallpaper that would echo the green and cream colors you like. Maybe look for a nice small 60's tall shelf unit or hutch from a consignment shop to sit beside the range and maybe paint out the window trim.

Own the early 50-60-ness of it and celebrate it.

I actually think you have a lot to work with there. The cabinets look to be in excellant condition and the floor also looks sound.

If it were me, I would add trim to the doors and drawer fronts and paint them. Depending upon your preferred style, you could easiliy do a shaker look or a mock raised panel look.

My only concern would be that the 'camel' color might look 'cheap' (sorry...don't know how else to describe it) if the color weren't just right. Painting some test panels could help you decide on just the right shade.

Also, watch Craigslist for white appliances. I saw a 1 year old white dishwasher posted on my local CL for $100 a couple of weeks ago.

If you are leaving the soffits, it would be super easy to give your fridge a built-in look. The cabinet above the fridge could be pulled forward and you could cover the exposed side with a panel painted to match your new cabinet color.

Hope these suggestions help! I think it can be really nice.

Sandy

Also, if you're leaving the soffits you could add molding to them to make them appear as if the cabinets go to the ceiling. They're a perfect size to do this with since they're not too large.

Painting the cabinets a creamy white or espresso would allow for changes in wall color over time, if that may be an issue later.

Whatever you decide to do, you have great bones to work with and I think it will look wonderful!

The cabinets photograph at a distance as in good condition, but close up there are many scratches and places where the finish is worn off. The pix intensify the worn spots a bit, but they are pretty visible.

I know they are terrible in spots. They are clean and functional, but do not match the style and quality of the rest of our home. It is classic, traditional and the kitchen sticks out like a sore thumb. The cabs really need something to hide their condition.

We had planned to do it over in '90 but ended up doing siding and windows. Then kids in college, then the major remodel/addition in 2002, and last but not least ...having mom here for 6 years. Our daughter's wedding this year also took a toll on our timetable, but we are thrilled with her marriage. We've also been putting it off since it's hard to imagine being without a kitchen and caring for Mom, AND cooking twice a week for my FIL who is on dialysis and has special dietary needs.

I like the color combination we are thinking about, but as busybme said, I am afraid the camel may look cheap. Will creamy white look okay with white appliances? We will definitely do some sample doors before were proceed. An expresso may be nice, we just didn't want to close in the space too much. Of course it is only for two years or so. We really don't want to spend much on something that will be gone in two years.

If you want to see what we have planned for Spring of 2011, Lord willing, check out the link below. I am also hoping that more 'green' products will be available by then.

Thanks for all the encouragement and ideas...
Terri

Your cabinets are almost carmel color now and I think the wood is very pretty. To me wood stained carmel looks much better than painted carmel. How about refinishing and keeping the hardware for now? Soygel stripper works well. The benefit is you can refinish only what is needed, for instance, the cabinets above the fridge probably won't need done. Also you can get reproduction hardware for ones that are broken. Or you could see if you can find hardware with the same screw spacing and change out for some more up to date styles. Definately get rid of the wallpaper and repaint also change out the flooring and countertop if they are really worn. And I think the kitchen would look great!

I think it needs to be a different enough white, maybe like Sherwin Williams Decora White? But, I think I just saw a picture posted on this site a few days ago with white cabs and white appliances and it looked great (I'll try to find it and bump it up).

I am using SW Pro Classic, and it doesn't seem to smell to me, but not sure if its technically low VOC. What about Milk Paint? There is a brand that is already premixed and (General Finishes) it is supposed to be pretty safe, plus they have a sealer to go over it from the same brand. I have a friend that did her bathroom cabinets in it, and loved it so much that she will do her kitchen, too. Do you have a furniture refinishing store in town that might carry it? Plus, it does have a bit of an old fashioned look depending on the color- a little "imperfect" for lack of a better word. Check out the companies website to see if that might be an option.

There's a kitchen very similar to yours on a thread in the Home Decorating forum.
I think she did a great job of updating her kitchen without painting the cabinets.
It's Posted by sandra12 (My Page) on Fri, Oct 31, 08 at 12:37

I love the style of your cabinets - that style is actually coming back in a big way. If it were my kitchen, I would sand and restain them, add hidden hinges and modern pulls. I would then replace the counter with a large-tile counter with minimal grout lines.

I have a kitchen picture in my file of favorite kitchens, and it has sage green painted cabinets- that might look super nice in your kitchen, and perfect with white appliances. Then, do an off white paint color on the walls? I have it saved in case we ever buy a small lake home (really, a small cabin) and I imagine any that we could afford would require quite a bit of renovation. I think it has a certain charm that requires the right house, and the era of yours is perfect for it!

I know that Merillat now offers a pale green painted finish, so I bet others do too. Maybe go to some kitchen showrooms and ask to see the door colors they have, and try to match a similar color to what cabinet makers offer.

Good luck, and keep us updated on your decisions.

I'm afraid I don't have much to add except encouragement. New knobs, hinges, paint and countertop should have you a whole new kitchen. (At a substantial discount to new!)

joanie b, thanks for the link to the kitchen like ours. It really did look nice.

After reading people's thoughts (THANK YOU SO MUCH), thinking about the work to be done (while taking care of mom,) and money to be saved for the *real* remodel, we think we will probably refinish the cabinets. I think striping them (Thanks for the info on soygel, mom2lilenj) will be easiest in some ways. It will be a bit of a challenge to find handles since the existing ones are 3 1/2 ctc. We tried to do it years ago before the internet but could only find 3" centers. I figure we can even get anything with holes 3 inches apart as long as it projects far enough to cover the hole. Didn't think of that years ago. If we remove the hinges and put on hidden ones, I guess we will just have to use wood filler as close as possible to the color. The exposed hinges in the link from joanie b looked good though, so maybe we will do that. Less holes to fill too. Anyone have a better idea?

Does anyone have a non-toxic top coat to suggest? We will do a test door to see about the color change, but I am hoping to not have to strip the cabinet boxes in the house, if possible. They are in pretty good shape. Less work and time, unless there is too noticeable a difference.

We aren't sure about the counter yet. It is in decent condition and I think I could stand it for another 2 years.

I can't wait to take down the wallpaper border to update the room, but I will miss what it says...'In everything, give thanks.'

I hadn't thought about getting rid of the rack for the dishes and cookbooks, but I will try. There is a heating register behind it, so I can't block it with a hutch. That may have to wait, but I can neaten up the rack a bit if it stays. The reason I got it was to make my cabinets more usable since I am just under 5' tall. I had to get a stool every time I needed baking things from the SECOND shelf. What my kitchen really needs is built in step stools... LOL.

What really needs to go is the sink, so maybe we will put in an inexpensive ss one to try out a large single bowl. I've always had a double, so that way I would now which I like better. I want a silgranite when the time comes.

Thanks again for your help!
Terri

While looking for some hardware for myself I ran across these. Looks like your current hardware.