I like the way your cabinets blend with the wood floor.

It's perfectly acceptable to paint the cabinets white and leave the floor and trim in the wood color. The appliances will stand out, but they already do, since they contrast with the cabinets you have. I think lightening up the cabinets will really brighten up the kitchen!

Barbara Almandarz, that photo REALLY makes me want to paint! I love the look.

i particularly like your cabinets as they are. I think your cabinets fit your countertops and your back appliances. I usually like white cabinets, but in you case, I like them as they are.

but if you paint them you do not have to paint any of the trim.

I think you would be OK with your counter top and appliances. You can do a Houzz search on "white cabinets black appliances".


I will say that you have an attractive kitchen and just be sure you are not getting caught up in the white cabinet craze. White kitchens are pretty, but I also like wood ones. My favorite kitchens are those with a little personality. You could remove the panel in some of your upper cabinets and add glass to decrease the amount of wood. You could change out your stove hood to something different.


A mix of white and wood looks good if you can pull it off. I have white trim with wood cabinets and doors.
If there is room, you might manage a white/ cream island and white hood/ cream and get a white and wood look going.

Think about removing the existing poly finish--stripping them. Yes, its a horrid job, but the end result will be worth it. Then after the wood has been brought back use a semi-transparent color stain--off white/gray--watered down latex paint can be used too if you wipe on/wipe off--allowing the wood color to come through. Then a simple 2 coats of semigloss urethane. They will look like new cabinets, not painted over old ones.

Thank you for all the great suggestions and encouragement! I've never submitted a dilemma before, but this is a fabulous resource!! I really like the look of a few white painted cabinets among the wood...gives the look of furniture in the kitchen and reminds me of the Smallbone kitchens of the 1980s and '90s in the UK. I've always loved open shelves in a kitchen and have a lot of dishes I'd love to show off, so maybe the glass front idea is a better solution that would achieve my goal of making the room seem brighter and airier. It would be less expensive to try and easier to go back if I change my mind! :) Thankfully, we have great light in the house and this dining area just across the bar counter has two bright windows.

You can have a carpenter or cabinet maker (or even a friend with a router) router out the panel. Save the panel - you can put it back in later if you want. A glass shop can cut and put the glass in and use a bead of silicon to hold the glass. I did this to a 80s style bath cabinet and refinished it also. Refinishing is a lot of steps, but honestly with all the prep work needed for painting, I find refinishing to not be that much harder, and will be refinishing my kitchen cabinets this summer.

Your house is lovely.

There is no hard-and-fast rule that says your cabinets and trim must match. I have white cabinets and I absolutely love them. I've never regretted painting them white. It will really brighten up your space. Is my trim white? Yes, but I love white trim. It comes down to personal preference. As far as the appliances, stainless is on it's way out so you will be back on-trend with your current appliances! :-) Good luck!

Three and a half years later, here's how we've solved the problem of too much wood: we took off the upper cabinet doors to display my collection of pretty dishes, and added a colorful rug to break up the expanse of floor (it's really nice underfoot too). I know open shelving isn't for everyone, but it's perfect for us for several reasons. 1. It makes our kitchen work better for two cooks without opening cabinet doors into each other's heads. 2. It makes it much easier for guests to help in the kitchen since everything is in view and easy to find. 3. We use the dishes frequently so everything gets run through the dishwasher regularly and dust isn't an issue. I'm still deciding how I feel about the decor on top of the cabinets. I'm thinking it fights for attention with the open shelves (not to mention is such a dust-catcher). But we did decide against painting the cabinets because there just didn't seem to be a stopping point. Thankfully, these changes solved the problem for me and walking into our colorful kitchen each morning makes me smile.

Nice! I like the solution you went with, especially if it works for you. I think I would be tempted to paint the back wall of the open cabinets - maybe teal?

I’m so glad you posted your dilemma as I have the same one. I did remove the decor above my cabinets and am happy I did because it seems a bit brighter without it. I am especially happy I no longer have to get the ladder out to dust it! I like the open cabinets. Mine are not so well organized so I think I may start with the glass inserts and see how that goes, and maybe paint my island since the granite is a different color on it. Thank you for getting the discussion going.

This is a kitchen remodel on a tight budget I designed. Instead of white we painted some cabinets an off-black (Sherwin Wms. “Black Fox”). The island was also painted.
This would blend well with black appliances.
We added (constructed) the simple painted hood vent over the stove. (As suggested by one reader.) The wrought iron look piece on the hood was painted to blend with the hood.
The height was raised on the cabinet we painted, adding glass doors on just that cabinet, and added the enclosure for the microwave at the bottom.
The best feature in my opinion was adding crown molding to all the cabinets. Note that the crown over the painted cabinets is painted, not stained.
The client could not afford new countertops. So, we kept the solid surface on perimeter cabinets, and just added granite on the island.

Signature - consider posting those pics on you pro page projects - I'd like to reference them to others with similar kitchens.

I also have made some changes to my older oak kitchen - in my "my pics" idea book.

I have oak cabinets and trim in my condo . I want to paint the kitchen cabinets white what about all the other oak trim in the condo should I have it painted as well including an oak fireplace thank you. Donna