Choose a painter you feel comfortable with listen to your gut. As for color choose a color from the countertop to avoid having too many whites in the space.

Thanks Patricia!

Are you painting or gel staining? Have you gotten advice as to which to use to change the color of oak?

I am hiring a professional painter and he is painting them. What about gel ? Is it better?

We are about to (next month) paint/stain all of the golden oak cabinets and wood trim in the house we're buying - good solid wood, but very dated looking (like me). Based on what I've read here, and heard from others who've done it, gel stain seems to be the way to go. The grain will of oak will still show through, but it seems to be more effective than paint at covering up the golden color and not peeling. And the paint store can add paint to the stain to achieve a custom color. We're probably going to go with a combo of espresso and barely-off white. But the more creative side of me is still thinking about some kind of gray wash.

He said he will sand them a little bit applied primer and applied two coats of Benjamin Moore

Satin finish. I got a few estimates and everybody does different. I am nervous,,

Make sure they use a cleaner on the cabinets before they prime. But they should know that. And only a light hand sanding is necessary. But I would ask about the relative merits of gel staining instead of paint. And please share what you find out, as I'm facing the same thing. I have looked at friends' gel stained oak cabs, and they look great.

Check out this post:

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/gel-stain-kitchen-cabinet-makeover-dsvw-vd~242314?n=44[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/gel-stain-kitchen-cabinet-makeover-dsvw-vd~242314?n=44)

Thanks so much for all your information. I will talk to the painter tomorrow. Your friends cabinets look beautiful!

Just a warning from personal experience, get touch up paint from the painter. We had our kitchen cabinets professionally primed and painted and it wasn't long before they chipped. I wasn't happy about it. Not sure if that's common, but if you accidentally hit them with something or they get an inordinate amount of use, the paint could wear or chip. My advice, get the best possible product or consider getting new fronts to the cabinet doors and drawer fronts and have some one refinish the rest of the cabinets to match.

Thanks so much for you advice Jeanne. Do you know what kind of primer and paint they applied? It's something that worries me.

It was many years ago, but the painter bought all his paint from Sherwin Williams...so it was good quality.

After doing various home projects, we've learned it's best to buy quality and save yourself having to buy twice.

I'm sorry your uncertain about things. I get like that since projects are so costly and you don't want to make mistakes. If it helps, you could just consult a couple of highly recommended painters and ask for client referrals that have had the work done your looking to have done. That way they might be able to answer your concerns and offer advice. You know, pros with good referrals generally are very responsive to customer needs so if something does come up, you'll be covered. So start with a highly recommended pro who has done what you want.

Good luck!

I appreciated so much your advice! He is coming tomorrow and I already talked to him about kind of primer o paint to apply after researching I find Benjamin Moore has very good reviews But we never know.

I don't have any references of him working on kitchen cabinets. He is giving 8 years of warranty. He is taking doors and drawer faces to work in his shop and how I can be sure he is applying the right product.

I wonder if alli27 was happy with how everything looked when it was completed and how it looks today. Maybe she'll see the comment and come back to tell us?