We don't plan on doing the cabinets immediately, we want to remove the popcorn ceiling, renovate the bathrooms, paint the walls, update light fixtures, and a bunch of other stuff. We're brainstorming so we know what color countertops we should get. If we have an idea of what we want, we can start doing it bit by bit. :)

Well I think you really need to commit to one of the kitchens you pictured - all beautiful. Once you commit to a white kitchen OR a dark brown OR to cream cabinets, you will get direction.

Then you can select your counters. OR if you want, try falling in love with a counter top and then you will know which color cabinets will go best with the counter you love.

Catch my drift?

Congratulations on your first home! Enjoy the ride!

Your cabinets are beautiful and classic, quite unlike the pics that you show. Everyone wants those trendy kitchens. Ride it out. Let the trend pass. Love your kitchen! I would get a nice light wood floor first. Next get a new countertop, matching appliances ( you could do that right away if you buy used...just to match them). Add hardware, new lights, new faucet, ectc.

We're trying to avoid something trendy, but I know I've never liked light wood (90's oak) or red tints. I found a color (paint) visualizer on the SW page and I'm trying to match a paint color that will blend well with the red tones and not make it look so 90's. I would absolutely prefer not to touch it (for works sake). So far a shade of taupe has me excited.

Thanks for the replies! This is a hard decision to make. I'll be in the kitchen a lot, so I want to love it. We plan on buying a Slate fridge before move in. I think that will really modern it up too.

Does anyone know what kind of wood the cabinets are?

Ok, you hate the cabinets. No mater classic they are and some will love them, YOU don't and never will. Decide on everything before you do anything. Decide on dark or painted, pick color. If you can afford to do it, DIY frames and buy new fronts in the exact style you want. Or have just the fronts professionally painted. Or just do it all yourself. I striped are restained a whole kitchen so it can be done. Also would you use the desk area for anything other than a dumping ground. If dumping that area could be made into a pantry. New matching doors can always be made.

Just a question about slate appliances. Since they are not made by all manufacturers, and may be considered "trendy" ( I hate that word), might it be difficult to find replacement appliances in the future? For example, the fridge dies down the road and you need a new one. Will you be able to find one with the same finish as your stove and dishwasher? I'm guessing stainless will still be around, but not sure about slate. Opinions?

I, too had a very hard time choosing what to do with my golden oak cabinets: to restain or paint. I even paid a designer to come in and give her opinion but that still didn't help! So finally, after my husband threatened to use the kitchen money for another project, I made a choice. I went with a creamy white paint on all the cabs except our pantry, which I gel stained a very dark walnut. I love it! We painted the frames ourself and took the doors to a local paint store where they prepped and painted the doors and drawers. To be honest the dark cabs are harder to keep clean-with the dark tone, fingerprints even show. But it's still beautiful so I'm ok with it. I'm out of town, but could post pics later, if you're interested. Good luck!

carolyngarland - Thank you. That's what I'm thinking. I'm sure I'll never love them. I would just be tolerating them.

flopsycat1 - That is definitely something to consider, thank you!

Beth Hanson - If you have a photo, I'd love to see!

I'm definitely leaning towards a white kitchen. I read good things about Nuvo cabinet makeover kits, I may do something like that.

This isn't a great pic but hopefully it gives you an idea of what it looks like.

Here's a better pic of cabs and tile.

Another option to consider would be two toned. Gray on the bottom cabinets and white on the top.

If you plan on staying for a few years I would live with the kitchen as is and put your money and time towards your other renovations. Kitchen styles come and go and tastes change. Then when you are in a position to do a complete kitchen renovation it will be something you love and not dated.

Very nice, Beth! I like it a lot!

Rachel's Mosaics - That's interesting. I'll consider it, thank you :)

I want to do the kitchen cabinets by the end of the year, hopefully. I may try one of those countertop painting kits too. We're going to scrap the wallpaper, remove popcorn, and paint before moving in (kitchen too). The kitchen just needs cabinets painted, painted countertops, and new flooring. We may lay fake wood vinyl shortly after moving in.

It's still a work in progress, but I thought I'd post a small update since people are still reading this thread (got a like). I removed the border above the cabinets and painted the soffit Requisite Gray (Sherwin Williams), like the rest of the living area. I replaced the outlet covers because they were yellow and replaced the 22 year old microwave. Our new laminate flooring goes in on May 1st. It's going to clash the cabinets for a while, but we will be painting the cabinets and replacing the countertops within a year or two. We bought a new fridge and dishwasher before we moved in that matches the microwave in the photo. Removing the dingy border made a huge difference.

Here's another update, with new flooring. We replaced the sink and added blinds when we moved in. We still plan on paying someone to paint the cabinets, but we're not rushing. :) The oven will eventually be replaced to match the other stainless appliances.

That microwave looks too big for that space?

It really isn't much bigger than the one that was put in back in 1995. If the soffit wasn't there, I'd raise the cabinets above the microwave up a couple inches, but that's not an option. It's a convection microwave.

The old microwave looked too big too. Maybe replace with a hood vent and put microwave elsewhere. What's the clearance?

Floors are nice, green undertones clash a bit with red cabs but definitely an improvement!

Also undercab lighting would help a lot.