I have done both. I recently refinished my cabinets myself. I have a smallish kitchen and it took me several weeks. I did not work on it all day - several steps require waiting, so I would put stripper on at night, strip the next morning, sand the following afternoon etc. I had sort of an assembly line of cabinets in different stages of refinishing. The stripping is a bit messy so best done in a garage or other area that can stand being a mess for a while.

I have painted others. Painting is quicker and in some ways easier, but not always the best for a long term finish on wood. Both require patience and attention to detail to get a good look. I know some have applied gel stain on top of old finish cabinets. I am uncertain as how that wears long term and it really is using gel stain like a paint rather than a stain.

If this is a short term fix while you save up for new cabinets, then give it a try. If you want your cabinets to look good for longer, get recommendations from your local reputable paint store for good cabinet painters and refinishers and get some quotes. While I under stand you want to change the wood tone if you refinish, it is possible to have just a few cabinets done at a time which can help spread out the cost. That is easier to live with if you stay close to the tone you already have. Many times it is the finish that has yellowed over time, and the actual mid-tone wood color can be very pretty.

There are lots of good paint tutorials online. A good one will include a deep cleaning, de-glossing if shiny, two coats of a good bonding primer (I like Zinsser 123) and two coats of a good cabinet paint - I use a latex acrylic enamel. Again, your local paint store guy / gal can usually be helpful in getting the supplies together. You do not need to strip if you are painting.

For stripping, I like the Citristrip stripper. It is gentle and environmentally safe stripper - but it is a messy job. Follow the label directions, especially the part where you neutralize the stripper with a thorough washing with mineral spirits - otherwise your new finish will not take. I usually had to treat an area twice to get all the old finish off. Test all stains on the back of a drawer box or other hidden spot. The difficulty with oak, if you have oak, is a tendency for the grain to suck up the stain and get really dark, even if you are staining dark. I refinished some of my original kitchen cabinets for a basement kitchenette and I did them dark - they came out rather rustic, which is fine for where they going. For my main kitchen, I ended up using a gel stain as a stain (over unfinished wood, not over a finish). Gel stains absorb less into the grain and you might want to consider trying out one if the regular stains give too much "zebra effect" - dark grain, light wood.

I have a few pics of my kitchen in my idea book. There is also a pic of my laundry room - those are my original kitchen 1970's cabinets painted - a long time ago, back when cute stencils were in - and I lean a bit to shabby chic / vintage anyway:)

thanks a lot JHMARIE for the detailed instructions, great to hear from someone who has gone through this job themselves :)

I hope it goes well for you:)