I think your kitchen is lovely.

I would paint them white. Nice and bright. It will give an airy feeling to the kitchen!

What if you change your backsplash white? You said you didn't like it. It might work to brighten it up enough for you. If that turns out to be not enough then paint your cabinets at that time. I think white cabinets would look great but if you have a lot of white going on in the house and don't want to be too monotone then I understand.

I do not love dark cabinets, my neighbor does, so different like for different people. Since the cabinets have already been painted (DIY or professional - paint or gel stain? - are they formerly light oak?) I see no problem with painting them again.

One thing to check on is the soundness of the previous paint job. Sometimes people cut corners when painting older cabinets to sell a home. Is the paint chipping off at all? If the current paint job seems sound, go ahead and have them painted again. If you are not a DIY person, I suggest getting a professional to do the job.

Do you think it would make it look lighter if you o my painted the island?

Beautiful cabinets! I would not paint them, at least right away. Live with them for a while before you take on the task of having them painted or painted them yourself. You may grow to like them!

Thank you for the quick comments!

@acm, @Bev, I would prefer to live with them a while too instead of rushing into it, but we have painters at the house now (had water damage in March and have been living in a hotel since!), so we were hoping to knock it out now if we decide to get them painted. I suppose the painters can always come back. :-P

@jhmarie, I'm pretty sure they were professionally done and we would also use pros to repaint them white. Not sure if they were paint or gel stain, but it isn't chipping off at all -- they actually look very new. I guess that's part of why I'm hesitant. What if we paint over these beautiful cabinets and we hate it?? Or... we could love it. I just don't know!

@Magda, I would like to get the backsplash replaced eventually, but that seems like a more expensive and daunting task than just painting the cabinets. Also, I'm not sure white backsplash would make as big of a difference in brightening the room since they're already pretty light.

I like contrast between floors and cabinets so would paint them and paint your island a slightly darker shade pulled from your backsplash. I tend to like islands to be either the same color as cabinets or darker but never lighter than the cabinets. But that's a personal preference.
Search Houzz kitchen photos where floors and cabinets are both dark and see how you respond to those photos. That will help you determine if you want to paint.
Good luck!

I love white cabinets, but it really depends on what you like. If you have dark floors I personally wouldn't go with dark cabinets.

I would think dark floors and cabinets would make it dark and small...

If you like your cupboards and you like your floors then runners in a light colour will help to brighten the place, not a huge expense and you can focus on other parts of the house.

paula7658, where would you put runners? Are you talking about table runners or a long skinny rug?

Long skinny rug on the floor so your dark floors still show but the runner breaks up the mass of dark wood.

As someone with dark cabinets I at this time wouldn't touch them. They are a classic elegance. You say you have a lot of white throughout the rest of your home so this would be a splash of the unexpected. I would say to change the backsplash for sure. The cream tones are not right with the countertop. Choose a white there with maybe a stainless accent that takes away from being just white. Painting the island could be nice but not in white. A light grey. Your kitchen is not dark with that big opening. I really think just changing the backsplash is all that's needed. Besides, I heard the other day that dark cabinetry is making a comeback!

Assuming you are not planning on changing backsplash or countertops and only focusing on cabinet color...there is nothing that says you can't do more than one color. Check out Houzz and you'll notice that lower cabinets are usually darker, upper cabinets are usually lighter and the island could be a third color (grey). If it was me, I'd do white cabinets around the perimeter of the kitchen and paint the island grey. However, i'd remove the two wall cabinets on either side of the sink and install open shelves. Plus, I'd change out all the door hardware. If that is too much white, keep the lower cabinets the dark, paint the uppers white, the island grey. Just a thought.

In case anyone was wondering, we lived with the dark cabinets and dark floors for a month, then decided to take the plunge with white cabinets and a medium gray island (Sherwin Williams Dovetail Gray). I think it really brightens up the kitchen and makes it look bigger. It was very dark and serious before. I feel like the paint added a breath of fresh air! I was also glad to see how well the gray went with the granite color.

Of course, now I feel like the backsplash really has to go. :-P Home improvement never ends!

yay!

Arabesque tile for the backsplash or a small mosaic.

I'd love that Arabesque tile, maybe in a glossy gray?? I like glossy white but seems like that would be too much white. Either way, we will probably have to live with the backsplash for a while :(

I personally think that white cabinets will look much better, specially if rest of house light. I normally don't mind dark cabinets but in dark room with dark floors it is too much. Just make sure they do it well.

Very nice! Good choice :).

I just remodeled my kitchen with dark cherry cabinetry. Just got a new island light, and we haven't painted the ceiling yet, but you get the idea of how it looks. I LOVE it! IMHO, in about 10 years the white cabinets will look dated, but natural wood is forever. Think about the turquoise and olive green phase that everyone had to have. It isn't a unique, custom kitchen if we do what everyone else does, right? What do you all think?

Looks beautiful!