A photo is really needed. But, I have to agree with your husband. It is not easy to paint cabinets and do it right. Yes, many people paint their kitchen cabinets and it looks nice. But, for many DIYers, it only looks great for a while. Kitchen cabinets really need professionally painted, sanded, painted again, etc. Staining is an option too. I'm a DIYer and only painted my cabinets as a temporary "fix" knowing that I was gutting the kitchen in a few years. (and yes, we gutted it!). lol

Show us a picture to better help with your design style goal.

If your cabinets are "pretty" maple..I wouldn't paint them! There are other ways to brighten a space with lighting, backsplash and wall color (and island color).

Thanks. We are waiting for our contracts to be finalized, it should be done tomorrow hopefully, then I will add some pictures. I have to wait, long story.

White was the color I was thinking about for the kitchen counters. I am open to anything. And eventually we will gut the kitchen, I want thick wood planked floors, a beautiful tile back splash, white/grey counters and white cabinets eventually. But we can't afford that for a while so I have to try and make it look somewhat better and to more of my taste.

I mean kitchen cabinets, woops. It's late! And thanks.

Hi rcheltrvel, marie here.
You can paint your cabinetry - but you must adhere to a very strict regime.
Painted cabinets normally only get 3-5 years of use after painting.
Process is: TSP clean, sand, clean, sand, clean, sand, clean - each sanding progressively going to finer grit sand paper. Then, once all the cleaning and sanding is complete, you do 2-primer coats, with sanding inbetween of very fine sand paper - wiped clean, then you go to 3 to 4 thin coats of semi to high gloss paint with sanding inbetween, and finally finish off with a lacquer coating for protection.

If your kitchen is large, and cabinetry is fairly new - then I probably wouldn't paint them - especially the cherry. But a maple and cherry kitchen is not modern french country -
french country is a mix of soft gray, green, blue, white - earthy wide plank flooring -

Black granite is fine - and, black and white kitchens are lovely - that's a lot of painting though.
I just renovated a kitchen where client hated the maple cabinetry - so we ripped out her kitchen island and replaced that with new countertops and backsplash throughout - kept the perimeter maple cabinets - her entire kitchen looks brand new by just replacing the island -

This is what I suggest for you - replace the island cabinetry to better fit your new aesthetic - donate the existing cabinetry to Habitat for Humanity or someone who can use them

I think Marie just beautifully illustrated by point that DIY (even done correctly) painted cabinetry is not an easy task nor good for longevity!