They look quite nice as is, why paint? The wood (maple?) adds warmth to the space. If you go all gray it will be cold and monotone.

They are very nice maple cabinets and I lived with them for a while to "give them a try". It was a hard decision as I know how many people cringe over painting wood however there is so much in the entire house and it came down to the fact that the maple cabinet color is just not my style.

Unless you are an experienced and patient DIY person, have the cabinets professionally painted. They are a large investment in a home and it is an arduous task.

If you decide to paint, rethink gray. It is very hard to make cool gray work with warm wood tones. The doors and trim in the rest of your home have a warm tone. You would eventually need to paint them also to make the house cohesive. Wood moves with changes in temp and humidity and cracks the paint at the joints. Doors have lots of joints and it will be an upkeep issue to keep them looking nice - same with the cabinets, but is one thing to keep up your kitchen cabinets and another to add every door in the house to that.

Factory painted doors are usually MDF. Factory painted cabinets are MDF or MDF and wood combined - MDF is more stable as to movement so doesn't crack usually. You may actually devalue the interior doors by painting them - paneled wood interior doors are more costly than solid core white MDF doors. In addition, a hand painted surface, whether done professionally or DIY will not be as durable as a factory finish - so all the painted surfaces are going to require upkeep. That said, many people paint their cabinets and are very happy with them - less are incline to do a whole house conversion.

I did paint my dark stained pine in my home and I like the white trim. I kept my cabinets wood. I also like the wood tones in my friends' homes.

You can paint your kitchen white. Then you can paint your trim white if you wish but leave doors wood. You might want to leave your island cabinet wood too. White will allow you to continue to work with the other warm tones in the home. Gray means a whole house paint job - finishing up just about the time gray is no longer in fashion.

It is a good idea to keep some other elements besides just the doors wood - some cabinetry or the fireplace mantel and / or stair banister and treads.

Don't go for gray and spoil the look.

You might consider replacing the knobs and lights instead of full cabinet paint job.

THANK YOU for your thorough advice jhmarie!

We will be hiring a professional and I will definitely keep white in mind as well.

We built our last home with a white/cream kitchen and I loved it but since I painted my entire house Alabaster I thought I needed to add color to the cabinets to break it up a bit?? I also keep looking at the gray kitchens in pictures now and am drawn to them- however I too have been a bit hesitant of the gray matching with the warm wood tones. I thought the grays I chose were "warmer" but maybe not?

And thank you for bringing up the doors, that is another big decision on our minds as well. We've gone back and forth and I have actually grown quite fond and appreciate the wooden doors as is, but the doors AND trim together do look dated or maybe rather "wood overload" as there is also wood on the floors as well... I really like the pictures you attached that show leaving the doors with the white trim. It seems to give it a crisper/updated look.

I would go Acier with the gauntlet grey for the island

I like gray as well. Have you considered painting all bottom cabinets and the island one of the darker grays and keeping the upper cabinets and pantry a gray tone white? I feel this would add interest to the kitchen without making the cabinets a focal point.

robennett1- I like dualtone for cabinets (top/bottom) as well but having the tall pantry throws it off for me. For sure the island though!

we have gauntlet gray on our mudroom cabinets, it is a warm gray and very beautiful

I am so tired of grey! Of course it's your home and not mine, but be aware they grey and wood tones are difficult to work together. Consider a linen color with a deep charcoal island, and perhaps grey-ish counter tops and backsplash.

I would not paint all the cabinets grey. If anything maybe white on top and leave the bottoms.

I would not do gray with that granite a warm creamy white would be a much better choice and i would do the island the same as it is not really a focal point in the space then some fun stools and new stainless knobs. I would also suggest you get these done professionally there is nothing worse than a poor paint job , painting cabinets IMO should always be done in a spray booth

If you are still stuck on grey cabinets, make them quite dark like in pics, one looks like it is stained close to the paint colours

Cabinets I was meant to say not countertop in previous comment BM antique white

I would not paint the cabinets. How about adding backsplash?

If you must paint, don't go gray. Gray is over and done. I would look at a nice darker green which would blend well with floors and doors throughout home. Try some sample boards of BM 2141-40 creek side green. Or BM HC-113 Louisberg Green. I think these colors and tones would work well. You could then do the new aged gold hardware for a really updated look. I will look for some photos with this new look for you.

Something like this. Notice floor is lighter oak. I would go darker than this. Perhaps like this:Darker like the bottom cabinets. This has gray undertones, but would be a nice look especially with a lake house. It would then coordinate with countertops and other elements of your home. Then you could come back with some pendants like these:Age gold pendants over your bar, maybe not this large a scale, but to bring out the golds in the cabinet hardware. I think that combination would bring an updated look to everything. I might even go with a shade of same color and do those cabinets in the family room too, or you could even go black on them. Black is a neutral, and a bit more "modern" in appeal.

In your family room, here are some photos of what you could do with the oak in there if you want to eventually paint that as well and it would be stunning I think. Doing them black with aged gold hardware.

Your unit is smaller than this, but you can see how beautiful this could be. I noticed your sofas look a soft gray? so the black and grays would work together really well. Here is another one and you can see that the TV basically disappears when it isn't on. This unit also has some "subtle" stencil designs in old gold. You could do whatever treatment suits you. While this isn't an entertainment unit, you can see how the black looks with oak woods. It really tones them down, but actually makes them look richer I think. Enjoy!