I would paint every last bit of it white!

ugh this is called the domino effect in design I say LOL

Really you need to decide your budget and how far you want to go. Hypothetically you could just renovate the kitchen and keep the maple in the adjacent great room - do you want to is the question?

What color were you thinking of painting the kitchen cabinets? Your back splash is very distinctive in style and you may want to find something else to coordinate with your black counters - then decide your cabinet colors. Meaning: find the one thing you LOVE and really really really want in your updated kitchen. Then use that to guide you in your subsequent decisions.

Thoughts?

Thank you. Yes this has spiraled from just getting new carpets to the hardwood to the walls and cabinets not to mention the powder room. :-) Decided we should put more time and money in to do it right and tie it all together. Trying to figure out where the most reasonable place to stop is. From the little research I've done it seems my best option for painting the kitchen cabinets is white.?? Good point on the back splash. Maybe that will open my eyes to something different or maybe just a different shade of white. We may do the island in a different color. I'm thinking we'd also want to paint the living room built ins. Beyond that there is so much maple in the trim, the railing, the doors. Wondering if I could paint the kitchen cabinets and living room built ins without painting all. Of course I'd rather not spend the money if not necessary but I'm worried it's going to look half done. This is probably a bad idea but could I paint the window in the kitchen white along with the cabinets and leave the rest of the trim? Here's a another photo of the living room to give a better idea of the maple trim and how the 2 rooms flow together. Thanks for your ideas!

Painting just the trim is something I had not thought of. Thanks for the photos to heIp me visualize. I guess it's the yellowing of the cabinets that is bothering me so I feel something needs to be done with those. If the maple cabinets were still a nice natural maple color I would probably leave them.

I love maple, but you do have a lot of it. I think that is the problem.....it is easy to get sick of it when it is everywhere (that goes for any wood color or paint color for that matter).

I think if you can paint some of it, it will freshen things up and feel more updated for you. For example, I think it would look great to paint the cabinets, built ins, mantle, and maybe the spindles on the stair rail white, but leave the trim, windows and doors maple. Add a new wall color, and you have a totally new look, while still having the warmth of wood (just not as heavy of a dose of it. ;-)

The wood you have is nice and appears to be in good shape.....I don't think you need to go crazy painting all of it. I would go in "phases" and live with it a while after each change. You might not feel the need to paint everything. And you can always continue painting if it feels like you need to do more. But it is much harder to "undo" the paint everywhere.

Here is the opposite - painting the cabinets and leaving the trim - but these examples may not be maple. I know some are not.

It's hard to tell on my screen, but the cabinets do not look too yellow. Maybe it's the colors around them that is bringing out a more yellow tone. Maybe a soft sage green or a blue with some gray in it on the walls would help bring it back to a more natural tone.

Thanks. Good point. I could always paint more later. Painting in phases seems like good advice.

You may want to try a new paint color and a new backsplash first as they are the most dated elements..and the easiest to update...if you are still unhappy with the color and to preserve the natural wood finish...another option is to sand the cabinetry..perhaps even bleach and put a matte finish over it for a super warm but very contemporary look...don't know how involved you wish to be ..but the sanding part can be a DIY project that only requires patience ..not so much expertise...

Good ideas! Starting with the walls makes a lot of sense and will make a big difference in a short period of time.

The red/orange color on the walls is making the maple seem more yellow than it is. Get rid of that color and go with a soft green/grey and your problem may be minimized.

The only other option I would consider would be painting the cabs white and leaving all the trim alone. But it would require painting all the walls that touch the trim white. Still would be easier than painting all the trim. If you look at the examples upthread, you'll notice the white walls. White walls are really the only thing that works with oak trim IMO. And it not only works, it looks phenomenal!

When we bought our house, the kitchen and bathroom cabinets were all white washed oak as were the built-ins and fireplace surround. All of the trim was painted an almond color that looked close to the oak color. The first thing I did was paint all the trim white. Well, most...I'm still not done. The next thing I did was paint the built-ins and fireplace surround white. I still haven't touched the cabinets in the kitchen or bathrooms. I have an excessive amount of cabinets so it's a massive task. I just felt it would make a bigger impact to do the trim first because then the wall color in every single room looked 20x better.

Understand that it's the "sealer / lacquer" that has yellowed...not the wood itself. You can strip the wood and return it to the original "natural" color. Unfortunately, all "sealers" will "yellow" if exposed to the UV rays in sunlight. (Some more quickly than others.) Just keep in mind that you will have to sand all that wood before painting it.

According to Cancork and Sophie, the yellowing of maple is innate to the wood itself in its exposure to light - a photosensitivity. The finish may also have yellowed. Oil base finishes amber more than water based. However, the wood itself turns yellow. I don't know how deep it goes - if it can be sanded off or not, but the new upper layer will just turn yellow again.

@ Artiesmama, Thats because you have no idea what your doing. Why a person would think painting more expensive wood to look like cheap garbage is beyond me.

I have quality oak trim all over my house. Just to compare I gathered pricing for how much it cost to do my 3,500 SQFT (not including basment) in oak trim doors and closets it already has. I didn't add a lot of custom wood work like my hallway, fireplace, ect. I also gathered how much to replace it with white. With thick colonial trim. double arch solid core doors to paint white. Keep in mind the prices I came up with is just for materials. For all the oak, it was around $7,000. All white was around $1,700. Now your telling me this is smart to paint it because some bozo magazine says its outdated? I'd have to have some serious psychological problems.

jhmarie...I stand corrected. I have stripped and sanded maple furniture back to "natural", I was not aware it would "yellow" if left unsealed.

Paint the trim only. The kitchen is fine. Try a different wall color instead of red.

Thank you everyody for your comments!!! It seems there is a consensus that painting the walls will make a huge difference! Maybe I'll start with the walls, refinish the floor and swap out the carpet and then take a look at the cabinets and go from there. I really appreciate all of your ideas!

Please do not change your beautiful floors!!! I would extend them throughout the first floor! They are classic and work with anything. Paint the walls.....please no gray.....change the backsplash to something lighter, and possibly change the countertops. Your home is gorgeous! Do not try to make it like every trendy one that is out there.

KBSch - you home is beautiful and I think you have done a good job of weeding through the opinions given and taking it step by step.

To summarize:

• hold off on refinishing the kitchen cabinets
• consider updating the back splash with something that you fall in LOVE with and create a focal point there(of course it has to coordinate with the maple and black counters unless you decide to swap out your counters)
• paint the walls a different color (which I think needs to continue into the living area as well) and hold off on changing your windows and doors
• IMO darkening the floors would provide the anchoring that is lacking now

Let us help you select the perfect wall color and back splash and floor stain!

Thoughts?

Thank you. These comments are really helping me slow down and rethink!

I was originally thinking sherwin williams mega greige beccause I saw a home photo here that I loved (sounds grey but seems more taupe). I agree, we would continue whichever color we decide into the living room. Hesitant to swap counter tops if we can work with them - they are actually "tan brown". I haven't even begun to think about the backsplash yet but I'll make that my next priority. Getting a quote on extending hardwood into living room. I was thinking staining slightly darker but we have 2 big dogs (huskies who shed a ton) and I worry if I go too dark dog hair and scratches will show.

Here's a photo of the granite. Would appreciate any backsplash ideas. Thanks so much!!!

You have nice tops but dark colors suck in a ton of light. But you have light cabinets so I guess its ok. You could get greyish counter tops. But don't get anything that resembles your cabinets. You want a contrast.

Dark floors do show everything. I see people making comments all the time that its constant cleaning but they don't care cause they love them. LOL Yeah right, love them cause their stuck with them but I bet they wouldn't do it again.

chiflipper - Cancork said on an older post that there is a "very expensive" finish that can be put on maple to block or retard the yellowing - but she did not name the finish. You could try contacting her for more info.

Here is the quote:

Maple is a wood that turns yellow in sunlight. This has nothing to do with the finish but everything do do with photosensitivity of Maple. That pretty, light blond colour will dissappear and turn to a margarine yellow. This is normal and natural for Maple. Only a VERY expensive product can prevent or delay this yellowing.

from: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/oak-or-maple-hardwodd-floors-dsvw-vd~1198799?n=9

Cream subway looks pretty with warm toned wood cabinets:

This is may not be maple, or if it is it is stained, but shows the dark counters with light backsplash:

Lighten the wall colour (3/4 strength or less of the colour you have) and paint window trim white.

Here's an idea for your consideration; these are faux tin tiles. I like the one below because it will lighten up the back splash area, reflect light and most importantly make a pleasing transition from dark granite counters to warm toned maple cabinets.

https://www.houzz.com/products/fasade-terrain-backsplash-sample-cracked-copper-prvw-vr~45230518

you can purchase just one as a sample and prop it up and live with it for a bit to see if it works for you.

Then decide on wall color - IMO going in the gray direction does not coordinate with dark brown/blacks in granite counters.

Tony Montana - I'm sorry that you are having such a difficult time with my opinions! It may help you to understand that I do not read magazines. I prefer the look of painted wood trim *or* white walls with unpainted wood trim. This is my personal preference and I do not choose my preferences based on how much money they cost.

I gave my opinion to the OP who asked for it and he/she is free to dismiss it. I'm just one woman on the internet. I would encourage you to be confident in your own choices so that you can handle when others have their own preferences that differ from yours.

@ Artiesmama, Yes you are entitled to your opinion as so am I. I understand that people have different tastes. But, there must have been a point when a person liked it cause why else would you buy the house? Now that they have gotten used to their surroundings and see some of the dumb things people do on here, they feel the need to change it. If it was really garbage stuff I would be on your side 100%. But what bothers me is that someone coughed up the dough to do this, now someone else comes along that doesn't understand the value of the things they have, changes it. I bet if the OP paid to have it done the way it is now. They would never even consider changing it. Long story short, I just hate seeing good materials wasted. Styles come and go like changing underwear. If you already have quality, leave it alone.

I always think a visit to photos is the best idea to see examples of backsplashes..as they are the tiny creative element that can really express the taste of the homeowner...and somewhat portray the direction of style and decor....perhaps view "kitchen with black(?) stone counters" using the correct color to describe your counters

I think you should paint EVERYTHING with Annie Sloan Chaulk Paint!

NO, do not paint those cabinets. I do agree if the surrounding trim is too much to paint that. The kitchen color choices are also dated which make the wood look dated. Try updating everything else and i think it will come together.

Maple is not a light sensitive wood like walnut or cherry. Of course it will change as it is a natural product. The clear coat is what really alters the color over the years. You could have a pro shoot a color tinted clear to give a different tone but don't pick some dark brown paint. Maple cabinets are not the most expensive species but if you pain them you have painted cabinets with still outdated surrounding room. In other words do everything else first like wall color, backsplash, hardware, etc.

Leave the maple. It is great! Pair it with this off white for the walls throughout the house. This color goes with the floor, cabinets, black accents. No need to add a saturated color to the walls. Add texture with fabric and rugs.

B.M. Snowfall White.

I wouldn't paint anything but the walls.

Some colors to try on:

Thanks again everyone for your input!!! Leaving the cabinets for now and focusing on the rest. I feel good about doing it in steps.

Love the photos with paint samples! I am such an amateur. How do you do that? :-)

Groveraxle rocks.

Still, I vote for switching out your back splash to update it to ultimately improve it's relation to the existing granite counters and THEN selecting wall paint colors.

You are on the right track KBSch!

I would go with lighter paint to blend with the maple unless you are willing to do a major remodeling

KBSch...Just so you know you are not alone in your dilemma. Wood does what wood does. I found THE perfect cherry cabinets and marble for my kitchen...it was LOVE at first sight. After I got my head out of the clouds I realized "the look" would only last for a few years before the cherry cabinets would darken and I wouldn't like the result. So...I selected a painted finish on maple. Yes, it will probably (eventually) show some cracking BUT, the color should remain consistent (very little UV rays reach my kitchen).

The chemist that invents a "clear coat" that totally blocks UV rays AND really "seals" the wood will make a fortune...and I wish it would happen soon.

Light (stained or natural) colored wood cabinets are starting to trend back in style, according to a recent post I read from a design blogger reporting on the latest 2017 kitchen trends. Here is a link, fwiw:http://www.lindaholtinteriors.com/blog/page/2/

From my personal experience, anything red, or with a red or pink undertone, will bring out the yellow color or undertones in adjacent surfaces, and vice versa. there is a name for this phenomena in color theory, but I forget what it is called! So I agree with others here who say that your red walls are probably intensifying the appearance of the yellow undertones in those cabinets. Also, I would think that taupe, which has a pink (purple) undertone, and any greige which also has a pink undertone, will also seem to bring out the yellow in your cabinets more. Perhaps a light, warm, greenish-gray or a very light off-white or cream (with yellow or green, not pink, undertones) would look nice with the cabinets. You can order very large paper samples of up to 15 different paint colors (at one time) from Benjamin Moore for free (and up to 10 of each color, and you can tape them together to create one very large color sample.) This might be a good way to go to try various colors' effects on the maple before purchasing an actual test color sample.

I also have maple cabinets (but honey-spice stained--more of an orange undertone) and just looked at 20 pages of photos on Houzz of "maple cabinets" to see what wall colors I liked with maple cabinets. I found that all the ones I liked, that looked fresh and well-designed, (and either timeless or recently designed) were paired with white or "almost white" wall paint colors. HTH