If you can't replace them you can paint them to a color of your choice

Paint color somewhere between cream and beige or light taupe. Then some brushed Nickle drawer pulls. There are so,e new countertop refinishing products that you might want to consider. Krylon maybe

These have no tooth, so make certain to properly prep and prime.

You can change the doors of the cabinets alone. It's much cheaper than buying new cabinets

Just live with them until you can save to gut those old cabinets. :)

I saw an extraordinary makeover of these very cabinets. I'm sorry I don't have a link and I can't remember where, but I recommend googling cabinet makeover with a description of your cabinets. I think they painted the laminate and darkened the stain on the wood and it was truly amazing.

It's usually not worth just changing the doors of an old kitchen. The doors are the main cost. The boxes are nothing compared to the doors. And then you still have the old cabinets inside, probably not efficiently laid out either. I would just wait and save money until I can do it right.

If you have lots of time on your hands and really want to paint the cabinets, it will be a lot of work and probably not worth it either. Why don't you work in the meantime on an easier project and save up for your dream kitchen?

Strangely enough, I remember having a home built in about 1980 and wanting those cabinets!!! Haven't live there for many years and no, I didn't get the cabinets. BUT I find it interesting when people just say save your money til you can get what you really want. For many people, buying the house stretches them financially and they simply CAN'T save enough to buy new cabinets for a long time. I'd try to find the article Alison recommended.

Nice work robin

Thanks!

Robin! Great job!

Huge improvement!!

I think Robin W just fixed you up, 1prophetess! Getting rid of the contrasting wood trim makes a huge difference! And if you browse Houzz for other kitchens needing help, you will count your blessings! lol

Ps. I think someone above mentioned door pulls. I posted the same query when I started and someone kindly pointed out that you'd have 2 sets of handles which, in reality, would be pointless and look awkward. I tend to agree looking at things now.

Robin, you did an amazing job!

Robin did a great job! Can you give me some tips? I'm also going to try and find Alison's link to. Thanks guy's! You've been a big help.

Coles notes:
Prep prep prep! Take all the doors down and give them a really good wash with TSP then rinse well. Then give them a sanding with a medium grit sandpaper just enough to give the paint something to stick to. I did it by hand to avoid patches (I was working on my basement floor but if you can set up on a higher surface it'd be easier). Wipe them down to get all the fine dust off.
Prime with a good adhesion primer. I used Zinnser 1-2-3 as its designed to adhere to glossier surfaces. I used 2 coats of primer so my paint had lots to stick to.
For paint, I used a paint designed specifically for cabinets - I believe it was a melamine paint so it forms a plastic coating when dry. I won't lie, the handles are bloody hard as you tend to get drips. I sanded them out, but they're not perfect still. You can't tell unless you're up close. It bugs me a bit but I'm also a bit OCD. I put 2 coats of the melamine paint on everything as well.
I added under cabinet LED puck lights from Ikea (about $30 cad for 4 lights).

Hope this helps.

Prophetess, I actually like your cabinets as they currently are. :) Good luck with your remodel, though. :)

Thanks Robin for the step-by-step instructions. I also found Alison's link thro google. (Thank you too Alison!) They purchased a small Valspar color match sample paint from Lowes in a satin finish, purchased a good quality 1 1/2" paintbrush and a 200 grit sand block. Cleaned and sanded the oak trim, brushed on 2 coats of the paint over the trim (while cabinets were hung). Made a template to position the pulls, drilled holes for fronts and attached. All for under $50! WOW!

Good advice, Houzzers! lol I would definitely just do the wood trim while the doors are hanging. You can always come back and do the whole shebang if you're not happy with them.

What if you bought a satiny silver paint and only painted the wood trim, leaving the cabinets white, and giving the look of nickel plated trim. Could look kinda cool! Try one door to see if you like --that way, if you hate it, you can always repaint that door trim white (or heck--go bold and try a color--turquoise? Glossy red?) Just think out of the box and have fun--you can always repaint when you get tired of it.

Flashback for me as well, this was my kitchen when we bought our house as well, and we had bigger issues to tackle than the aesthetics of the kitchen that forced us to put that gut job on the 10-year plan. We put in some more time and money towards our DIY fix. First, we painted the walls a bold purple to distract from them. Then, we put new laminate tiles down over the old laminate. We then got 2x4's from the lumber yard and rented a table saw. We cut pieces to size and nailed to the cabinet fronts to make a shaker-style look (our drawers, inexplicably, were all behind cabinet doors so we didn't have to worry about those for the most part - the one bank of drawers we just removed the cabinet door and faced them with pieces of plywood). We then primed and painted everything a crisp white (I was worried about the paint sticking evenly to the wood and the laminate, but it wasn't an issue). Some hardware and voila! Of course we then had the horrible beige appliances sticking out like a sore thumb, but we had budgeted for those to be replaced within the year anyway! We're living with our countertops, so all that's left is my planned purchase of SmartTiles as a backsplash!

I have the same cabinets that I want to paint. Can I just paint the wooden part and leave the doors, or do I need to repaint the whole thing?

Where can I find these kitchen cabinet doors. I have a townhouse with theses cabinets but two of the doors need replacing. I have been looking everywhere for replacement doors. Anyone know where to find these?

I gotta laugh! like the yellow kitchen; I'm painting mine that color again! And I guess I feel the same about big glaring stainless steel appliances as some do about "horrible" beige ones. What goes around, comes around!

I am looking for two replacement doors too! Anyone know where I can get them?

I have those cabinets too. I painted them using an oil based primer and latex cabinet paint. I washed mine down with TSP first then primed then painted They came out great! Go for it!

As someone else mentioned, I think painting the handles a color would look great.

I had these ugly '80's cabs in kitchen & both baths. In baths I thought it might help a little to paint the wood the same color as the doors. It was a simple fix & made a big difference. Thought of adding handles but decided that cabs aren't worth.
At present I am in the process of rehabbing the kitchen so didn't bother painting those cabs.

I'm looking to replace one of my kitchen cabinet doors with that specific style. Do they still make it?

@skinewyork Can you still see the old pull from the ends when you open the cabinet or is it not that noticeable?

This is genius!