What a great kitchen space! I would have them painted if you're ready for a change. I have seen them turn out beautifully. New hardware could change the look a lot too. There will be more contrast with your floor and countertop which will be pretty.

Painting the cabinets is a big step. I would change out the black appliances to stainless first. It's amazing how much doing that will update the look of the kitchen. The drawer pulls and knobs are also outdated, so I would try changing a few of them to a brushed stainless or nickel and see how it looks. Then see if you still want to paint. If you do, then go for it.

Thank you for the replies - agree 100% with the appliances - starting immediately with the fridge... unfortunately the double wall oven and dishwasher are relatively new ( sigh) .... other dilemma is the doors have partially concealed hinges which required the wood door to have a small cut out - so I'm stuck with the exposed hinge ( sigh) making me wonder if the cost of a professional paint job would be worth it in the end with the exposed hinge. Will it still say "I'm a 90's kitchen".

There is no guarantee what will be on trend in 5 years (or how well the painted cabinets will hold up over that time). Additionally, there are a lot of buyers that are not wild about painted cabinets. My daughter is currently looking at houses. Every time that she sees a house that has been "updated" by painting wood cabinets, it is a major detractor for her because she knows that she has to gut the whole kitchen before moving in. My husband and I felt much that same way when we bought our house a few years ago. As a result, resale would not be a deciding factor for me in making this decision.

If you and your husband (should you convince him) are in love with painted cabinets, by all means do it to make yourselves happy.

Five years is forever; design what you like for now!

I would leave your cabinets and update the counter tops and back splash and fridge. There are more people than perceived that like wood cabinets over painted. Painted cabinets are a downgrade in my opinion. Search "cerused oak" it's a French technique where you rub lime wax into the wood grain, and it gives it a lovely aged yet updated look. I would do something like that or stain them darker before ever painting.

I would paint the walls first. The funky green wall color is dragging the space down. I would paint the walls white.

There is another post right now in which the poster painted their cabinets a few years ago and now they are chipping. The poster has also seen a professionally painted kitchen that is also chipping. There are many people here who have reported their kitchen looks great after many years of a paint job. If you are not one of the fortunate, your kitchen could look a little worn in 5 years. I often worn people who are painting, especially if painting oak, to look on it as a way to buy time while they start saving for new cabinets.

Consider changing to a stainless hood rather than the over the stove microwave when you change out appliances. It will work better as a vent, open up the cooking area, and be overall more attractive.

100% no question. Absolutely do not paint the cabinets. They are beautiful. I like both your counters and backsplash too. Just change appliances.

Birch is a very difficult wood to produce a cerused finish on.

I like the cabinets. I'd try different hardware on them and a different wall color. It is not the right shade of green.