Painting pantry door and baseboards not an option. Hubby vehemently opposed to it

(Paint patches are us realizing gray won't work here.)

You could have them painted, although I think your kitchen might be too small for espresso, which would be super dark.

How about if I just paint the island? We are looking at changing countertops, I forgot to mention

If you are not going to paint the pantry then do not paint any of the cabinets. It would not look right.

Elyce, thanks for putting it into perspective. I know the cabinets are nice. I think I'm just looking for some pop!

Changing the lighting and the countertops is a good idea......and a new kitchen table.

Keep the cabs as is…remove, spray paint black and replace cabinet hardware.

Paint the walls B.M November Rain as a compliment to the light tile in the backsplash. It is a great color for natural wood. Have used it often with clients who want to keep their cabinets natural.

consider ss appliances, your black fridge is the Worst Offender in your 'lack of pop' kitchen. (and it would look even worse with your cabinets painted)

and then suggestion 2... could you live without the upper cabinet to the right of the window? getting rid of uppers is the new big thing, and that one is really pretty big. you could replace it with open shelves if you are a fan of those, or art. even a single shelf at the height of the cabinet bottoms would be good. its a long way from the stove (source of mess), your glassware would be pretty there.

to test: find another spot for everything in that cabinet.

painting is the solution sometimes for damaged cabinets, but not a solution for boredom.

If what you want is pop, I'd put the money into a stainless fridge (yes, it will cost you several thousand dollars to have the cabinets painted properly) and a new flushmount light fixture, honestly.

Can't tell though -- in the second photo, the cabinets over the microwave actually look damaged; if that's so, then I'd paint them all rather than going for any kind of stain. Can't see espresso, though, as I think it would end up feeling like a cave. Cream will be bright, for sure, and go with your floor, but I don't know whether that's to your taste. Will try Photoshop in a minute...

(p.s.) gray paint is possible, but you need to bring your chips to the floors first, and find a (warm) gray shade there. anything as blue as your samples will look bad with your current kitchen and will still look bad with any color of paint that went with the flooring...

I like your cabinets as they are currently.