It looks nice but the pictures are deceiving...it is very dark in the kitchen so trying to brighten it up. The family room and kitchen all have dark wood work but the rest of the house has a creamy white wood work and it makes such a difference! Also trying to make it look less "builder grade" and what you see in every other house in our neighborhood!

I don’t know. That is a lot of beautiful wood work going on. Can you lighten your wall paint color and change out the carpet (runners) to lighter/brighter (maybe even white) and art work too? You have lots of natural light with a window and sliding glass door.

You mentioned builder grade. Change your light fixtures to sparkly bright ones that might make a difference too.

Before painting the cabinets, I'd try...

removing the over the range microwave hood and cabinet and replacing it with a pretty stainless steel chimney hood

painting the walls off white or the lightest color in your counter/backsplash

adding undercabinet lighting

changing ceiling lighting if you don't have 35 lumens per square foot

changing the dining area rug

hiring someone to rearrange your existing cabinets to get rid of the high corner upper and the uppers on the sink wall.

painting the island

then as a last resort paint the cabinets

I would start by painting the walls a creamy white; lighten your rugs; new light fixtures and paint your island.

If you paint the cabinets before addressing the other issues, you will still have a dark and non-sparkling kitchen. Follow bejesbride's advice and then see if you still feel the need to paint.

The cabs have Crown at the top and don’t look builder grade to me, in fact white would suggest builder grade more than the beautiful wood you have now. Maybe replace some solid upper doors with glass doors and glass shelving to lighten it up. I would worry paint would wear off around the handles that get daily use. Looks like there is plenty of lighting, but have you checked to see if you are using the maximum wattage bulbs? Don’t worry if your cabs look like your neighbors, because accessories and furnishings make it your personal style.

you have all of that other dark wood. just painting the top cabs wouldn't look right. if you want to lighten it up, do what was recommended, above, first. I'd also consider taking down those giant wood header trims above the slider and the other doorway, and just leaving the same trim width as the actual door casing.

if you painted, what would you do w/the pantry door or the fridge cabinet? leave it? it's still going to be dark. In reality, all you'd be doing is painting 6 upper cabinets? I don't know about that.

is it a one story? can you do a skylight? It doesn't even look dark. I think you'd have to paint all of that wood to get it light how you want it. try upgrading the lighting first. Is that your dining table? Perhaps doing a glass table would help? lighter chairs?

The acacia floors are beautiful w/the wood though.

I would add glass inserts to the cabinet doors on either side of the stove. You can use frosted, textured or even mirrored glass if you don’t want the contents showing. The reflective nature of the glass will help bounce light around. If you use clear glass, paint the inside of the cabinets the same as the wall color, to add lightness.

Thanks all...these pictures are from the listing so the items not attached to the wall aren't mine :)

I do love the slider and window but both go out onto our covered deck so that is what stops quite a bit of the light coming in!

I've been searching for new lighting over the island and table but sadly haven't found anything I like in my budget. I would like to get something with a mixed metal look so I can slowly change out the silver hardware to either oil rubbed bronze or gold (so a mix of one of those and silver). I'll continue that search!

I've also been tempted to do some glass fronts but haven't pulled the trigger so now I'm motivated!

We had our last kitchen refaced and painted and it turned out so beautiful so maybe I'm just missing that kitchen and trying to recreate it here :(

Thanks everyone!

You can use Benjamin Moore's virtual painter to give you an idea of how it would look. I think a creamy white would look strange without painting the walls.

But if you painted the walls and had lighter rugs it does lighten it a lot more than you would think. I'm not saying to use these colors, but you get the idea:

I prefer your existing kitchen.

Flbq’s second photo looks really nice. I agree with everyone else and start with walls, accessories and lighting. I like the kitchen as is

Your wall (and ceiling) color is too drab, that's what's bringing down the color temp in your kitchen. Try something closer to a crisp warm white, the woodwork on those cabinets is very charming, I'd strongly suggest not painting them before exhausting other alternatives.

Liking everyone's suggestions for painting the walls, bringing in more lighting and brighter accessories. Easier way to go, too.

I agree with many of the suggestions already made. I prefer a white kitchen, but would not paint your entire kitchen. Maybe just the island and lighten the table with glass or painted chairs, maybe a new rug. I love the picture of your kitchen with the white walls!

Thanks all, the items in the picture aren't mine...they are from the listing pictures when the house was for sale so I think my items (rugs, etc) look better (or at least my personal style!) but going to take the other suggestions and try them out before painting the cabinets!

I have same wood bottom cabinets as yours and I did the uppers in cream, and I love the look.

Why don't you live with the kitchen for a while with your own things? It flows beautifully with the adjoining space. The glass-fronted cabinets someone suggested would be great as would lighter walls and new, more elegant pendants. Add undercabinet lighting if you don't have it and while you're at it, light the possible glass-fronted cabinets and put beautiful dishes/glassware/pottery in there. Add to the elegance of your kitchen with some lovely Oriental carpets.

white uppers and navy bases would be amazing!!

How would you get a sense of flow from the elegant dining room, which opens to the kitchen, if the cabinets were painted white or white and navy? Look how much choppier the kitchen looks in the Photoshopped image above where flbq "painted" the cabinets. Everything is broken up, and that's what you'll be looking at from the dining room. The two spaces need to echo each other.