I painted my cherry cabinets grey and i am so happy. Paint them

By “putting in the effort” do you mean doing it yourself? It’s a huge job, and if not done right will lead to bubbles, chips, etc.. I’d say just fix them up a little, and wait for a real remodel.

I was thinking about doing it myself, but if it that big of a job, maybe hiring a professional would be better

oh my that is beautiful! I may just have to get it done!

did you paint them yourself? or hire someone?

There are so many before & after photos online of cherry cabinets painted white - the result is very dramatic and beautiful. You will have a much brighter & lighter kitchen- go for it!!

If your goal is to truly brighten up the area I would suggest you paint the cabinets-especially since they are not in perfect condition to begin with. If you go the painting route-please provide us with the finished results.

absolutely! thank you so much everyone for your input!!! it looks like we are going to have to find someone to paint the cabinets!

They will look so nice painted!

We had our older white cabinets repainted professionally and it is amazing. The paint has a nice finish that looks just like new cabinets or better!

Be sure the white you choose goes with or matches your counter's white color. There are many versions of white to choose from, so go to the paint store and bring home ten or twelve color cards to compare. Also a nice washable or dry-cleanable area rug would add color and a comfortable place to stand while working in the kitchen....a multicolor rug will show less drips.

Yes, have them painted.

I recommend going into Home Depot's kitchen showroom. The Thomasville cabinets has a color 'Dove' it's softer and richer than bright white but also not a hue of cream. It will also match the tones in your back splash and counter top. You'll be able to match the color.

Get a couple of bids and have them painted for you. Make sure though that who ever does the work that they close off the kitchen and cover the vents. Doors should be taken off, taken to their facility and spray painted.

We just finished remodeling our kitchen with white cabinets. Although they look beautiful it shows all! Drips on front of the pullout trash can, dust in the corners of the cabinets, and we love to cook. Every day I’m wiping off some drip off of the cabinet front. I would look into a light gray. You have at least 3 wood tones going on in your kitchen, your cabinets, floor, table and not sure about the chair. Best of luck

Yes! Your kitchen will look so much brighter. As for cleaning them, they don’t get any more dirty than f they were dark. You just see it and clean it off instead of letting it stay there because you can’t see it. The dirt is still there on dark cabinets and still needs to be cleaned.

You need an actual cabinet refinisher not a house painter and it will not be cheap but done properly it will look like a brand new kitchen. I would however not bother if there is anything you do not like about the layout , in which case save the money for a redo. A counter depth fridge is also a big change in small kitchens

I say paint them!

We are in the process of painting our cabinets. We have 40+ doors and drawers. It's taking way longer than I had anticipated, as my husband does it on his weekends, and sometimes, we just don't get to it on his "weekend". It's a lot of sanding and prepping, but it's worth it for us. We are saving thousands. However, we started out with builder grade cabinets that were in really good shape. We have no plans to redo the kitchen at a later date, so we knew that painting them ourselves was the way to go.

If you hire someone to paint your cabinets, make sure they are going to do the prep work required, and that they use the right kind of paint. Some will say they need a conversion varnish. Ask lots of questions, find out their entire process. If the quote is cheap, they are probably cheaping out on the process. Those kinds of paint jobs don't last very long.

I would either paint them a creamy white or do a faux finish the same as your kitchen table top! Love the backsplash - so pretty.

thank you my husband did it and it was his first tile job! very proud of him!

If you don't want to commit to one color, you can pain the bottom ones a gray or another color and do the top ones white. Regardless, I think you will like how going with a lighter color will brighten up the room.

We painted our ugly slab cabinets 33 years ago.

First, we removed the pulls - threw them out - garbage.

We did NOT remove the doors from their hinges - we suspected there was MDF in there somewhere and DH was afraid the screw holes would get bigger and they'd never fit right again. We simply painted around them.

DH did some light sanding to remove any gloss - there was not much. Then, we went over them with Mineral Spirits. Then DH washed them with that stuff one buys at a paint store to remove any grease/grim before painting.

We allowed them to dry thoroughly.

I honestly do not remember if we primed them or not -it was over 33 years ago. We probably did - DH was big on priming things.

We chose to only paint the doors on the outside and the frames and outsides on the ends of the cabinets. We didn't want the doors to stick and it was a LOT less painting.

We used oil-based high gloss enamel paint. I remember we gave them two coats. They had plenty of time to dry as this was mostly done on weekends, like you are doing.

The finish never chipped and looked great when we repainted them (color change!) about 20 years later. Those held up until the kitchen was gutted two years ago and cabinets replaced.

I think the key was using oil-based enamel. I know it's not available anymore in some states. I also think the fact there were no young children in the house who were allowed to use the cabinets as an indoor jungle gym helped. THere were teens in there some of the time, but I never allowed my children to abuse anything.

THey wiped off beautifully, using any spray kitchen cleaner.

I'm sure a sprayed catalytic paint would have looked better - brush strokes were visible - but it certainly did last. THe cabinets were cheap RTA ones. It delayed that kitchen gutting until I could afford to do so, albeit 31-32 years later!

I had someone that does various handy man jobs do it for me. Between the sanding and painting it took a week. And my kitchen is bigger than what you see in the pics. But dont paint with kitchen and bathroom paint. Use something like Ben Moore advantage.

Paint them! I highly recommend General Finshes Milk Paint and a microfiber roller. Because you have crown molding so close I would paint the cabinets white to match or go with a different color. An off white next to that bright white trim will look off IMO. GEneral Finishes has a lot of nice colors.

Make sure you use an enamel paint. Enamel means it dries to a hard surface. Go at least a Semi-Gloss.

Prime with a bonding primer to promote adhesion.

Wash with Dawn dish soap or TSP (TSP substitute) to remove grease and grime.

Rinse thoroughly and let dry overnight.

Sand between coats. before the final coat, wet sand with 320 grit sanding block.

Remember, the more work you put into the prep, the better results you get.

I used powdered dirtex to clean our cabinets. TSP needs several rinses to wash off, and I didn’t want to wait for it to dry. Enamel is stinky, and if you are painting in the house, that can be problematic if you have children, especially. There are good alkyd paints out there. Some are pricier than others.

Lots of opinions on painting out there. Just do your research and spend as much time as you can on prep. I used the advice of our paint company and blogs, etc to decide how we were going to do ours. So far, so good.