The solid oak cabinets are 26 years old and the stain is worn around the knobs. The cabinet maker who will do the work says it would be impossible to match the current colour. I need help with decisions. Question - Stain oak cabinets brown/gray or lacquer white? If we go for the lacquer should the island be a different color and if so , what colour? I am the type of person who does not go trendy for items that are hard to change. Kitchen faces north and floor are 1 /4" oak that are unstained and have water based urethane. Plan to change double oven to stainless steel single oven and add convection/microwave counter top with trim kit so it will look like 1 unit. Microwave shelf to go and be cut back to depth of upper cabinets and be replaced with cabinet door that opens up. Would like to keep vent hood as nothing wrong with it and would replace with same model, only stainless steel We replaced the counter top with Giallo Veneziano granite about 7 years ago and back splash with glass subway tiles that are a beige. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have not committed to anything yet and am having difficulty making decisions.

It looks great - you also changed your counter. We plan to keep our. I have seen on houzz and pinterest lots of white kitchens with the same granite. Question - How did your kitchen feel when you went from dark wood to white? Did you miss seeing the wood features? I think one of the reasons I am hesitating is that I have difficulty painting solid oak.

Thanks for the pictures. How did you feel when you went from a dark stain to white?

Pleaseeeeeee save your wood. Check into the lacquer. You will find I think that it is not water resistant. It is for furniture that sits away from work or plumbing areas, like coffeetables. .... Polyurethane seals the wood and prevents water from absorbing into the wood grain around the knobs and pulls and swelling it and turning it black...if it is stained wood. You can take something called LAVA soap, and a fine grit sand paper and remove the sealant from the wood. Than you can apply the polyurethane over what is there, or you can add a dye to that sealant which will make the wood apear more red, brown, black, mahogany, as you see fit. I know that painters love to work with lacquer products, they dry quickly, do not run etc. Maybe you really need a different person to work on your wood? You can make them a bit darker, but I don't understand why they are telling you it is impossible. That makes me think you need someone with more expertise. I hope a commenter here can confirm what I am sharing and give you directions on how to help you with your cabinet dilemna....

I have the same dilemma re: lacquering wood. Right now there are different shades of the cream dove in the cabinets so I guess they are already different tones. We will still need to colour match as I would really like to get rid of the microwave shelf and will need to add the door on the shelf which will be rebuilt where the double ovens are as the new ovens will be different dimensions. After 26 years I feel I want a change. We have lots of the cream dove colour in our home - mantel surrounding fireplace, bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace, and railing on stairs. My husband says he does not like the dark wood but will go along with what I decide. I would hate to stain and then not like it myself. I tried to find a program that would let me see the different colours - found one on Armstrong flooring, added my pictures, but could not navigate any changes. As I do not plan to change the granite or back splash, I need a colour that coordinates. I also want to have the kitchen feel updated - I am not sure if the current colour is old style. Thanks so much for the feedback. I did not see how to add more than 1 picture - this is a picture with the window.

still checking out stain colours - what about this one?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/oakland-hills-transitional-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~22425038

Lacquer is not a suitable choice for kitchen cabinets. You need a catalyzed conversion varnish, from someone who is familiar with the large amount of labor involved in spraying cabinets successfully.

The doors and drawer fronts should be sprayed offsite, in a clean room. And the in house spraying needs a lot of plastic sealing off the room to create a booth there.

Conversion varnish is all my custom cabinet maker will use. Because it is durable.

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