I don’t see any gray in the countertop. If you paint cabinets gray, they will get lost with your walls being gray.
Since you don’t like white, I vote for black.

Thank you for your input so far. That one wall behind the kitchen cabinets I could always repaint a different color if need be. But most of house is Revere Pewter walls

I think the dark color will make the kitchen a cave and the grey will fade into your walls and not fit with your granite. I suggest having the stained darker. Perhaps a walnut.

Stain idea

Here’s what rest of the area looks like on that floor. It’s a 3 level townhouse

I want to paint. Not stain. Also, no cherry cabinets as a painted color because this is 2 townhouses that were joined and therefore 2 kitchens. The other kitchen is going to be turned into a wet bar and party area mainly and keeping the cherry cabinets with similar countertops. So; I don’t want 2 cherry cabinets areas. And, by the time I’d have someone re-stain instead of the cost to paint I could change out the cabinets and countertops for that cost is the reason I want to paint the cabinets to update for now

How about using the color you have on your ceiling? It would flow with the house. I have to say I don’t understand the granite color choice. It doesn’t go well with the rest of the house.

Here’s the other kitchen area going to be more party and wet bar converted by taking out range.

The granite choice wasn’t mine. I bought the house with it and since it’s a pretty new hoose I don’t want to change the granite

Bri - we just did that backslash to update. In person it goes really well

Also, painting will cost as much as staining if not more... at least $5k

There’s more cabinets in the kitchen than in this picture. More on left side. Painting is $3,500

You have options!

Excellent choice on the backsplash; it lends well to a more contemporary style. For the cabinets, the black works best with all existing finishes. The concern is it may start to feel a little too dark. If you are open to it, consider a predominately white countertop.It will help keep the space light as well as serve as a striking contrast against the black cabinetry.

Aurea Stone, Lincoln

The grey looks to have a little too much blue in it to work well with the countertops, but it does look great with your new backsplash. Consider a warmer, more saturated gray and see how it looks with your current palette:

Another option may be to keep the finish of the cabinets as is, eliminate the upper molding, and construct a soffit to meet the top of the upper cabinets. The finish and style of the cabinets over all does not look too outdated. It seems to be the context around them which is dating the space. The recommendation here would also be to change the countertops in efforts to better suite contemporary style and the beautiful new backsplash.

Best of luck with your project!

So my advice isn't going to be something you want to hear. The backsplash matches the contemporary feel of the home, but the cool grey color of it and the pattern clash with the granite. The grey walls are also clashing. Although the cabinet color isn't the most modern, it really isn't the problem area in the space.

The real issue in the kitchen is the countertop. It's an older style of granite that's busy, dark, and doesn't go with anything else in the home. Unfortunately, those proposed cabinet colors are too dark and are going to clash.

You'll be better off replacing the countertops before you paint the cabinets, or going with a white or a stain (I know you don't want white). It seems like the previous owners updated everything in the house but the kitchen and it really shows.

The trouble with asking on line advise is that screens show things in different colors. You may want to ask the advise of a local designer that can see it in person, or some paint stores have color consultants that will help if you purchase your paint from them. Are you set on one of those two colors? Im familiar with your counter top and know that it has grey in it, how about a lighter shade of grey?

Thank you.....but i don't want to change the counter Tops. They are less than 10 years old only, same as the cabinets and not only would be a big job but even more expensive. If i changed granite the cabinets are still not a timeless color and still need to be addressed. This is why it's easiest for me to change the cabinet color. So, i want to leave the granite color and change the cabinet color. I have dark cabinets in the other kitchen like area of house and it doesn't look like a dark cave at all. What color is considered a warmer more saturated gray as in above picture? Also, i had my stairs changed from oak to dark expresso and it really modernized. That paint color i put on board on cabinet as a test is a dark brown, not black. Just looks black in the picture, that's why i showed a close up of it.

Very modern and great house! If it were me, and I had a high end home on the water, I’d bite the bullet and change the counter tops. Then paint the cabs gray and keep the modern backsplash. It would look great and I personally don’t think you’ll be happy keeping that un-modern looking granite.

Well it seems like you're just going to do what you want despite every person on here telling you otherwise. Good luck!

Sara, thank you....but this kitchen is barely used. We're using the other kitchen so it's hard to put up more money to an area we barely use. And, i'd not know what color countertops to pick plus the cabinet profile isn't even latest and greatest so i'm trying to do the most minimal. I have very contemporary lighting. I'm just hoping to change minimal and something else sticks out besides right now the cabinet color. In real life the granite color doesn't show up much. I built a bunch new gray cabinetry on the first floor, all modern and contemporary: wet bar, game room, wine wall - all of the same cabinetry which is gray but had to of course pick a countertop and i picked the white quartz with gray veining in it and absolutely don't like it because it's a matte finish and not shiny.

I hate to say but you’re very limited now with having installed that backsplash. Typically want to install backsplash last, after you finish your countertops and cabinets because now you have created a clashing counter and backsplash that will be difficult to blend.

Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design - That's wrong...i asked what color to paint the cabinets to update, nothing about changing counter tops. I said i didn't want to change counter tops and so everyone is saying change the countertops. There's several other posts on houzz with baltic brown countertops and people asking about updating cabinets or floors and people weren't saying to only change them and get rid of them. My problem was most people said to do white. They had darker floors so i don't want white. I tried white in another area of house with same cabinets and floors and it didn't look wow for me.

So you have two kitchens and a wet bar in this house, and you’re predominantly using the kitchen that will be converted to a wet bar? I think you need to analyze where you’re putting your money.

Bri, the old backsplash was also limited. It was that stone travertine that I’ve seen in a lot of pictures. The house was more Mediterranean before I modernized it

This is the true color in person of the backsplash by the way so it does match. The other pictures it looks like it doesn’t match

The travertine tones are warmer beiges, not the cool grays. It was a calm and simple pattern which worked with your busy counters. They actually fit better with the counters and cabinets than what you installed. Your floors are also warm, so the tones worked together with those as well. You can’t just change items in the kitchen piecemeal. It needs to be done with an overall final plan in mind that synchronizes both he existing materials and future changes. At this point it sounds like you’re set on painting gray so why bother asking?

They may “match” in that they both have gray in them. But they are both very busy and the Baltic brown is dominated by brown, which doesn’t go with the overall cool tones of the splash. If you like it and the dark cabinets, then go for it. It’s your house. (Oh and it’s “espresso,” not “expresso,” btw.)

So far you have shot down all ideas. I think you know what you want to do but also know others will say it doesn’t work. It’s your house so if you like it do it. I don’t think you will find someone to say what you want them to.

Jackitriplett - what ideas have i shot down? They are only ideas to change countertop. My post was asking about cabinets color changing, not countertops changing. If i knew what to do i wouldn't have asked just ask. Please ease up on me. Changing countertops wasn't what i want or wanted to do. And, if i did change countertops i'm pretty sure those cabinets would have to be refaced also and not just painted and that's a huge expense. I was just trying to make them look better, not perfect

I’m open to any color, just wanted it not the same color and don’t think white will be good for this space.
Here’s a picture of a house for sale near me with dark cabinets and dark countertops so that’s the only reason I tried that dark paint sample plus my stairs are dark wood.

I’d paint the cabinets gray. After that, you can see if you want to change the wall color behind the newly gray cabinets. You can also see how the brown granite works with your new cabinets. Good luck and go for the gray!

I understand your frustration. What if you painted the lower cabs the dark color, but painted the uppers a color, like sea green or slate blue. Look at colored cabinets trending on Houzz. I think that would look amazing IMO
Good luck!

grdnbeth....i'm open to almost anything. If you see those cabinets you are talking about trending on houzz can you post a link to them so i can see for sure?

Color suggestion

Interesting dilemma.

I see you have two posts going on about your cabinets. Did you decide to go with white cabinets or are you considering one of the many suggestions to update your counter instead?

This post is similar to another dilemma where the poster is looking for a new area rug that goes well with all the existing furnishings and decor. One of the recurring suggestions was to focus on buying a new sofa, since that seems to be the main thing that is getting in the way of her overall design goal. She spent a lot of time debating rug choice, then finally purchased one. It didn’t work in her space. She’s now rethinking the sofa, which I think is a great idea.

I wonder if you might consider stepping back and assessing your choice of focusing on the cabinets. It’s hard sometimes when we have a firm idea that we want to move forward with (happens to me, too).

Ideally, you would be able to do the cabinets AND the countertop together to make it at all blend seamlessly with your inspiration – the backsplash.

However, if you can only focus on one thing, I agree with the others that your counter does not go well with your backsplash. There seems to be a lot of brown and a little gray. These browns and grays combined are causing trouble together, and the two different patterns-geometric pattern on the backsplash and less organized pattern on the granite, are competing for attention.

Please update with your thoughts. I’d love to see your kitchen turn out just the way you want it. And remember, what really matters is that you have a kitchen that makes YOU happy. Don’t worry about other people, your friends, or your neighbors.