Ok. Are you looking to start the whole ‘never paint wood’ debate or are you asking how?

The fact that “ everyone “ tells you that would be enough for me NOT to do it. Even though I’ve always had white cabinets I think Sophie is correct. I see a big resurgence in wood tones ( at least where I live).

Natural and stained wood cabinets are rising in popularity in my area in California. White is going down.

Painting it properly is not cheap. It would need to be sprayed which is a whole who-ha. It looks good but would also look good in white. Both are in style although Sophie is correct it is a matter of time around the corner to being dated. The granite is way more dated looking then the base. It's too busy and polished. You can go to a stone yard and buy a scrap for a good price. Some have the small remains from large slabs. Some do sell to the public. Call around. Then get a stone installer to cut the opening and install it. Stone (vs granite) has been coming in fashion for sometime now. Use a honed or similar finish. Only solid black and white marble look good polished to not looking dated today.

If I had cherry cabinets, I would not paint them ever. I absolutely love cherry and other wood tones!

Wood cabinets are coming back in style, so don't feel you have to paint them just because everyone is telling you to. Having said that, personally cherry is hard to work with and that one comes off as very red. Painting is a lot of work though, and professionally done is almost as expensive as new cabinets. It would help to see the kitchen, because it might be other elements that are the issue not the cabinets.

I also have solid wood cherry cabinets that I had planned on painting. They are a natural cherry that’s darkened naturally, a simple shaker shape, and I’ve decided to keep the wood and have them cleaned and polished instead. I’m going to replace the top with something less busy - maybe Taj Mahal Quartzite. The thing is almost every new tract home in America has put in white shaker cabinets with a marble-look quartz in the past few years. Even though I’d MUCH prefer rift sawn white oak or walnut cabinets (drool!!) I have chosen to stick with what I have because it’s a real, quality, classic material. If I surround it by other classic, real materials I love that work in color and tone with the cherry I think it will be a longer lasting design than if I went white.

Couple of things: I want to know how (our cabinets have some 'gooey' stuff around the door knobs so not sure how to either clean/fix that or what I'd have to do to paint it. Not sure if one way or the other is the least expensive. Wonder if there's a product to really clean that off. Not really trying to debate white vs wood except that I wanted to see what the trend was and if my kitchen would be old fashioned if I kept the wood!

I would not paint cherry wood cabinets.

Cherry wood cabinets will need an extensive amount of prep work in order to paint them white and look perfect. Cherry wood often bleeds though paint and gives the first coat of primer a pink hue. The best advice if you are determined to paint them white is to have them professionally sprayed by a bonded company. You MUST be committed to dedicate a lot of time to this project. You must clean immaculately, sand, wipe down, PRIME first coat, sand, wipe down, PRIME second coat, lightly sand, wipe down, PAINT first coat, lightly sand, wipe down, PAINT second coat AND have your kitchen unusable while each coat dries not to mention removing all the doors and having a dedicated space to paint them. I have seen some DIYers paint only the outsides and this looks cheap and ridiculous when the cabinets are opened. Some DIYers also swear by chalk paint. Let me say this, when selling a home, realtors just swear when they see chalk painted cabinets. Use the best quality paint for cabinets available (often over $60.00 a gallon). I personally never would paint solid cherry wood cabinets. A very good cleaning and waxing may be all they need. As others have noted, the right wall color, backsplash and countertops will make a noticeable and beautiful difference.

No. Just no. Save up for new cabinets, then donate yours to Habitat for Humanity. Someone will be thrilled to get them.

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Just curious: are they actually cherry? No offense, but many people think that stuff stained the color in your sample vanity are cherry when it often isn't.

I don't understand this adoration of cherry cabinets. I don't like any of them. If I bought a house with them, I'd paint the in a heartbeat. I don't follow trends - I choose what I LIKE and what works for me in my house.

The appeal of cherry wood is that it is a beautiful fine-grained wood with a lovely red/brown hue. It's really not paint-grade wood, it's far too pretty for that. And as nmp19 stated, it's difficult to paint a light color as the paint takes on a pinkish hue. Also, unless you have them painted professionally the paint won't look like a factory finish and doesn't hold up well. I actually had a cherry kitchen for 27 years and when I wanted a change, I donated the cabinets and purchased new white ones.

I like cherry cabinets and hate painted cabinets, so I would keep them.

Some comments have stated saving up for new cabinets instead of painting existing cherry cabinets. Let's consider realistic price points for a modest size kitchen. Approximately 25k-40k all in including installation and new pulls. A professional like myself will charge somewhere between 3500 to 5k all in for a factory like finish using Benjamin Moore Advance paint. With periodic care and touch up of Nicks and scratches a paint job could last 10-12 years. A savings of 20-35k

do you have ACTUAL cherry cabinets or some other type of wood that's a cherry color? there is a huge difference. I'm guessing it's the latter because true cherrywood cabinets look nothing like that wood in the picture you posted (which is not cherry wood, but some other cheapo material w/cherry color and a glaze)

These are ACTUAL cherry cabinets. not cherry colored, but wood from an actual cherry tree.

why don't you post a picture of your actual cabinets? why post a pic of something that looks like your color?

Once you paint them, they may as well be cheap-o MDF cabinets. Have you ever read a house-for-sale listing that featured 'painted MDF cabinets'? Nope. 'Cherry cabinets'? Yup.

Painting will negatively affect the value of your home.

I painted mine in our kids bathroom. No regrets as the doors were dated anyway and we will be doing a full remodel within a few years.

We degreased with industrial degreaser, then rinsed, then sanded. I rolled primer with a foam roller and sprayed the white with enamel white paint (from a spray can! Seriously!). Everyone who sees it thinks it was professionally done. It’s held up spectacularly.