He didn't plan crown molding or light rail either. Or give you any breathing room around the hood. Cabinet interiors shouldn't be painted. Paint doesn't hold up to the abrasions and knocking about. They should be covered with a matching melamine for durability. That is applied before the boxes are built, straight to the sheet goods.

It matches well enough that I would let it be.

I would consider doing some nice wallpaper in them, would be easier and hold up better than paint at this point. That’s weird they didn’t do it. I have some boxes on top and mine were all painted inside at the shop beforehand. That should be common!

Also I love your counters! Sea pearl?

I think that it looks unfinished. Based on what you have in those cabinets, I don't think that you will be banging the cabinet interior so a painted finish should hold up. I like contrast so chose to stain the interior. BTW your stone is gorgeous!

It looks like you have glass shelves- i can’t imagine the interior of your cabinets are going to take much of a beating with the exception of the top of a shelf and that’s if you use the contents daily. I’d have them painted. Did you plan for no crown on purpose? That’s the only thing that would really bother me aesthetically here.

Is there lighting inside the cabinets? If not, that could be the problem—or at least part of it.

I wouldn't put lighting inside the cabinets. I've had that, and it's a waste of money. After the novelty wore off, I never turned them on. And an interior light will just highlight the unfinished interiors.

My question is a practical one - if you want to paint the interiors, who is gonna do it? The guy who didn't include crown molding or a light rail? (SMH) I wouldn't want that guy. Or is this DIY? If so, do you have the time and the skills for that job? That's a lot of cutting-in work you'll have to do to paint the interiors. It's not a big enough job for a painter to want to come in for, unless you have other painting work around the house to make it worth his while. The suggestion above of wallpaper might be easier, but you've got a lot of pattern in the backsplash (very pretty BTW), so it might be hard to find a wallpaper that looks good. Or, just leave it be.

Instead of trying to paint the backs which I think would be very tedious. Why not cut some very thin MDF panels and paint those, or wallpaper those, then stick them in the back. They could even go in with double sided tape or velcro. If ever you want to change the paint colour or wallpaper in future, pull out the panels and change them. I'd be tempted to choose a green from your gorgeous stone and put that on the panels in the cupboards. That might be really gorgeous, or not....but it feels like a cheap/easy solution that you could change out any time you felt the whim for a change.

It might also help, if you had some brightly colored things inside those cabinets. Right now, they just look very blah and colorless, which make the unpainted interior show up even more.

It doesn't bother me that there is no crown or light rail - that is a personal choice. What does it look like with the lights on? I would be surprised that the interiors were not the same color - that seems like an amateur mistake or should have come up in conversation. What is the interior of the non-glass cabinets?

If you are going to keep clear items in there, then I would do what others have suggested and make a decorative wallpaper or fabric panel that you can velcro into the back - it would look amazing

Good luck!

+1 for wallpaper

As mentioned-that issue should have come up in conversation..raises the price. It's not something that he'll just do for free. If it's a custom job. His mistake-not telling you about it all. So you could arrive to informed decision. Instead of being dissappointed now.

Everything like that is usually specified.

If one buys ready made or semi custom, I don't know what the process is, both times I remodeled kitchens I went with local cabinetmakers. But I suppose one still knows what to expect.

Yes, we chose melamine instead, was cheaper. and it's a pretty close match

Still it's a pretty kitchen you've got. I like wallpaper suggestion if bothers you too much. I especially like the advice of very thin panels that can be painted/wallpapered..I don't know whether will work in terms of width, with the shelves..

I can't tell that they are a different color from the image--they look nice! If it really is off and you can get the cabinet maker to come in and spray the insides, that would be good. But I do think the other suggestions about wallpaper (on thin boards you can take in and out easily) might give a better result.

You have gray and white and clear for decor--if you want to keep with that theme, I'd like to see the insides of the cabinets in a medium to dark gray taken from your backsplash. If you want color, you can do just about anything, or even change it out often.

I love this site. Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions. Really helps a lot! Here's another photo of the space (excuse the mess). The counter and backsplash are quartzite.

And here's what it looked like when we bought the house so very happy with outcome. :)

I don't think it's that bad. From the picture it breaks up all of the row of painted wood and adds life to the kitchen. You can definitely try the wallpaper idea for add dimension to the kitchen.

Really beautiful transformation! I like the clean look with no crown or light rail. How high is your ceiling?

Gorgeous kitchen. I feel like that was a mistake by your cabinet person or your kitchen designer that they should rectify (of course it depends on your contract though). Since they are glass cabinets, the inside should have been finished the same as the exterior (unlike non-glass where the inside is often different). Or at least they should have consulted with you. Perhaps the cabinet person can put matching panels inside instead of painting. We just had glass cabinets installed and they are exactly the same color inside as out. I would have complained if they were different colors as I would not have expected that without being told they would be different. If you had a kitchen designer, you should reach out to them first and they should handle. With our remodel, we had a piece come in that was natural maple but supposed to be painted white on the top and they immediately sent it back for replacement without us even having to ask them (even though it is barely noticeable when installed).

In the most recent photo you posted from further back, the interior of the cabinets relates nicely to the backsplash. It looks planned.

I don't see anything wrong with this, I would not change it.

Really really lovely kitchen - your choice in counter/backsplash is A++++

Beautiful kitchen. Okay, the cabinet interior does look like it is not finished, but I would not have noticed if you had not pointed it out. Is there an easy fix? Probably not. If you did anything, I would have the interior painted to match exterior. Again, beautiful kitchen, great job.

Niczab - looks excellent! Almost like you were planning on bringing in the countertop color into the cabinets. I like that it breaks up the run of white. I also like that there is no crown or light rail - it works here!

Relax and enjoy it!

Thanks Debbi Washburn! I like to hear other opinions. And luckily I do like it overall. There is lighting in the top of the glass cabinets and also underneath the cabinets but he built a groove in to fit it underneath so it is not seen.

although it looks nice as is, I think adding wallpaper would really be amazing. you could do the peel and stick. i love subtle design elements in every space.

I agree, now when you posted the whole kitchen looks even deliberate and relates well

was easy to see it's a pretty kitchen even without the big picture, now one can see it's beautiful

wallpaper is fun, otherwise i wouldn't worry unless bugs you endlessly. You can talk to the guy nevertheless, because he didn't think to discuss it so it seems, I'd drop it though. and enjoy the kitchen

shows the importance of seeing one detail vs seeing the whole context.

If you decide to paint or paper something to slip inside them, consider luan.

I would live it, with such a rich looking back-splash/ counter doing wallpaper on the glass door cabinets will be too busy. on a separate note, no need for a crown molding, and since you cannot see the under-cabinet light fixture, the light rail is pointless