Big mistake.

You're going to have problems with wear and chipping on those plate racks, and the muntins in the glass doors will be a nightmare to do well.

I am a white kitchens person, but your kitchen is lovely as-is. Since you just moved in, don’t make any drastic decisions. Painting cabinets is quite difficult and very expensive to hire a pro to do it. Enjoy your new house for a while before deciding if/when you want to do any big projects.

No way would I drop the 10-14K that it would take to paint those professionally with the right products. The kitchen looks great as is. Slow your roll. You’re going to make mistakes that you regret. Painting those cabinets would be a very expensive mistake.

If you end up doing anything here, it needs a lot more planning in order to fix the poor layout and lack of connection to the family areas. And the big burn hazard of a range next to a doorway with no cabinet there to protect someone from knocking off a pot.

That is going to be a much bigger renovation that a 12K paint job. Save your money. Start your planning with a Kitchen Designer. Especially if you will have little ones running about. The full remodel needs to not be so far in the future. Or the kids don’t need to be in the kitchen with you. No one wants a kitchen that it’s not safe to have your family working in there with you.

Paint the walls, not the cabinets. The wood cabinets would be very expensive to have painted professionally because of the detailing.

The wood cabinets look nice. A DIY paint job is a lot of work and a professional one is a lot of money. If you're planning on a full remodel down the line it's just not worth ruining good cabinets right now. The layout seems suboptimal so I wouldn't sink any money or time into those cabinets until you're ready to redo the entire space.

Paint the walls, add some art and accessories if you want to make the space your own now.

I would not invest any substantial amount of money on a nice looking but terribly designed kitchen. Having the stove with no countertop next to a doorway is dangerous and the dishwasher and range both opening into the sink area is dysfunctional.

.

The kitchen is attractive as it is. I'd save up to do the kitchen right in the future. A functional design will also make your home far more valuable. Whereas any money you spend on this design will never be recouped.

Thanks everyone for your advice. You're right. I guess I was just so gunghoe to make it my own that I completely ignored the most practical thing to do. I can live with it for a while.

Glad to hear you've rethought painting the cabinets. They are really nice looking. If you wanted to make the look more yours you could do something inexpensive like changing the hardware to something that is more "you". Plus the money you save by not painting these cabinets, along with the money you could get selling them would reduce the cost of your new kitchen when it happens.

Congrats on your new house!

NO to painting the cabinets.

YES to the subway tile, do you want it to go all the way up to the soffit by the sink?

And assuming also the microwave/fridge wall?

I’m glad you decided to wait. Smart. Now when planning and budgeting start with your floors. You will have to remove the tile if you wish to do vinyl plank. After living there awhile you may decide to extend wood floors into this space for whole house flow. Or you may decide a new porcelain tile is more practical. It will all go back to the overall budget but again start with the floor decision as all items will build up from that.

Hi Janie Gibbs,
I was thinking I would go all the way up to the soffits by the sink and I'm not sure by the microwave. Probably from the counter to the bottom of the microwave...

After investigative work you may find you can remove the soffits. I’d wait on tiling until you know for sure.

Paint it!!! It’s nice but dated and new construction looking, a painted kitchen will change your life!!!!

Here’s another example a little before and after!! Paint the cabinets!!!

Doni, those painted kitchen look dated as well. Just more expensive dated.

Your kitchen is very nice. Congratulations on your new home!

Contrary to what we see on TV, one does not have to make major changes right away to make a home their “own.” There is a gal on here who has a whole idea book of wood kitchens. I hope she sees this and sends you a link!

Just when you think you‘ve seen the ugliest expensive waste of money ever, someone comes along and, boom, a topper. Another couple for the Not So Pro Hall of Shame.

What makes it even more special is the pride in the hideousness and bad taste. Imagine using pics like THAT to try and SPAM your business! How unaware of the world around you must you be to hold that up as an ideal bait for someone to hire you!

From the photos those appear to be good quality cabinets. Although I love the look of painted cabinetry I am less inclined to paint good quality cabinets. If you decide to paint for sure I think white or cream would be a good choice and would provide a nice contrast with the countertops. Black iron hardware would look great! Good luck and please post after photos.

I'm glad you're holding off on painting the cabinets. Once you starting getting your own things in there, it will feel much more like *your* home. I would paint the walls for sure though and add your own decorative touches. People always advise on this forum to live with it for a while so you can see exactly what works, work flow wise, and what doesn't, aside from the glaring issue of the stove next to the door.

Congrats on your new home!!

I rather like your kitchen as-is. The wall of cabinetry is wonderful. Like others, I would suggest moving in and living there a while before making any major decisions.