In my (limited) experience wood filler never really takes stain or finish the exact same way as the adjacent wood, and you will likely have noticeable off-color dots where the hinge holes used to be.

Refinishing is a lot of work. If you're going to go down that path, maybe you should keep the carcasses but replace the doors. That way you can choose whatever hinges and pulls you want. Do you know what kind of wood the cabinets are?

Leave those alone, as is. You cannot replace a thing on them without replacing them all. Refinishing is 4x the work of painting, and not likely to come out well with an amateur to the process doing it. Those will blotch very easily. Paying someone to do that will cost more than buying new cabinets.

Refacing costs almost as much as replacing, but without the massive improvement in utility of better drawer glides, more drawers, and the 20%-50% improvement of a more useful and better designed space. Your layout needs improvement. Defacing won’t fix that. Or fix anything. It just makes it prettier. It’s a waste of money when so much else needs addressed.

Don’t touch them. Or plan a complete gut redo. Sunk costs don’t change anything.

I had those same handles (fortunately not the hinges) when I first moved into my house. I was able to find handles that had a design that actually covered the old hole (reusing one hole).

As for refinishing - if you are up for the challenge, perhaps you could try just doing the back of one door to see if the appearance of the filled hole is acceptable to you.

Live_wire_oak makes valid points, but they might not all be feasible for you and we get that. Refacing would be a last resort for me however, because the cost is not really reasonable (IMO) with alternatives like IKEA out there.

The wood behind those hinges will be a completely different color than the rest. Replacing hinges means you have to paint or refinish. I don’t think you should start with cabinets as a project if you‘ve never done either before. It’s a big learning curve, and a whole lot of tedious work. Start with a flea market find or bath vanity before you tackle the kitchen. Ask anyone who has done this before. They would just replace them rather than ever do it again.

Refacing only works if you have a great layout and great cabinets to start with. It’s expensive for what you end up with. So you have to start out with something great to begin with to make it worth the expense. Or you might as well replace.

I happen to like the vintage vibe that they have. That’s livable for a long time, until you do decide to do something more involved.

Those doors look like they might be plywood which is typical for that era of kitchen. You would never get them to look acceptable unless you painted them. And then, that would be a big time commitment. Not something to rule out, just something to consider.

A complete refacing isn't the only option. You could get new cabinet doors and drawer fronts. The doors could be drilled for a European hinge (which I think you mean when you say "inset"). If you want to go with stained doors then it would be tough to match the patina of your existing cabinets. One option would be to paint the boxes and ordered the doors unfinished or painted. Another would be to paint the boxes and use stained doors. One place to start seeing what might be available is here:

https://www.conestogawood.com/products/cabinet-doors-drawer-fronts.html

Here's something that many people do not know: Lots of cabinet companies, furniture companies, and independent cabinetmakers do NOT make their own doors. They purchase them ready made from companies like Conestoga. But there are lots of suppliers on the web or seek out a local cabinet maker. My advice would be to stay away any offerings by the Big Box stores.

Sure your kitchen's layout has issues. But it doesn't have to be all or nothing like some have advised. Not all of us have the financial resources to do a complete gut and remodel - ever. That doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't do anything to improve what you have.

Best of luck!

The point about getting the wood putty to blend is valid:( You may want to take a door to a reputable paint store (not home center store) and ask if they can tell you anything about the door - are they solid wood or veneer and what kind of wood. A veneer is hard to refinish. A flat board door is not hard to strip and refinish if you know you are a handy person. I did mine - which had more complicated doors and while it took some time, it was a cost effective way to make do with what I have. If you like a cottage style at all, let me know and I will post some ideas to give it a cottage flair. If you want to embrace the vintage, this site can help:

https://retrorenovation.com/

My thought was the same as missenigma. The doors are probably plywood. If you any woodworking skills, you can purchase new furniture grade plywood and cut new doors and stain to match. You can purchase iron on edge banding that can be used to cover the layers of ply on the exposed edge surfaces. Then you can replace with whatever hinges you like and add whichever handles appeal to you. It would probably be less work to do that than trying to strip and re-stain.

Just a clarification: a good refacing company CAN replace lower doors with drawers. I had it done at my house. Yes, refacing can get expensive but worth it if you like your layout. Plus, you can add new cabinets that will totally match since the outsides will be the same. Most refacing companies use hidden hinges and soft close glides. They can remake drawers too.
If you get serious about refacing, get some estimates. The mess is a fraction of a complete gut job and the whole thing takes only days, not weeks.

I love your kitchen and have done what want to do with the hinges and pulls. For the pulls I added a backing plate under the pull that allowed for different spacing. I did not have those hinges. I worry that many years of light exposure will leave a light spot under the hinges that will be hard to mask. There are semi-exposed hinges made for this type of door that are very easy to install. All you see is the barrel of the hinge.

Here's the hinge: https://www.cabinetparts.com/p/amerock-hinges-semi-concealed-cabinet-hinges-AMBP7565G10-p2598

Sorry but I don’t think these cabinet are worth the time, effort, or money to try and upgrade. I have experience with these type of retro plywood cabinets and nothing short of lots of paint or demo, will make these seem cool again. Embrace it for what is, until you can replace.

They don't look "right" right now! New doors and paint would be the best bet at less expense. If you opt for drawers below you may be happier. Here's why.

You cannot re-stain those doors. The wood has been sealed by the varnish, which has soaked into the fibers. It's almost certainly solvent-based, given the style/apparent age of them. You'd have to sand well down into the wood (1/16" - 1/8") to get to raw wood.

yes refinishing would be a lot of work but here is a few tips I discovered redoing a few pieces. Use a fine tip brown sharpie marker to add a bit of "wood grain" to wood filler. That and a couple extra coats of Minwax Polyshades helped darken the area not covered by the new hardware. Going darker with the stain/finish will hide the differences more but you may not want darker cabinets.
You could experiment with a copper metallic sharpie on the black hardware inside a door. It could change the contrast of black iron on the wood to a more subtle hammered copper look. if it looks ok then use a hammered copper Rustoleum spray to re do the hardware.
Handles with escutcheon could hide the difference in the drilled holes.
Also those scratch hiding markers and a dab of Polyshades may all you need to blend in hole repair putty when changing hardware.

I would rock what you have, hinges, pulls, and stain. Keeping it all “period” makes sense from my perspective.

I am curious though: does the dishwasher still work?

...

If you want less contrast from the hinges and pulls you could paint them a warm bronze or brass.

Some people would pay big bucks to get this look! If you paint all the cabinets you can fill the holes and replace the hinges. But why not keep the hinges, paint just the upper cabinets a fabulous dark green or blue and restain the base cabinets. (actually you might be able to just clean and enhance the finish with one of the Minwax products instead of having to sand and refinish) There are lots of really great handles now in the black and hammered finishes.

Also suggest: remove the scalloped valance, do a new colourful backsplash (watch Home Town on HGTV, she loves the concrete tile patterns) and maybe do a new kitchen floor.

I have similar cabinets/hinges. What did you end up doing?