Please step back, and take a more expansive photo of the kitchen. We need to see if the upper doors have arches, for instance. If so, no amount of paint will update the look. Are your cabs full overlay?

To answer your question, probably 95% of the people posting here, are putting in white kitchens. They are ubiquitous. Which doesn’t mean you should follow. Wood cabs, in Shaker style, are current, too.

A better view would be good.

In the meantime...your kitchen is very similar to the “before” kitchen of a blogger I love.

she painted her cabinets a dark grey and then redid them a gray-white. She opted for open shelving on the uppers. Brass faucet and pulls. I love love love her budget remodel

Is this better?

Let’s see- depending on budget

either go light or dark grey paint, but not white IMO (and depending on wall paint color)

add hardware

new single-basin sink/faucet

Since you’ll be painting, consider building your uppers up to the soffit (any good carpenter can do this)

new outlet covers

What’s your budget for changes? Your house is Contemporary, but the cabinets are kinda traditional. Slab doors would be much more cohesive.

What do you no like about your cabinets? Are they in good condition? Your counter seems to be granite square tiles vs a slab- is that correct? I'd be inclined to leave cabinets and opt for a light quartz countertop and splash. Or soapstone maybe. With an undermount sink. Maybe add hardware.

I think that white would look nice - definitely add some hardware to the cabinets too!

Marnie, what's the budget here?

I ask because the kitchen does lean a little contemporary, but the cabinets and the granite says 1995. (I used to have that same pickling on my cabinets)

Here is a similar before w/you color cabinets

and the after. I'm not saying you have to use green, but just showing you what updating does

If you have the budget, here's what I'd do. get new countertops / backsplash. you can go w/a simple quartz (it will look great w/your floors)

Then I'd either paint, or get all of the doors refaced and take everything up to the soffit. (I'd have a carpenter build boxes on top of what you have)

Either like this

or do a false front box

or put the boxes on top w/glass doors.

of course you could always choose to leave them as is. up to you. here is a before/after. Do you like the darker gray wall color above the white cabs? would look nice w/your flooring.

The other thing, do you love your stove in the island? I'd modify your cabinets and have it placed where you have the toaster. Then you could use your island for prepping. you could vent the stove w/a proper hood . Then pick out some nice hardware for your cabinets, and think about trimming out your panels on the island for a finished look.

cost for paint/counters/splash? maybe 10K - 16K, depending on what materials you choose.

A good pro painter for those cabs will be in the 5-7K range.

Lots of great suggestions. Let’s say my budget is $5000 give or take. So the granite is outdated? The house was built in 1994 and everything aside from the appliances is original. I like the stove in the island. We just spent 10k on the appliances.

I don’t like the cabinets but don’t want to spend 10k to replace them. And the granite counter are square tiles.

5K would get you new countertops. the granite squares really need to go. Yes, it's outdated. both in looks and in those 12" squares. (I mean, come on,,,it was built 30 years ago! It's had it's fun in the sun. It's time to retire the entire look and get a new bikini)

You spent 10k on gorgeous new appliances, but they're among 30 year old cabs/counters.

if you don't like the cabinets, you'll have to spend the money.

you may be able to spend a bit less if you look into pre-fab countertops. they have them in quartz, granite, etc. a 9' pre fab costs about 500. then you hire a fabricator to cut and fit them for your space.

if you want those cabinets painted, you'll have to spend the money for a pro ( and a pro means a pro cabinet painter, not a house painter. trust me, if you spend only 2K to have them painted by some hack, they'll look like crap and peel in 3 months) They need to be removed and taken to a shop to be sprayed (the bases they'll do onsite)

The other option is to paint them yourself. can be done for less than 500. But if you've never painted cabinets, you're in for a huge, huge undertaking. It's an extreme amount of work, with prep taking up 75% of the job.

So, if you're happy w/the layout, then just paint them, new countertops, pick out a nice tile splash, some hardware, and that's it. (you have to trim out that island though. it's simple and quick and can be done before being painted)

you can get some estimates, but for what I've suggested, you should double the budget. minimum.

Painting cabinets can be DIY for around $200 in paint and materials.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/kitchen/diy-kitchen-cabinets/surprising-tips-for-painting-kitchen-cabinets/

I wouldn’t pay to have the cabs professionally painted if you don’t like them. Either DIY paint...or leave them and add hardware and put your money into counters/backsplash.

you could probably find a handyman who could do a decent enough paint job on the cabinets to last you until a full kitchen redo...

For cheaper than a pro.

if you keep the cabinets as is

this is a great combo- White/grey counters with nickel or brass pulls (Or black Counters and black hardware would be nice too)

If you are redoing the cabinets by yourself...which is what I would do in this case...don't stain! It's so hard to get them all perfect and with the same amount of stain...some will be lighter than others (I've done mine 5 times...yes, I made that mistake). I would paint, it's so much easier to get a nice result. The cabinets are older, but you can give them a fresh look with lots of elbow grease and not that much money. Since you like the placement of things, and already have brand new appliances...I would spend all of your budget on new counters and a new back splash. I would start by finding a new counter top that works with your floors and your budget, then figure out cabinet paint color/s (and wall if needed) ...get it all done and only after that bring in samples of back splash tile. Good luck!

katie brings up a good point, but a half-a** paint job is only going to last so long.

even a handyman is going to charge thousands. Read up on how cabinets should be properly sanded, primed, sanded again, and then painted, so you'll know the steps.

If a cheap estimate is given to you, they'll prob just deglaze them apply a quick primer, and paint right over it. (and they'll leave everything in place) . after a few months the paint will chip.

another option is to keep the skeleton base, (and even the drawers since they're a slab-face) and just get new doors. I had new doors added when I had my cabinets painted.

Although, your doors really aren't that bad. At least they aren't arched.

pickled oak before/after. new counters/ splash, and they coffered the tray ceiling (like you have)

basically it will look like this before:

and After, once painted (horrible handle placement though!)

you could even add some glass in a few of the doors.

Maybe paint the island a diff, darker color (these oak cabs were recently done. but your door style is better than this one)

Trim out you island so the end panels look finished!

do the island top in something like this, and the other counters in plain white

then add some modern style handles similar to these. Do a simple tile backsplash.

So many great ideas here! I didn’t realize the counters were that bad!

If you put 5K stone counters on those cabinets, you’ll never do the full remodel that it actually needs. Get your order of operations correct for the end goal that you want. That end goal depends on how long you plan to live in the house. If you’re moving next spring? Get the new counters and do fresh wall paint.

Moving in 10 years? Plan for the next 6 months. Then gut and redo. It’ll be 10x your 5K budget. But you’ll get a huge amount of enjoyment out of using it every day. Is 10 years of great functional everyday use “better” than 2 dream months long Hawaii vacations? In my book, yes.

But I am not an advocate of building a house with a dining room that seats 14, and only gets used once a year for that 14. Better to build in more versatile rooms for everyday use that can flex for occasional use. And building a kitchen that makes everyday tasks a pleasure instead of a chore. The small details make the big picture of life.

The only thing “that bad” about your kitchen are the outlet covers. Truly. Don’t become dissatisfied if you weren’t before. Are the cabinets in good shape? How about new cabinet hardware and a rug to start?

Is the porcelain floor out as well?

And I agree, the outlet covers have got to go.

I think your tile is fine.

at the very least, change out the countertops. you can always paint down the road if you still dislike the color.

if you want to match the cabs, look for wood outlet covers. (maple) then take some white paint mixed w/water and lightly take a rag w/it over the wood. It should match pretty close

they have these light oak outlet covers on amazon. raw wood. sand, whitewash, and spray w/a clear coat. (or you can just paint them.

while you're at it, replace the outlet to a more modern version.

for the granite backsplash (if you're going to keep it) switch it out to the gray or SS ones

or, get the wood one and paint it to match the granite!