Hi there,

You might consider creating some contrast between the cabinets and the flooring. White cabinets would serve this purpose, while also brightening up the space. If you're leaning towards a wood stain, we'd suggest exploring something much darker than the existing cabinets, such as an espresso finish. Before making a decision, I would order samples from a couple of different cabinet suppliers, and lay them out in the space with plenty of natural light. A quick mock-up can be very informative.

Hope this helps!

Do the cabinets have any condition issues? If they’re in good shape, my first idea is to leave them as is but add knobs and pulls to them, and a colorful runner in front of the sink area. Maybe a coordinating area rug where your child plays. You could do an eye catching backsplash and maybe pick up a color from that and paint the island. I am not a pro by any stretch, but I’m thinking if you stain the cabinets then all the trim will be off and open a can of worms. You have such a bright, beautiful space!

The main reason we want to make a change is the monotony and the fact that the current cabinets have too much grain. The dilemma is coming from what you rightly pointed out - since all trims are so consistent all over the house right now, I am worried of introducing inconsistencies. If we went with white (new cabinets, not paint) then I would think that the kitchen trims and window would be painted white while everything else remains as is. Its very confusing. Wouldn't a dark wooden stain make the space look darker?

I’m sure the design pros will offer you advice, but as you explained it I don‘t see a problem with white painted cabinets and keeping the trim you have now. Any cabinet trim will of course be painted white, but you can leave all the window and door trim as is. I love the idea of white cabinets! I agree that dark stain would be fighting your trim stain. The white cabinets will complememt your trim because there’s enough of a contrast in finish and color. Are you keeping the countertops? White cabinets, walls, and counters might be too much! If your budget allows for hardware, go for it. I think it would finish things off nicely.

Are you wanting to get new cabinets, put drawers in your Lower cabinets? Or you can paint the 2 kitchen window trim white And Darken the cabinetry only. The door and wood trim in the other areas can remain as is.

Any paint or stain on these cabinets will still leave the grain showing. This grain is extremely difficult to hide.

If you're keeping the existing cabinets I'd paint them a warm white, which will highlight/contrast with your oak floors, and leave the trim stained. One of my clients recently had her oak cabinets painted Ben Moore's White Dove, and they look great! I have no problem with being able to see the wood grain, it gives the surface a more interesting texture.

I would most emphatically not do an "espresso" finish, which is a very dark brown, and will date your kitchen to the early 2000s.

If you're replacing everything, you could go with either a painted or stained wood. A great look is quarter-sawn or rift-cut white oak in a cerused or limed finish, which looks nothing like the honey oak of the 1980s. Natural wood cabinets are not in and of themselves "dated." The trick is HOW the whole room is done. The choice of finish, accessories, textures, etc., is what will determine whether the room looks "dated" and cookie-cutter or will stand the test of time. And if you love it when you finish it, you'll probably love it for a long time, no matter if others call it "dated."

Look at the following photos, and tell me any of them look dated!

Here's a combination of white uppers and white oak lowers:

East Beach · More Info

Stained wood cabinets with white counter tops and backsplash:

St.Paul Arts & Craft · More Info

Craftsman look with dark counter tops and period lighting fixtures:

Kitchen · More Info

Two great rustic looks:

Lakeville Residence · More Info

Chestnut Hall · More Info

Lots of stained wood with a painted island:

PURCELLVILLE BUNGALOW · More Info

Gorgeous light natural cabinets paired with soapstone counter tops:

Oceanfront Cottage · More Info

Fabulous architecture and another kitchen with a combination of stained and painted finishes:

Country Residence · More Info

I totally agree with Diana Bier. I like a warm white on the cabinets as well. Also, consider Alabaster by Sherwin Williams. Some brushed bronze hardware on the cabinets might look nice as well.

Assuming you are not just doing a cosmetic redo, I would focus on layout first and then worry about stain vs. paint and what color. It looks like the cooktop is on the island with not landing space on either side, which would drive me crazy. And it has no ventilation. And the kitchen as a whole has few drawers and lots of lower door cabinets, which is not ideal.

If you don't like white or paint generally, by all means choose stained cabinets. I think it will look most harmonious if you choose a stain that is distinctly lighter or darker than your floors/trim, but in the same hue family (that is, orangish, rather than reddish, or the cooler tones of walnut or the recently popular grays/driftwood). Here are some examples. I pulled the pics from Kraftmaid, which is not a recommendation for the brand; any cabinet brand should offer similar colors, though with different names. I snipped the floor from your photo.

From lightest to darkest

Natural Maple

Cherry Sunset

Cherry chocolate

Cherry Autumn Blush

Below are a variety of kitchens that we have completed over time. Note the cabinet colors and the flooring colors.

Modern Napa: Kitchen · More Info

Modern Desert Classic Home: Kitchen · More Info

Desert Contemporary Residence: Kitchen · More Info

Thank you so much everyone - very helpful advice! We are still torn between the two options. The fundamental problem is that we feel our home looks very dated as this kitchen is original from 1980's. Its still solid and functional - even thought the cooktop on the island doesn't look functional, I actually like it now because I am able to interact with family as I am cooking than have my back to them and it has a downdraft, so ventilation is not a problem either. I feel if we go white, it may look very disconnected from the rest of the house and if we go wood stain (which is my preference but I cannot decide on the color and style), we may end up with a very similar looking result and it will still look dated. Having said that the pictures I see above, none of them look dated to me. So I am not sure why ours looks that way to me. Very torn and undecided!

We are just about to start on a kitchen renovation ourselves and want to go with a wood/white kitchen. We were afraid of it looking too “90’s yellow/orange/red wood” and have gotten a lot of great info here and on Google for how to achieve just what we are looking for.

To me, those cabinets look great! If you’re considering the wood look, check out this article as it calmed my fear of the ”90’s wood kitchen”:

https://www.coppercornersart.com/ideas/2020/3/21/how-to-make-an-oak-kitchen-cool-

I‘ll be honest, I don’t have much knowledge at all, but I’ve been perusing this forum and Google in search of everything I can find on white/wood updated kitchens. It seems that everything I read points to updating what surrounds the cabinets prior to deciding whether or not the cabinets actually need to be updated/painted etc. If you look at the pictures in the above article, her kitchen was transformed from what she considered “90’s outdated” to beautiful without changing a thing about the cabinets themselves.

Good luck with the decision, it‘s an exhilarating one either way!