they look like oak.

I would not paint them.

to neutralize the orange hue, paint the wall blue.

Blue is opposite orange on the color wheel, a great compliment.

those are not oak.

they are stained maple or birch.

And yes, you can paint them.

These were mine.

I painted everything but did get the doors / drawers refaced.

Addy,, who is painting? this isn't a DIY job for a novice painter.

Prepping those cabs for painting will be 75% of the work.

If you think you want to try it, I'll give you link for step by step, but you should really hire a pro cabinet painter. (not a house painter) .

these are oak. and it's white uppers and dark gray lowers.

I would wait before choosing a backsplash tile. a plain white subway might not be the best choice.

something like this marble might look better w/the black countertop. BM Simply White is the white color

you could also do glass in one of the uppers

any of these will work w/your flooring and the granite. go two tone if you like

ignore the granite on this one

Listen to @Beth H about painting your cabinets. It’s a big job and needs to be done right or you’ll get chipping within months. Your kitchen will look updated with white cabinets, for sure. But hold off on the backsplash choice till the paint job is done.

@Beth H. : & @RedRyder- Thank you for your detailed messages & suggestions.

We definetly plan to hire professionals to do the job.

As for the color of the cabinets, I actually was hoping to go with non-white cabinets but still something light enough. We cook a lot & have read that whites turn yellow over time. Was looking at some greys & greens but ofourse will have to test them out. Also, if it helps, i also plan to change the color on the wall from a yellow neutral to a more white neutral (have shortlisted a few). Hopefully that should also help with fixing the "orange" tones.

Would you have suggestions as to how to narrow down & decide on a color?

Also, thank you for the backsplash suggestions. I love the marble one you suggested & have seen them at some homes.

the whites turning yellow over time is a thing of the past. Oil based paints were the culprit w/that.

now they used a conversion lacquer or a Hybrid cabinet paint.

Do you ever have plans on changing the countertops? I ask because what you choose now has to work w/those tones. (is it just that one area or do you have another side of cabinets?)

pre fab countertops are a less expensive option than buying a whole slab.

I'd try and tone down the yellow tones by choosing cooler colors (no yellow on the wall, no creams or yellows in you tile or counter colors)

that's why I posted this one. these floors mimic yours. see how cool the other elements are? even the wall color is a cooler blue -white-gray to go w/the carrara marble tile.

grays are tricky. It has to work w/the floor. (do you have plans on refinishing those? ever?)

what's the style in the other part of the room? what colors do you have?

what granite do you have?

I'd also consider putting your microwave to the left of the range and getting a better type of vent hood made . It doesn't appear you use that as a desk spot, so get yourself better usage and get a built in microwave. you could prob squeeze one more drawer underneath too. even if it's just for cookie sheets or thin items, it will help.

I did it with mine. (look back at my pics) I hated that thing above the stove top. So much better having an actual vent hood when I cook

@Beth H. : Below are some more pictures of the kitchen + open floor dining & living area (2nd floor of 3 story townhome). Plan is to repaint the wall color on the entire floor to a non-yellow white just like you have also suggested.

- No to changing granite since they were put in new (not by us) around 4/5 years ago & are still in excellent condition & the cost of replacing will blow our budget. Will look up prefab countertops in any case.

- Don't know what kind of a granite it currently is.

-Agree on the picture you sent above. floors look excatly like ours are currently & i do like the cooler colors. Honestly, not sure if we can/ will refinish floors at a later date. Taking up a home project of this scale for the first time so even though we ideally would like to change the finish on the floors, may not be able to & will make do with how they are now.

- I like the idea with moving the microwave. would you mind sharing the approx cost of moving/ putting in hood etc?

- The reason to tackle only cabinets + wall paint is because that seems most cost effective at this stage.

Addy, thanks for the whole pic. I see you have a lot more counter and cabinets.

Pre fab would be an option as they come in 9' X 24" finished pieces. cost for a basic quartz or granite is $450-600.

(maybe your countertops can lift off and be sold to someone else? just depends on how adhesive they used to put them down. )

these are a sample of some from my tile / stone place.

Since you will prob need two, you're looking a 1K, and then another 1200-1500 for someone to take them to your house and cut them on site.

The cost of a slab of quartz is 2k-2800. give or take. (a common granite slab may be cheaper,,,maybe river White) fabrication cost would be another 2-2.5K or so. So, you can see the price difference. I don't know where you live or if you have access to these pre-fabs. these are very popular on the west coast and probably states close to ports (these come in from China)

But, that can be done down the road if you prefer.

The cabinets. Getting those professionally painted can be upwards of 5K. if someone offers you 2500 to do them, they will give you a crap job and you can expect chipping and peeling.

When you interview cabinet painters ask:

How do you prep? have them tell you each and every step and how they do it.

It should be "sand, prime, fine sand, spray, (sometimes fine sanding after dry) and then the last coat" Priming and sanding is the biggy. You can't just prime those cabs as is. it won't adhere well. they need to be sanded to remove any top coat finish.

With mine, I opted to go w/the refacing because it was only 2K more. (I have more doors/drawers than you do) I thought 2K more to get all matching shaker was a great deal. and, when you paint cabinets, MDF center panels are better for painting that real wood.

You already have a nice shaker style on all, so you're fine.

will you be getting new hardware? then they'll also have to fill in all of the holes on your drawers. that will need to be sanded smooth so they don't show. It's detail work. detail work costs money. If someone is giving you a great price, they aren't going to spend time on the fine detail work. mainly, prepping.

What's the company's guarantee? How long? was does it include?

Will they remove everything and take it back to their shop to spray? (they should) or is it done on site?

how do they prep your house for when it's time to spray your boxes?

Deposit. how much are they requesting up front?

contract? have it all spelled out.

So right now you need to take this step and interview some painters. look on Yelp for high end cabinet painters. look for the company w/5 star reviews. Ask to see pictures. see if you can talk to their prior customers.

You can't cheap out on the painting. You'll pay for it in spades if you do.

Thanks @AGKY. That's very helpful. Your kitchen does look brighter! Appreciate you sharing the cost details also. Definetely puts things in perspective. I am going to look around for countertops & see how it goes. Since I am not in a big rush I think I am going to consider all options. Now that i think about it more, not painting cabinets may actually leave more options on the table for future renos such as floors like @Beth H. :also suggested. Thank you to you both! I hope I am able to find something that works well for our budget!

I don't think your floors are bad.

why not tackle the wall paint first, then a diff backsplash, new hardware, (you need handles for the doors, not knobs. in a matte black) maybe a decent, longer runner for the kitchen, and get a diff pantry door. (at the very least paint the one you have)

All of those suggestions are budget friendly and may give you enough of a change.

right now that generic white pantry door sticks out like a sore thumb.

Here are those changes. See?

gave you some suggestions for wall colors that will work w/your floors and granite.

Now, pick out a decent backsplash tile and you could be done

I photoshopped a dark charcoal color door w/a diff color runner with w/blacks, greens and warmer tones, also gave you some rattan black pendnat lights over the open area.

another type of runner. you don't want anything too narrow, so try and get a wider size.

here's a soft blue color next to wood cabs. you could go to a salvage place that carries old doors (or look online) and pick up something similar to these for cheap. paint them yourself. maybe replace the glass. add some door hardware.

if you decide to go w/white cabs, you can still do a black door or an old wood door

you might consider putting in some glass in the uppers to the right of the fridge. I think it could add a bit more interest on that one section.

i photoshopped them as white, but see how it looks? in fact, you could paint only this section a black or gray or charcoal color. make it like a different zone (it is off to it's own as it is)

also, no judging here, but decluttering the countertops is a must for updating. find places for everything and only keep a few essentials. bring in a nice tray for cooking oils/spices if you leave those out. prop some wood cutting boards against the wall.

bring in a bit of color, maybe some textures, crocks, some colored jars

Another easy update option--when I was living in between wanting to change my kitchen and still deciding what to do, since I knew the backsplash was going to change eventually, I painted it a cream color. It was painted for about two years I think with no issues before I finally took the plunge! Made a big difference in the interim. If you are seriously considering replacing your countertop you might want to hold off on actually replacing the backsplash with different tile since it will likely be damaged by countertop removal. If you do decide to paint I'd suggest painting it the same or similar to your wall or your countertop so you don't end up with a fourth color in the kitchen. Here's what mine looked like painted.

@Beth H. : @AGKY Thank you both for your detailed inputs on cost & process. it is really helpful & gives me more to think about. Right now will look up more & explore options before i finalize things since there is a lot to consider. all your ideas are super helpful so i am going to start shortlisting options & finding painters + contractors soon!

We might recommend trying to add a runner along with a bowl with fruit or appliances around to add a pop of color. We recommend using the same pop of color around the kitchen. Here are a few of our kitchen designs to aid you with this dilemma.

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Mountain Home: Kitchen · More Info

A quick question. Do you use your desk? If you could raise the desk top to the level of the counter…it would provide you with that much more interrupted workspace on that portion of your kitchen. I would explore this issue. I don’t know if the counters would have to be changed out if this is done, though…

Hey Beth that’s my bathroom countertop and cabinet!! Paint the cabinets in one of the beautiful whites Beth showed you!! We used white dove over that Maple or birch , not oak, and it looked great. New backsplash and you’re cooking with gas!

Kathy, which one?? I didn't post a bathrom.

The slab with the blue cabinet is my pic ! Lol

Cabinet door

Chinese place