Painting cabinets is not like painting walls -- you need to take everything apart, strip, sand, prime, sand, prime, paint, and ideally your paint is sprayed on the doors at least.

Another trick here is that if you keep the cabinet but switch to an undermount sink, you may find that your sink is uncomfortably low. Cabinets for vessel sinks are 4-6" lower than standard bathroom counters, which are already a few inches lower than the popular kitchen-counter height...

Thanks acm...I hadn't even thought about the sink height so that's something we need to think about. I knew painting the cabinets would be a long process, and it won't be perfect - we're okay with that because we'll be changing out the bathroom in the foreseeable future (it's already 16 years old).

Can we see the damge on the cabinets because IMO no to DIY painting it will look bad but I need to see the damage to advise otherwise. When are you planning on redoing the space ?

Thanks for your response, Patricial Colwell Consulting. We intent to fix this in the next week or two. This is the only bathroom in the house (for 4 people). The water damage was on the ceiling only. There is damage on the cabinets from years of showers! The paint is "whited out". We removed the box and crown moulding around the cabinets to be able to remove the ceiling. Our other option is to just put in a new ceiling and keep the cabinets as is until we can redo the whole space. Since the cabinets "meet" our tile that continues around the tub, removing these cabinets would mean a full overhaul of tile around the tub. We realized these cabinets are not functional - too big at the the top of the sink and too wide - not enough space between them and the toilet, so we would prefer a smaller vanity once we're ready for a full reno. And that would also mean changing out the backsplash. Here is a pic of the top of the cabinets (without the box and crown):

Save your money and time and just do the whole bathroom at once. It would be a huge hassle to paint them, and the color scheme would look forced. It’s a bathroom- as long as it’s clean, no one will care.

Since you're already determined to change everything, experimenting with paint seems less risky. I get the appeal of navy, but I don't think it goes with the hard finishes you have now. Is there a color in the backsplash that you might like for the cabinets? Might painting them, even using a color that's similar to the wood, make you like them better? The change could make it easier to put off a full renovation. Personally, I don't have confidence to paint walls, let alone cabinets. But if you're willing to do the work, and live with the possibility of a result you don't love, I say go for it.

A brown bathroom with white cabinets. Your counter is darker, but the floors look similar to what you have.

Preston Hollow Master bathroom_2 · More Info

I wonder if you'd like a painted brown better than your current cabinet.

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Wow, That's genius. I think I will start with that! The cabinets are real wood. I will post after pictures...Thanks Sammie J!

Update: Does it make a difference if they're sprayed and not stained? Does Restor-a-finish work on painted cabinets?