Please post pictures. It will generate far more responses.

original owner across the street listed her 1970's house w original RUTT cabinets in 2016.. Many lowered prices to finally sell way below her asking price. New owner immediately gutted the kitchen removed wall.....good quality old cabinets removed. House sold in 2021 at "offers over " ....60% return in 6 yrs time. Live w your cabs/ live w your kitchen but kitchens age , Its a 50 yr old space . Only remodel when you are ready but you will be able to upgrade many things about the space ... and it will probably be warranted even if cabs are pretty.

@Lisa - people don’t like to click on links to see photos. I’ll post your photos here, but any additional photos you have should be uploaded directly to the thread, not provided via a link.

These 50-year-old cabinets have given their all, and it’s time to get new current ones if you have the budget. They do not have “character” that would make them worth saving. You’ll get a significantly better-functioning kitchen and much better storage. Your kitchen appears small, and new frameless cabinets will increase your interior storage space. You can remove the soffit and take your upper cabinets to the ceiling too, which will also give you more storage, and will make your ceiling appear higher. In addition, you can get a better sink and appliances (not black) to fit in your new cabinets and blend aesthetically.

What's driving you towards thinking of an update? If you find them beautiful and functional, why change?

You really should start with what problem you are trying to solve. What bugs you about the kitchen? What do you want to fix?

One question you might want to ask yourself is "will I be able to buy cabinets as sturdy as what I have now". I have the original cabinets from my mid 70s home. Everything is solid wood, shelves, inside of drawers, etc. They still have the same door hinges and drawer sliders . Not one sagging door or inoperative drawer. I don't have to worry about how much weight I put on the shelves or in the drawers.

Are you ok with no dishwasher?

I think the cabinets look attractive. They are a simple style that looks pretty contemporary to me. The only thing really dating them is the frill over the window, which you could remove. The otherbthing is that "updated" cabinets are often painted because natural wood that looks good tends to be expensive, which is not a good argument for painting natural wood.

If the kitchen has other problems you want to fix, then you might find it easier to jettison your cabs than to preserve them. But ditching them just because they are '70s for something else that will be dated in 20 years is something I find both wasteful and baffling.

Consider a counter depth refrigerator.

Love your kitchen, but then I have a 1984 kitchen that is very similar! I am sure you could modify a cabinet next to the sink for a DW if you want one, I did. I have built in place "builder grade" cabs that everyone rails on here. I like them better them many new things I see. Good luck with what your decisions.

I figured out how to add pics, so I included a few different ones, the dishwasher was just out of view in the other pics, so I added one so you can see where that is.

What's driving me towards thinking of an update? I've only ever lived in fairly new homes that had been built with the last 5-10 years, so the idea of having something so old in the house is just... different, I guess. The cabinets to remind me of the cabinets my great grandmother used to have in her house, so they do give me a bit of nostalgia. But, are cabinets like my grandma had old and dated , or are they cool? I honestly don't know.

I should add we're not moved into the house yet, it was just bought, so we have to see how they are in terms of function.

Part of what I keep going back to in my head is when carpet was THE THING to have... and people would carpet over their hardwood floors. Now... we see everyone ripping that carpet out, and marveling at the beautiful hardwood floors. I guess I don't want to "ruin" something well made by replacing it with a poorer-quality that's more in style at the moment.

But... I've never done a remodel before. I really don't know if these cabinets are beautiful wood cabinets that should stay and preserve the period of the house, or if I should replace them with something more updated. It looks like comments here are split as well.

Of course if you love them you should keep them but i don't think they would be that easy to live with. The dishwasher belongs next to the sink not in a corner on the other side of the stove. Getting items out of all drawer and pull out base cabinets is so much easier than the kind you have. I wonder why the base pulls are so low, a lot of bending but my back is probably a lot older than yours:)

The color is also very bossy but if you love it that doesn’t matter. If you decide you do want to change these cabinets you can always reuse them elsewhere in the house or garage.

That's the thing - live in it for a while and see what you think. Don't consider a new kitchen or place undo weight on "saving" the original kitchen quite yet.

You could be happy with the kitchen -or- want to scream every day. Even if you hate it at day 3, it really pays to live with it. You'll learn your family habits and traffic patterns at a minimum, but also what specifics are bugging you and what trade-offs you might make to change those.

I think that you really need to think very carefully about how that kitchen does or doesn't work for you on a daily basis and how much money you have to spend.

I would not spend big money just on the aesthetics of the cabinets.

Now, if you are asking me to wave a magic wand if you had just won the lottery, assuming you had a dining room and didn't need the eat-in space, I would totally re-model that kitchen. With a certified kitchen designer.

I would incorporate the wall that is wasted with the table and chairs.

Things that would be on the wish list:

dishwasher,

two ovens,

a proper (powerful if you fry a lot) vent hood that vents to the outside,

a large sink, (maybe two, the second located in another place)

at least twice the storage space that you have now if not more, depending upon whether or not you have a separate pantry and or a basement,

a counter depth refrigerator ( I used to poo-poo them thinking I got more storage space in the traditional fridge, but now that I am older, it is harder to bend over and peer into the back of it and retrieve things. I think the ideal is to have two, one in the kitchen and another in a pantry or the basement, or a separate fridge and separate freezer,)

replace lower cabinets with pull-out drawers,

really think through item storage so you won't need to climb up to get things, either food staples or crockery,

storage for a stepladder or two so you won't have to lug the heavy thing around. The aging curve is not linear, it is exponential,

storage for mops, brooms, (I am a swiffer gal) cleaning products

storage for hand towels, dishtowels, etc

I think the cabinets are beautiful!

What I would do to update them, new hardware, new counter top, new back splash and cornice down over the sink. Do not paint them. They are beautiful.

After living in our mid-70's house for 5 years we replaced the original cathedral cabinets with solid stained maple slab fronts which seem truer to the style of the house Easy care and no regrets whatsoever.

It really depends on how much money you want to spend.

Objectively - if money was no object - the kitchen should be remodeled.

Objectively - the cabinets are really not worth saving either functionally or aesthetically. They are just plain slabs. They don't have a classic MCM "vibe" worth preserving - they aren't architecturally or aesthetically interesting or desirable.

I moved into a condo which was built in 1965 and had "essentially" the same cabinet doors - e.g. plain slab doors from a very nondesript wood. They were solid as a rock because the cabinets were built on site and so were essentially solid wood but they weren't attractive nor were they particularly functional - no lower drawers; not even pullouts on the lower cabinets; not the best use of limited space in my smaller galley kitchen; stove in not an optimal place because it was next to a wall which limited the ability to have pots with handles - AND SO ON 😂

When I moved in, I didn't have the money to remodel the kitchen as the limited money left after moving in had to go to more urgent needs like replacing the carpet that was everywere including the bathrooms. So I did a relatively inexpensive fix by painting the cabinets; changing the mustard yellow formica to a more up to date formica and changing the sink and putting down vinyl tiles to replace the vaguely mustard vinyl sheet flooring. I should state that I did have my doors painted by a professional and while it wasn't cheap, it wasn't as expensive as it now seems to be judging by what others have said. It appears that the cost of painting doors properly is nearly the cost of replacing the doors and so what is the point since you would still be left with a less than functional kitchen. In my case the economics made sense because the cost of a professional paint job back then was relatively inexpensive - he took the doors offsite and spray painted them like a car place would do and they lasted for many years until I had the money and emotional energy and time for a gut remodel.

If you have the money - and to do it right it will be at least $30,000 unless you are a DIY and don't want to actually have moderately nice finishes, However as others have posted, do NOT rush to have the kitchen redone until you have moved in and lived with it. Take the time to really figure out what you want and what would work. Spend time looking at kitchens and getting ideas about both function and aesthetics. I had once planned to do a kitchen a few years ago but life got in the way. It worked out because the kitchen I wound up with is so much better (functionally and aesthetically) than the one I would have had when I didn't know as much. Also it helped that my budget would have been much lower so I would have had to make a lot more compromises.

You are not going to be able to get a quality GC or the materials prior to moving in anyway. Yes living with a kitchen renovation is not fun but like childbirth you endure and figure out how to make it work and then once it is over you forget about some of the stress becaue the result is so wonderful.

The most urgent thing to update is the 1040's lighting.

Also, the front door and wainscotting is colonial and white but most of the casing trim is stained clamshell and theres no ceiling moulding. What is the exterior style of the house?

If you ever replace the appliances, don't get black.

If you ever replace the window and you intend to open it use an awning rather than a double hung.

The floor and the counters appear to imitate very different kinds of stone; they could compliment each other better.

The kitchen has plenty of space and should be functional for the immediate future. After several months, you will know whether you want a gut remodel or a more limited update. Then you can ask for advice with the project details after you nail down the budget and objectives.

I think they are a nice simple look. As others have advised, wait until you have some time with them to make your decision.

A few other things to consider is the other elements in this house and your personal style. Are you okay with the look of the rest of the house? I think it's most importsant to make sure the house matches itself in terms of colors and style.

I think these cabinets would look amazing with some different floor and counter options. Or you might want to save the $ to bust open that wall around the eating area and add an island.

They're not beautiful.

I agree you should live with it a while and start using it , then over time write things you really want to fix or get done as you come across them , like backsplash or painting etc..