Are the cabinets in good shape, or is the finish looking worn? It’s hard to tell from the photo. If in good shape, I’d probably not paint them. The laminate at least has some wood character. Flat panel/slab white cabinets might look way too sterile with the rest of the finishes. A good and proper paint job on those would be a lot of money — $7K would not surprise me. If they are in good shape, save up for new cabs later.

They are in pretty good shape, but look a little more "orange" in person.

NO and NO dont paint or alter the cabs. its the wrong backsplash.....but you can deal with that after you've lived here for a bit of time. Maybe new counters and splash both but get some seating in place and use the kitchen first...... Its not clear where or how a table will work along with stools???or not??? just wait to see how this goes.

Live with them for a while then. Change out those itty bitty pendant lights for something very modetn looking and maybe the cabinet hardware for something in a silver color. I’d upgrade the faucet too, chrome and super sleek. Then put a runner down in the kitchen to break up all the wood look and live with it for several to see how the space works for you.

The cabinets look to be in decent condition in your pictures. I wouldnt be painting them. I would, like someone above says, change out the pendent lights. I would also add a bit of color in there, in accessories, and some art work, etc. It just looks very bland. Once you move in and add that color, and a few area rugs, etc, the kitchen will look much different than it does not. Its never a good thing to paint cabinets, etc before you have lived in the house a while, unless of course, the cabinets are a mess, and something has to be done with them. Yours look nice.

Do you mean laminate or veneer?

Hm I’m not sure

I agree with the others that you should live with them a little while. What we cannot tell from here is what condition the cabinets are in, i.e. do they work well for storage, do the doors and drawers open and close easily, are the shelves inside them OK, etc. If you find that their condition and/or functionality isn't good, then there is no point in painting them, as it would be throwing good money after bad. Instead you might want to save up for new cabinets in a layout you like (if this one turns out not to be good).

Just from the photo, I am having a bigger resistance to the black counters than to the cabinets. If it were my kitchen, and I wanted to do just improvements rather than an entire renovation, I would change out the counters rather than paint the cabinets. The backsplash to me is fine, especially if it was with lighter counters. If you paint the cabinets, the black counters will still be there, swallowing light, and looking a little bit 1999.

That looks like wood veneer, and appears to be in good condition from what can be seen in the pics. I like them and would leave them alone. You already have a 4” backsplash with tile added above. I’d remove the tile and reassess. Repair the drywall. You could then paint it and leave the 4” backsplash. or remove the backsplash and add the tile of your choice. I think it looks like a lovely home

Thank you everyone! I think you all are right, leave the cabinates and potentailly focus on the counters or backsplash. Its a shame because I had found an older listing photo and it looks like the recent owner before us put in this tile backsplash to try to update it.

While green may not be my first choice I agree that something just isn't quite right now with the tan/beige backsplash and black counters. Throwing it out there, does anyone have a suggestion for how you'd do the backsplash &/or counters?

I found this inspiration photo and I think it is beautiful! I still agree - stay in the space for a while and then decide. But all of your suggetsions are great!

You will know after about 6 months, or a bit more, what you really want in there. Replacing or redoing things, when you are just moving in, and have so much to do, usually means, that whatever you did, you will wish you hadnt, or you will have entirely different ideas of what you really want . Its perfectly livable right now.

Wow! I agree, the kitchen looked gorgeous in the ”before” pic. I probably would not have chosen green for the walls, but think it looks great in that kitchen. Just goes to show, more tile is not always better.

If you just bought the home we might recommend living in it for a bit and seeing if you like the layout and how everything functions. Once you know that then you can decide if you'd like to remodel the whole kitchen or if only a few changes need to happen. Currently we might suggest looking into just changing the backsplash and countertops to something lighter, brighter, and something that goes together more.

McLean Modern New Construction · More Info

Modern and Masculine · More Info

Transitional Home: Kitchen · More Info