Would wallpaper work on the cabinets? Or would the ridges show through?

It's melamine or laminate. They read as a relatively neutral surface, really You could probably paint the frames to match the tone of the doors rather than contrast.

You can paint almost anything as long as you have a high adhesion primer. If it's melamine, you can paint it. Do I think it would make a huge difference? Not so sure. Painting the wood trim on the countertop and cabinets will make a difference. Since your dishwasher matches the cabinets, you would want to do something with that too.

Are you interested in removing the wallpaper and painting the walls to blend with the cabinets? The wallpaper removal may be easy, it may come off with the wallboard attached and result in more work than you want to bite off (skim coating or replacing wallboard).

If you want to paint the walls after removing wallpaper, here are some ideas to work with the cabinets if you don't paint them.

I am SURE you could find a primer that would stick to these, if you used a pro. I doubt it's worth the money if you're planning a major reno. I'd paint the walls a cream, but I'd be more focused on decluttering and getting rid of that frilly thing over the sink if you want the space to feel cleaner and neater.

Have they been cleaned?

For me, the biggest offender is the pink walls, I would figure out a different paint color.

Next, the old fashioned sheer valance. Sorry but nothing there would be better.

Looks like you have a “ greenhouse” window. What’s with all random items? That spot is great for plants or at least lovely decorative glass ware.

I am not a fan of stuff hanging all over. The colander hanging off the cabinet, stuff on top of the fridge, is there no room to store fry pans?

The scatter rug. After I chose paint I would coordinate a nice rug and center it under sink.

My kitchen in my 50’s split used to be builder grade cheap cabinetry. Yours looks so much better than mine did.

Hard to see the floor but it looks nice from the bit I see.

I would not paint the cabinets. The wall color could be just about any color you like. Which direction does it face? South and west are better with color colors, while north and east are better with warm colors.

This is a great green:

Crisp Architects · More Info

Try some Fantastic with bleach cleaner on those cabinet fronts (try an inconspicuous spot first). I have developed a love affair with that cleaner - it whitens and brightens just about everything I have used it on, with relatively little effort. Note I say “relatively,” because everything about cleaning is work! Remove the wallpaper, or prime with Zinsser and paint over it with a color that coordinates with the adjoining rooms. Declutter and remove valance over sink.

I think the cabinets can work! Clean them up and then find a contrast color that will make your heart sing! Popular kitchen colors on trend now seem to be deep teal, deep navy, and deep green. Select new hardware to replace what you have and keep counter items to two or three max?

Clean the oak wood cabinets up with cleaner and leave a is.

put a woven wood roman shade in the kitchen window.

Select a killer backsplash that is simple but has some interest; sleek and modern looking.

The fluorescent ceiling light needs to go....find something modern to fill in the area. If the area if recessed, remove the fixture, and select a linear light to tuck up into the ceiling cavity.

Good luck!

The cabinets aren't bad in a 70s or 80s kind of way. They appear to be pretty good quality for the era.

You don't have a lot of wall, but what wall you have should certainly not be pink wallpaper! I like the suggestions for a deep wall color. Does the room have a logical stopping point for bold paint?

You could always try sticking peel & stick wallpaper to the doors, but I bet they'll look good enough with a deep cleaning and new wall paint.

I agree that overall the cabinets are fairly neutral and easily worked with. I'd remove wallpaper for sure as that is a bigger visual "offender" than the cabinets! The idea above to paint walls a close to matching color of cabinets to blend them in would certainly work. Also, a pretty medium earthy green could look really nice with both the cream of cabinets and the wood tones (trim, counter edge, and floor) you have going on. Sherwin-williams' artichoke or dill or oak moss could look great depending on your light in that room. Or maybe a teal like grand canal?

Agree with others. Deep clean the cabinets (they are not as horrible as you think); declutter/purge - then some more, remove lace valance, revise lighting, strip the wall-paper; paint the walls a color you like; new hardware for cabinets. You can do this!

Peel and stick wall paper could be a nice touch, although I would definitely replace the hardware if you're on a budget. Repaint the wood trim around the cabinets to freshen it up a bit. If you're worried about paint not sticking, I would sand it to strip it of the paint and remove any veneer finish, and then attempt to repaint it if you chose to.