Your voting option pics with paint chips attached in different spots are described in post options 1,2,3? My vote is none of the above. Are you choosing the brown shades - both dark - in an attempt to cover the knots in pine? I think doing that risks making your kitchen look like a dark cave. I can’t tell how the section of kitchen in voting pics is attached to the section in main post with frig & wall oven. Is that a rug on floor or a different kind of flooring in the large pic? Is your new double wall oven black like current one or SS like frig? Why do you think cabs need a facelift? You have a definite style in this house & painting cabs will ruin that. Why not move ahead with new counters & add some cabinet hardware to doors & drawers? That will be a real facelift & change! Maybe the doors need to be sanded & cleaned if the varnish has yellowed?

I like them as-is. I suggest changing out the countertop instead.

Change out the countertops to a soft white Corian. Just clean the cabinets.

To get a smooth surface finished product, a lot of prep work is in your future. The surfaces have to be cleaned, sanded and primed. Then sanded and any filling missed and those areas sanded and reprimed. Then you can add two coats with a cabinet specific product like BM Advance or Cabinet Coat.

If you do all this prep you can choose a light color that compliments the wood you still have.

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clean your cabinets. get improved lighting and new light counters.

The stove will be stainless. The darkness on the floor is a shadow. The floors are just hardwood.
I want to paint the cabinets because they look tired and drab. There is also a lot of wood in the house. I was thinking painting would clean things up and add to the house. I love wood don’t get me wrong.

It’s a shadow on the floor?? I can see the knots in it after a closer look but it’s not the same flooring as what’s just past the frig is it? My opinion doesn’t change with hearing why you want to paint. I think painting cabs will ruin the style of the home. I would sand & revarnish - the same amount or less work than painting. Then I’d look at adding hardware

I looked again… that’s an island. Sorry about that.

I get that you’re ready for a change, but I really don’t think painting the cabinets (especially painting them any shade of brown) will improve matters. Declutter, improve your lighting, clean the cabinets. Maybe remove the island or change its counter. A small stainless work table might fit the space and brighten it up a little.

@Marie Hahler If that dark rectangle in front of fridge is an island & not the floor then I’d say move on to changing all of your counter tops including that island top! Your perimeter counters are tile with wood borders so replacing them will reduce the wood. And, I’d look at lighter color counters not anything dark - including the island - same counter top for all surfaces. Then, look at possible hardware adds - handles are the jewelry of kitchens. I haven’t read one vote here for painting your cabs. Seems like a trend that you might want to think about!

Yes paint them, just not brown. It will just look like wood from a distance. How about green or black?

I have not had success, even with shellac primers, in keeping knots from seeping through light colored paint. I have an Ethan Allen headboard/footboard that has had: primer, two coats of black lacquer, Zinsser shellac primer, and 3 coats of white chalk paint applied over the past 10 or so years as I’ve changed the decor. The knots are currently bleeding through ALL of that. So soon I will be stripping it back to original knotty pine and going with that look. I love the look of your cabinets and would suggest, before you commit to painting, that you try a product for deep cleaning the wood, such as Howards wood refinisher, followed by Howards conditioning oil. I have not personally used the product yet, but a family member reconditioned several antique dressers with it and the results were beautiful.

How about pickling? That would give the cabinets some color but will allow the grain to show thru.

Pickle the cabinets and change countertops

Interesting- I have never heard of pickling wood! I am going to start with sanding them to get the old yellow varnish off. Painting is 98% off the list of options now! Thanks everyone. Ideas and suggestions are very helpful.

Found this image to give you an idea of what pickled pine paneling looks like. It’s essentially a thin, white stain wiped onto the wood much the way you would do any other type of stain. The sealers you use over it must be non-yellowing types. Pickling furniture was very popular for awhile in the early 90s.