I would not do any remodeling until you've lived in the house 6-12 months. Right now, you don't know if the kitchen layout works for your lifestyle. Oak is difficult to paint due to the heavy grain of the wood. Do not let a contractor make your design designs, that is not their forte.

The cabinets look to be in good shape. I would leave them as is; especially if you have kids. I agree that you need to live in your home a while prior to making any major and costly decisions for renovations. I lived in my “forever home” about 20 years, before doing an almost complete interior home renovation: new kitchen, new bathrooms, new oak staircase, new flooring, new windows, new entry door; we also painted the entire interior. I had started a home renovation fund years ago with a seperate Roth account that I used for my renovations, and was able to get exactly what I wanted! I had 20 years to plan. It has been a few years since our renovations and I am still thrilled with them. I did tons of research; my husband and I were the general contractors, we carefully researched all craftsmen, and products used. We took each renovation one at a time. I read tons of blogs and articles in Houzz; great information is available! I highly suggest if you get a kitchen renovation, to use a hand picked kitchen designer, as mine was worth his weight in gold! Best of luck in your journey!

the appliances seem to have been updated. the overall feel and appearance with the oak is sort of borderline...meaning a little tired looking... but sufficient for a good amt of time to have a fully useable space. You might take off a few doors and find a local refinishing guy and see how much of that top coat is worn off and maybe w a clean up and some gel stain you could do something. But also just cleaning and putting on some hardware and put some chrome rollouts in those base cabs might be a worthy/ inexpensive activity. You have those enormous pantry cabinets..is it two or one with double doors...make use of that spot . you could check out the glides and the boxes inside.....they can get a little upgraded sometimes esp if the size of the carcass is standard. I would not do or plan a full remodel right now. some nice indestructable runners on the floor and hardware will go a long way. I like cleaned up oak.....yours is not the orange stuff / I just wonder if someone could darken or add a little depth w gel stain . Good Luck w the new home.

here's what a deeper/ slightly richer treatment to the oak might achieve....note the island. but you have to 1. assess the feasibility. [ if finish will accept-it does look worn] 2. pay for this. 3. be aware of the inside condition of the cabinets [what is worth doing] .....these sorts of things are unknown to the viewers here.

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Lots of good advice here.

Your contractor is looking to make more money right now--you saw an ant? Well I think you should probably tear down the entire house LOL! My house is almost 100 years old, and it's practically impossible to totally seal up--I have an exterminator on retainer for the ants (and the mice and the crickets and the termites....)

I don't think your contracter is trying to take advantage of you. The cabinets look worn and a good quaility paint job will be expensive and still leave you with partial overlay doors and exposed hinges which will both still date the kitchen. That said, if you like your cabinets by all means keep them!

I think your contractor is right about only replacing the countertops. There is only one drawer base shown in that kitchen, and unless there are a lot more somewhere else, you are probably going to be dissatisfied with the storage options and layout.

However, I think your contractor is wrong about doing it now. Seal the grout on the tile counters and wait until you have lived in the kitchen long enough to know your needs. Tile counters suck, but they are not the end of the world.

To answer your question, Oak trees live longer than you and the cabinets can too. Kitchens typically get replaced because people don’t like the function. With a little bit of care, that kitchen could look about that same way when your grandkids inherit the home. If you are worried about slamming doors, add soft close hinges. If you are going to paint them, be sure they use a grain filler before painting to hide the heavy graining.

Having the cabinets stripped and painted should be less expensive that replacing them if they are in as good a shape as you say. Quality cabinets are very expensive. If you are a diyer you can always do the job yourself and save a ton of money. Good luck!

Those are flat cut oak cabinets popular as builder grade from yesteryear. The open grain of North American white and red oak darkens with stain to give a 2D affect. And they're yellow. But changing to a non-yellow wood cabinet leaves you with the yellow floor. That can be refinished to a current non-yellow tone. Here's discussion. Bona Red Out anyone? (houzz.com) How much do you want to do? Ikea has a good solid wood series. Vedhamn. Link. Constructed from European Oak, a different species. No open grain and not the yellow predominate tone.

Compare this oak to what is in your kitchen. No dark grain.

People recommend a waiting period because it takes time to identify choices available, review the layout and plan the work. A lot of money.

Although the cabinets look a little tired, I would suggest you live with the kitchen for a bit and see how it works for you. Function is most important in kitchens, so live with it and see how it works. If it were me, I would save for a remodel and upgrade from lower cabinets to more drawers and possibly reconfigure the layout. At that point, get your new countertops and backsplash. As mentioned above, painting oak is more involved than painting other woods. Put that money toward a remodel. Also, painting your cabinets won’t get rid of ants. Just call a good exterminator.

Hardwood lasts longer than any other. The finish might need some refreshing but the cabinetry will hold up like no other. People replace them to chase the latest fad not because they are falling apart. Unlike painting re- finishing is a DYI. Your cabinetery looks to need some sanding then stain and new poly over all. As these things go your cabinet design would be easier than a many to do yourself.

Agree with living in the house for a year, or two, or even longer before doing anything like replacing the cabinets. If you find the layout is fine, you can always have the cabinets refinished or painted professionally. But with young children maybe hold off on the painting idea. My son’s kitchen looked very much like yours, he had the countertops & backsplash replaced & the existing cabinets professionally painted, added undercounter lighting , it looks like a new kitchen, unrecognizable from before.. But I would wait awhile before deciding anything. Good luck.

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All good advice^^^post back in 6-12 months and let us know how the planning is going (is also my advice).

You will probably always see ants. Every year they come in at a different spot. We seal it up and next year they find a new way to get in. They're very tiny and surprisingly smart. Unless it's a major infestation it's just part of living in certain parts of the country. Certainly no reason to remodel your kitchen. They would be back afterwards in any case. There are so many things to do when you move into a new house, even one in good condition. Make a list of the things you want to do, prioritize it (based on what's important to you) and proceed accordingly. It will likely take years to do everything. The only thing I recommend doing before you move in is refinishing the floors as that is very dirty and disruptive to do while living there. You should spend a lot of time researching and thinking about your kitchen before undertaking that project. I moved 3+ years ago and I am leaving that for last. I have already changed my mind multiple times about what I want while thinking about it.

One of my neighbors remodeled her kitchen before moving in because their house had been owned by smokers and she couldn't bear the smell which had permeated all the surfaces. When showing me her new kitchen she mentioned several things she wished she had done differently. Because they hadn't lived with the existing kitchen she just didn't know how some of the things would hit her.

You're showing ONE pic?!

AN ANT??? Squash him. For heavens sake, these are often a seasonal once in a while thing!!!

The rest. I DO know, that no matter what, a tiled counter is a pain in the ass. Not the end of the world to do a three/ five year solution with a lower priced granite, plain....like absolute black.

I wouldn't paint the cabinetry. Not deserving from what I can see.

Truly? To advise better? Show more of the house. Show the kitchen from another couple angles.

But the grout? It's not a stain issue. It is THE GRAB/stick effect on any rag, sponge, etc. It is annoying as hell.

Great advice to wait to see how well the kitchen works for you. If it works well, then maybe refacing and redoing countertops is all you need along with retrofitting with Rev-a-Shelves for updated functionality. It's a nice size, well lit by skylight, and floors look good. Not every kitchen with older cabinets needs to be ripped out.

"We recently bought a house... and we have young kids who will certainly delight in banging the cabinet doors."

There is the beginning and end of it. You just bought it, haven't moved in yet. It's good advice to settle in before remodeling. Living there will tell you what you may need to change, or want to keep. And young kids banging- get some pads on the doors and drawers and let them. Teach them not to do that. And then once they are out of the abusing the kitchen phase, get your new cabinets that they won't be banging around.

I would replace that counter now though. I find tile counters the worst of all counter materials, particularly in a kitchen. And since the backspash is a match, replace it too while you are replacing the counters.

As for the ant... what kind of ant was it? Different ants mean different things. Little sugar ants are one problem, carpenter ants another, and a bunch of ants that are more of an exterior sealing kind of thing rather than a new kitchen cabinets will solve it kind of thing. Seeing one ant isn't really a big deal. But if you see many of them or you are concerned, call in the ant pro- an exterminator.

Oak can last for a really really long time. It is a very hard wood, and is resistant to impacts.

How do the cabinets feel when you use them? Are any of the doors or drawers warped? Do the drawers open and close smoothly? Are the door hinges tight? Do the doors close securely or do they stop before they hit the cabinet? If the finish is worn AND the hardware is falling apart, I'd save up for a totally new kitchen.

Personally, the counters/backsplash would drive me crazy and I would have to tear them out right away. For a short-term fix while I was saving up for a new kitchen, I would replace the counters with laminate and paint the backsplash area. When you're ready to redo the whole thing, pulling out the laminate won't feel as wasteful as redoing a more expensive counter.

Also, do not let the contractor charge you for plugging up ant access. It's an easy DIY fix.

My advice:

--Ignore contractor.

--Do NOT paint. Builder oak never looks good painted.

--Replace countertop with a neutral quartz or maybe Silestone Pulsar.

--Paint or tile backsplash - if paint, order integrated splash on your counter.

--Install stainless bar pulls.

--Install stainless roll outs in almost all bottom cabinets.

--Wait for your kids to graduate middle school.

It's a big, reasonably functional kitchen, Keep your money in the bank for now. Good luck, and enjoy your lovely new home.

I have to mention the part about the contractor saying you need to seal because you saw an ant. This contractor rubs me the wrong way with the fear mongering. Is the neighborhood/area new to you? Is it more trees than you are used to? Cause I gotta say that I get ants in the spring, beetles in the summer, and spiders in the fall. They are briefly there, and I use natural preventatives due to pets and children. But I have a ton of trees all around, and no amount of sealing or window screens is going to stop Mother Nature's insects.

Do not paint the cabinets - as mentioned above, with their heavy grain it's going to be difficult paint job which means more costly to paint.

I agree wholeheartedly with the previous advice to wait a bit before deciding what to do with your kitchen. 6 months is good. In that time, you can hang out on this forum, and just by reading threads that interest you, you will educate yourself about kitchen renovation. That is a money saver - not only because it will help you in your choices, but also because it will prevent mistakes that a newbie might make that can be costly.

I think it might be a relief to have older cabinets when you have younger kids who aren't able to be careful. You will shrug at door slamming, jam smearing, Sharpie writing (yes, we have seen that here), and similar. Or, imagine all that with new cabinets that cost tens of thousands.

Listen to JAN MOYER she said it best

I agree with the posters saying to hold off. I'd also consider the style of the house before making changes, This kitchen seems to sit well with the skylight and some other architectural features. Also consider the overall needs of the house. Sometimes updating the kitchen makes the rest of the house seem out of step and unloved. Make some of your favorite meals, see where the pain points are. I'd live with the counters for a bit while you determine what level of makeover the kitchen is getting.

I agree that you should not do anything to the cabinets before living in the home for a while to decide if you like the layout or what things you'd like to change, and also to settle on a budget. Keep in mind that moving into a new home has all kinds of expenses you do not anticipate, so perhaps don't pile on a kitchen renovation cost on top of that.

However, I think I would replace the counters and backsplash because that tile will be more difficult to live with than a stone or laminate counter will be. I didn't say Quartz counters because I don't think Quartz would go in your kitchen. Laminate is much better today than what you might remember from years ago. There are also granites that are not too expensive. Either would be low maintenance. You can find inexpensive backsplash subway tile at Home Depot and that goes with everything. I think laminate or granite costs plus an inexpensive backsplash are not too bad to sink in for quick fixup for a kitchen and will tide you over for some years before you have to re-do the kitchen entirely.

As to bugs. Most of the bugs that come in to our home come in through the front door especially when taking the dog out for a night walk the mosquitos and moths fly in. Family is also going in and out through the front door, the door opens for deliveries, etc. So sealing is not going to really keep bugs away, and I wouldn't even pay to do it unless you have a true bug problem, but not for the occasional ant or other bug that everyone gets now and then.

Terro liquid ant bait is inexpensive and usually does the trick.

If there is a big bug problem, the best course of action would be to call a pest control company. A good pest control tech will know where to find all the bug highways and seal them off.

Liking on, but with the idea that, since painting won’t look that good, and alternative is replacing, with a big expense for cabinets & all the options out there, for me it’d be hard to know in a short time which units where, what sizes drawers, pullouts, how high to go. These are things that you can start making your wish list for. Plus, with young kids you have a rapidly changing array of paraphernalia in the kitchen. And it never looks showroom pretty during somd iv those stages. Let alone possibly learning over time that you want you relocate an appliance or something.

I totally agree with doing the one major- ish thing, laminate countertops if demo of the tile is not destructive to the cabinets. I just don’t know anything about that. Because that would be a huge QOL gain in keeping kitchen clean.

OTOH , I get feeling like lije you’d prefer something different, and it’s hard at have been suggested, plus ruthless de cluttering of anything you can ( except, kids!) and figuring out how you store things, how you keep kitchen tidy. Plus treat yourself to a few accessories that look nice.
Then, I imagine there are many rooms that also need your personal touch, and are less “ function intensive “ or design- heavy as kitchens, so you could put creative effort into your bedroom oasis, or cozy family room, and so on.
There are the few things you can do, that

The kitchen looks to be very functional and you’ve stated seems to be well cared for. I would leave the cabinets for now.
But I completely understand not wanting the tiled counters with matching back splash. I would replace those 2 items with something simple, easy to care for and relatively low cost. Good suggestions have been made. Then after you have lived in the house for awhile you will have a much better idea of what truly needs to be done. Your family is young, wait a few years.
As for the singular ant. Well he likely has lots of friends, but they are not necessarily all going to invade your kitchen. In any case new cabinets will not stop ants. Monitor your situation and address as needed. Again many good suggestions for ant control have been given and if you have a bigger problem with ants, hire a professional company.
With an easy to care for counter top, and your own decorating touches, I think you will be happy in your new home.

Here's what I would do:

- replace the tile counters/backsplash with something inexpensive

- add hardware to the doors/drawers

- replace the big honking light fixture with track lighting (or virtually anything else)

- add pullouts to the base cabinets

I installed these Rev A Shelf pullouts the week we closed on our house - we hadn't even fully moved in yet. I like that the cabinet door attaches to the lower pullout, so it almost acts as a drawer. Later I moved the knobs to the center of the doors.

If your cabinet sizes don't match reasonably well with the Rev A Shelf sizes, and you are somewhat handy, you can build Blum Metaboxes, as I did in my Mom's apartment. These are less convenient to use, as you have to open the door first, but since her cabinets had only a half shelf, the increase in storage space was worth the inconvenience. Plus she didn't have to get down on her knees to get things out and put them away.

Wait until the kids get older. I would put my money into changing those grayish walls.

I (still) have very similar oak cabinets from the late 80s or very early 90s... And an oak floor. Its a lot of oak. We have had some other financial necessities come up over the last couple years that have put off our kitchen redo a bit longer. We are hoping that next year is finally the time! I echo what others are saying about living with the kitchen. I am so glad that I didn't redo our kitchen from the get go when we bought our house 8 years ago. I wouldn't have known the best ways to improve the flow and layout without living in and using it. What I did was paint the kitchen (including painting the backsplash which is just drywall) and replace hardware. Hang happy art and buy colorful kitchen towels.

The only thing I would say is a must do for you before you move in is refinish those wood floors to a more neutral tone. I assume they run through more than just the kitchen? I did not refinish our floors when we moved in (they were in fine shape and for the most part still are ok) and now 8 years and two children later, its just SO. MUCH. HARDER. to even contemplate all that we'd need to do to refinish them!

Regarding reno now vs later - I just gut renovated (am still renovating, backsplash is not done yet) a kitchen with 3 small kids (6, 3 and 1 years old). No question about it, it sucked. We stayed with family for about 10 days while the messiest / dustiest parts happened, and then ate in our living room / cooked in instant pot / grill until we had functional cooking space again.

I would have liked to renovate before we moved in, because we had about 4 months overlap with our old place, but I would have made bad decisions about layout because I hadn't lived there yet, and I could not find a quality contractor to take on the job with that amount of lead time. Things might be better now, but at the time cabinets themselves were about 12 week lead time from ordering.

Not sure how much overlap you have at your rental, but in your situation I would replace the counter/backsplash with something cheap (like laminate) just to get away from the tile, and then plan for a full reno in 12-18 months.

For the renovation, you could look at setting up a temporary kitchen somewhere in your house. You need a refrigerator, sink, microwave and countertop oven. Hopefully you can avoid needing a stovetop burner - there are not good safe options for those (as far as I know). The fridge needs a dedicated (or otherwise unused) circuit, or you could try mini-fridges, maybe a freezer in the garage. The sink needs a full setup - I plan to share my laundry connections using a plastic utility sink when I renovate my kitchen. You can set up makeshift countertops as needed with old base cabinets or tables, and wood or doors from your old cabinets or plywood. I just put old clean towels over the top and use a couple of 12x24 ceramic tiles for a food prep surface. Everything doesn’t need to be in the same room. It’s not convenient, it’s definitely not pretty, but it can get you fed.

I will be repurposing the wood from my old cabinets, for lots of things. I enjoy DIY projects.

I have painted oak before. It looks OK to me. You see the grain through the paint. The paint was not very durable, but I didn’t challenge it much. With your durability requirement, I agree that you should live with the cabinets for awhile. I have found laminate countertops to be very durable as well - the ones I had were good quality. If you like the cabinetry and layout, you could have them refaced later with durable paint or veneer and new doors.

An inexpensive portable induction single burner is very safe. You can get 2.

If you’ve read every comment, you know that most of us are saying “Wait”. I agree with changing the countertop and backsplash since tile countertops are horrendous to take care of. Formica is less expensive than stone and looks a helluva lot better than your grandmother’s.

If you have little ones and you DO change the counters, consider lowering the second tier and creating an island at the kitchen end (if there is room) The lower stools will be safer for the kids and you can feed and watch them from the kitchen. The carpentry work is minor for this.

Don’t use the same contractor. He sounds like he’s bossy and uneducated about ants and kitchens. Ask neighbors for referral to good people who you will need.

It takes time to know a house and formulate what you want to change. You need to decide either a full gut job, or a refacing job if the layout works. Refacing companies can change doors to drawers and add cabinets that will match the others. Start Wish Lists for projects and save photos of things you love.

Refinishing wood floors before moving in is the absolute best idea. It’s a MESSY project. This is the time to invest in that so you don’t have to do it again. A “refresh” coat of paint throughout will also make you happy. More photos will get you specific suggestions for good neutrals (whether whites or ivories).

Congratulations on your new house. I’m sure it’s going to be very exciting for your whole family.

Congrats on your new home! It’s tempting to reno before moving in but please WAIT, live in the house 6 mo and your reno list and priorities will probably change. Before living here you don’t know what you don’t know about the house functions for your family. Nuff said.

When you redo the floors, choose a neutral medium brown stain. That will give you more options for furnishings, paint colors, and kitchen cabinets. The yellow oak floor is making the whole kitchen even more “yellow-y”. Just doing the floors a warm brown will make the kitchen look better.

I’m afraid I’ve got to agree with the crowd. Those are basic builder grade old school oak cabinets with none of the amenities that are now common (hidden soft close hinges, pull-outs, deep drawers instead of lower cabs, etc). They are perfectly functional but it would be a waste of $ to put new counters and backsplash on them….the proverbial lipstick on a pig. So yes, living there a while and seeing how the kitchen works for you would be ideal and then embark on a more significant remodel inclusive of new cabinetry once you know what you want. If you plan it out very well it doesn’t have to take all that long. BTW I have found much better pricing from a local custom cabinetmaker than other sources- your contractor may have such a contact.

I'd live with it for awhile. And when it comes time buy a few portable appliances for the cooking. Air B&B not necessary for me. But maybe it is for you. You just asked what we would do. Might not be best for you.

One thing I would do is make the eat in counter all one level.