Cabinets are beautiful. I would not paint them. Change the backsplash and paint the walls a complimentary color other than pale yellow. I would not remove the moulding either. Soft close hinges, could work provided one is available in the same attachment pattern as your current hinges or you will be SOL on that as the that much modification of the doors seldom works.

What millworkman said, plus remove the chickens and that piece of cloth draped on the wall. Change the red lamps. A general decluttering would also help.

I am tired of dark cabinets, I want to have them painted

I'd go with a color -- personally I'd choose a shade of blue -- but not white. A color will look more balanced in the room. Be sure to prime them first; this dark stain may "come through" otherwise.

i want to remove the molding from the tops

The cabinets will appear unfinished without the top molding.

they look stuck on the wall with 3 to 4 feet about them.

Agree that to the ceiling is nicer; however, since you don't want to add cabinets above /don't want to store things that high, your options are limited.

- Close in the wall above the cabinets; that is, bring the wall in /add a large soffit (image follows, though yours would be much taller) above the cabinets.

- Since your soffit would be rather large, you could add "dummy doors"; that is, doors that don't open /don't lead to actual cabinets. It'd give you the look of cabinets without the cost and storage of actual cabinets.

I might try repainting walls, redo backsplash, replace pendants and hardware to brass and remove swag curtains before investing in painting the cabinets.

Whoa. I know that you like it and want it to stay, but your backsplash is the problem with your kitchen. The swirls do not line up with your cabinets. The big chicken and the drapes should go as well.

I like roarah's idea the best. I like yellow - I had three yellow rooms in my previous home. But when I moved four years ago I didn't paint any rooms yellow because I wanted a change. Of course if you love yellow you should keep it, but if you're looking for a refresh, painting the walls is much easier and cheaper than painting cabinets. The varying cabinet heights aren't done anymore, and painting them won't change that. I don't think soffits are a good idea either because they would be too tall unless you do the faux doors as suggested. Don't remove the crown on the cabinets as that is what makes them look finished. No crown is a cheap, builder-grade look. It only works if you have flat panel cabinet doors.

However, if you really are set on painting, focus on the colors in your countertop and choose something that goes with it and your floor. Try greiges, cream or a shade of green. I don't think blue is going to work. You will probably have to sample several colors before finding the right one. Be sure to do a professional job or else it won't last. It takes many steps and is very time consuming.

Do you love the glass backsplash?

What are your favorite aspects of the kitchen and adjacent dining area? Colors, style, organization, space, chickens, windows, and so on?

any medium brown looks better w a cleaner white next to it......walls/counter//backsplash....

not certain what your budget is....

these folks went with white in vertical section w mwave and fridge......you could think about your uppers in a white if you really want to change ....but paint walls first and think about counter/splash. thats what I'd do.

Spaces do get old if you are the resident ..but objectively ..pick the right things for budget and ease to accomplish.....sensible choices etc.

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If your main goal is making the uppers not look so choppy, I would paint the room a warm white and paint the uppers the same color. Make sure the white works with the backsplash as well. And do not decorate above the cabinets.

To me, your kitchen feels a bit claustrophobic, but I don't think it's the cabinet color that makes me feel that way - it's the hulking angled cabinet in the corner, all the stuff on the counters, and the busyness of the backsplash.

Declutter, and add undercabinet lighting. Possibly those changes will make the kitchen feel brighter and more open, and you won't feel the need to paint them.

Please answer this question - is that a tile backsplash with a glass panel over it? If so, then it's so easy to remove the glass panel and leave the tile as is. The background tile - if tile is what it is - seems a nice color and goes with your counters.

Change the outlet covers and light switch colors to the same color as the backsplash tile. Leviton and Lutron make dozens of colors of those. A calmer backsplash will go a long way to transforming your kitchen.

The biggest visual problem in your kitchen is the glass panel backsplash. You said it's not going, but it is truly the Number One thing that needs to go.

You shouldn't paint the cabinets. An expensive job, and outcome can be iffy with chips and bleedthrough. Also the crown molding needs to stay as mentioned above.

As already mentioned by @Theresa Peterson, add a soffit above the cabinets if you don't like that empty space. However, I do not agree with her suggestion to add "dummy doors" onto the soffit. Simple is always best, and you already have a lot of lines in your kitchen. No need to have anything on the soffit but a smooth surface.

The breakfast nook is charming. I love the chairs that are in the style of the Knoll Saarinen chairs! (the real ones are $2,300/ea.). Just empty the table surface of everything, and remove the drapey thing around the window; it serves no purpose and is fussy and detracts from that lovely area.

I would remove the poster that is to the left of the sink. It is a busy picture, and your kitchen needs to decrease busy-ness. I'd just leave that small bit of wall empty. It is a common mistake to think that every wall needs to be decorated. But actually, decor looks more beautiful when there is some empty space for the eye to "rest".

Here are a couple pics of what a soffit above kitchens cabinets looks like:

Change the red lamps.

I like the red lamps -- I'd like them better if the color red were repeated in other places throughout the kitchen.

A general decluttering would also help.

Yeah, lots of stuff out on the counter top.

I know that you like it and want it to stay, but your backsplash is the problem with your kitchen. The swirls do not line up with your cabinets.

I don't like the backsplash either -- it is very taste-specific. If the OP wants to keep it, it should be the star -- not one item out of many. Perhaps painting the cabinets white would allow the backsplash to stand out. As presented now, the backsplash appears to be clutter.

A question: When you look at this picture, where does your eye go first? OP, where do you want a visitor's eye to be drawn first?

I don't think soffits are a good idea either because they would be too tall unless you do the faux doors as suggested. Don't remove the crown on the cabinets as that is what makes them look finished. No crown is a cheap, builder-grade look. It only works if you have flat panel cabinet doors.

Soffits can be tall -- here's an image. I'd rather see the cabinets replaced, as I don't like the snaggletooth look, but the OP said that's not a possibility.

Here are a couple pics of what a soffit above kitchens cabinets looks like:
That's a nicely done soffit.

I love yellow kitchens (mine is yellow too!), but i don’t love the dark brown cabs with the yellow. the cabinets look nice as is so i would repaint walls, but yellow does look nice with white cabs if that is your preference. I think it would fit with the backsplash nicely if you love the backsplash. soffits aren’t a good option with the staggered cabinets so i would just leave as is. your ceilings are really too high for cabs to ceiling look so i would prefer open space to soffits anyway.

I would save the money on painting the cabinets and put it towards replacing all the uppers in a nice off white paint and leave the bases as is. Get rid of the staggered tops and that diagonal corner cabinet. Make them taller so they fill some of the space above. You can add a soffit. I prefer it open - put some lighting up there for a little drama.

I think your backsplash is kind of interesting - I just wish the pattern matched the layout a little more.

Good luck!

IMO too many things that can't be changed to get much help here . Painting cabinets is very pricey and I will say I have never seen DIY painted cabinets that look really good and stand up well. I think the backsplash is awful (sorry) . Pro painting of cabinets often costs as much a new almost and for dated cabinets like yours not worth the money. The staggered cabinet look is not ever ideal , all those base cabinets should be drawers too. IMO there is no way to even add cabinets above without a complete overhaul of the whole cabinet layout. As for soft close hinges that needs to be figured out depending on what hinges you have now. Even if you decide to keep the cabinets as they are I would not spend the money on painting but for sure a good declutter and a new backsplash some LED 4000K bulbs in the lighting are all things that can be DIYed for very little money. Then save to bring this into this kitchen up to meet the function and style that is just better.. As for hardware if the cabinets are painted by a pro you could change but honestly I would leave as is for now.

Your kitchen has a lot of potential. If I lived there, I would remove everything from the counters. Change the cabinet hardware to black. Remove scalloped valance from window. Change the backsplash. I love the big chicken but I would move him from top of cabinets.
Your kitchen simply needs a simpler backsplash, I don’t want to be mean, but when I first saw it, it reminded me of auto detailing.
Keep the red lights. Have fun with it.

“The biggest visual problem in your kitchen is the glass panel backsplash. You said it's not going, but it is truly the Number One thing that needs to go.”

Sorry, I have to agree it’s very distracting. Your cabinets are fine.

nikkel-art.co.uk is where i got the backsplash i wanted something that was different than anyone else had…. i love glass because it shines , is easy to clean, doesnt use grout and my choices were unlimited i guess i messed up not choosing something i was in love with i like my stainless steel appliances . my house is so open so i feel i need to keep yellow as a color my living room couch is orange and my chairs are gray my rugs are gray and orange in the LR , the dining area has a round gray with orange , yellow and purple and the entry is a gray with orange and yellow and purple all are from the same set…

i am taking the drape down now

i think ….. new off white upper cabinets’, leave the lowers dark and make the uppers taller than now remove the chickens and clean off the counters and the table i would like to change the cabinet knobs to lines

havent decided about the pendant lights yet and possibly some undercabinet lighting will wait to see how the backsplash looks after i make those changes

i want to thank everyone for their comments and i truly appreciate your advice and my feelings arent hurt a bit

So you are not removing the backspalsh is that what you are saying?

Not sure yet i have absolutely no idea what kind of replacement i would get

See if you can find some large format glass tiles for the backsplash.

Thats what I would choose is a large format glass tile to go with the counters a bit better and as for the cabinets your cleaning lady has to dust up there now .

If you are over a 15 year old kitchen--please get better advice this time. Most of the world gets ONE go at designing their dream kitchen. Painted cabinetry is over. Wood is where it's at AGAIN because it's classic and forever. Paint is done but that is a very individualized rare choice and the more individual a choice the shorter it will be appreciated--even by the chooser. You need to find ways to do little things that will satisfy your need for NEW.

you definitely do not need to keep the yellow paint. warm white will look great everywhere in your home with all the lovely color combinations you listed. you may love the backsplash in theory but it was poorly executed. (Sorry!) changing to white and removing the backsplash will modernize your space in a better and much less costly way. If you change the perfectly fine cabinets but keep the other dated elements like the paint and chickens and pendants and clutter your kitchen will still look 15 years out of date.

Why do you want to take off the moulding? What do you think this will achieve?

I will comment on the backsplash--if you insist on keeping it, then you have to remove anything that obscures it. As you show it now, the items in front of the backsplash look like clutter. Consider keeping it on only the non-stove wall and keep that wall clear. Also, change the color of the light switches or whatever those black rectangles are to the background color of the backsplash.

I agree to change the yellow color on the walls to a creamy white. This will coordinate just fine with the yellow in the other rooms.

There's a seat in the kitchen work space? Can reach or bend to get at the lowers cabinet contents?

How long will you be staying in the house?

The issue and a DIZZYING issue b.t.w, is the back splash.......

especially when compounded with the counter clutter, and clutter in general. Everywhere. It is nervous making.

Please do this?

Clean up everything of clutter. Every single surface. Counters, dining table, all of it. Tops of cabinets as well.

Take DOWN the swoop and drape sheers "swagaroos". from the breakfast area.

Tale more pictures, add below and return below.

One of the problems with the backsplash is its scale. It is too large for the area. My sister does this a lot. She has no understanding that scale matters. Her and her husband put giant things in small spaces that don't work, and it then looks horrible (huge moose head, 10' tall mirror, installed large fake rocks around a small fireplace in a small room). She also tries too hard to make something into what it will never be and it makes no sense (ripped out walls to try to make dining room into this tropical design when she lives in the Midwest).

You have a very nice kitchen. You tried the design in the backsplash. Time to move on. Since you like the cleaning ease of the glass, perhaps you can scrape the current design off the back of the glass, install wallpaper or something interesting, and reinstall the (now) clear glass? That would be one way that you could still have a backsplash that was unusual but was more suited to the scale of the area where it is installed and reuse your glass.

It looks so good! Very fresh!

Can you come to my house and de-clutter?

Whole new space. I love you mash up of styles. Your antique mirror is beautiful and your plants feel like nice objects of art.

Your plan sounds smart. Wait until the painting is complete to select backsplash. Be careful with orange-ish tones so they don't clash with your floors and counters.

That is a shining example of a what a good de cluttering will do for a space!!!

Lose that backsplash. There are a zillion tiles. Bring home samples, stand them up and decide. It doesn't have to be glass tile. the hand wring over grout you see on these pages? Absurd.

I would NOT waste money on additional cabinets above the existing. Your lowers are all door base, it isn't worth it. Rip the cupboards or leave it alone.

The hi/lo combination was dated 15 years ago, as was the lack of drawers.

Fifteen years in this day, are double the dated that would have been the life of a kitchen years ago. So...... visually it is a 25 - 30 yr old kitchen. Rip or draw a line in the sand. All of that depends length of stay and resources.

I see another flooring nearby.. show some surrounding areas, please?

Don't think you will like your cabinets much without moulding of some type.

Wow, looks great! Like night and day!

your plants look great- nice job.

Wow! These look like before and after pictures but you didn’t Reno anything!

Looks great! How does it make you feel?

I am very happy with the decluttering you get so used to what is there you forget what it really looks like thank you

I am working on the rest of my areas

Please come back after the paint - you've done such great work!!!!

Here are a couple pic s of my guest bath

I grew up with cabinets that went to ceiling. i dont think anything was ever up there. Then in mid 1970’s that was redone… mom wanted the newer fir down look & then couple 10 or so yrs later thd tiered floating cabinets were the ’thing’. i saw a video by a designer today & she pointed out that sometimes what we think works really doesnt work . Her point was to listen to advice & to spend your money wisely all the more the need to listen

Wow! What a difference the decluttering makes. I agree that at times we get so used to what is around us that we don't really see. I just finished a decluttering project ( 27 / 9 ) and am thrilled with the visual results. My stress level has dropped significantly.

I have to admit seeing the backsplash with the clutter gave me a bit of a start until I could figure out exactly what I was looking at! (Sorry)

In regards to the 'dated' cabinet formation, the question I would ask myself is - Does it really matter? Would my life be better if I had the current updated formation? Is it really the uneven uppers that I am unhappy with - and the answer can definitely be 'yes'. Or, now that it is delcuttered, the room repainted and the backsplash possibly replaced, is it still a problem I am willing to put money into?

I understand you came to a decorating forum to ask questions and there are many very talented members with wonderful advice. Please listen to what they have to suggest while listening to your heart. The changes made so far have brought out a wonderful sense of peacefulness in your home. Definitely not cookie cutter. Congrats on beginning.

Linda - love those hits of fresh purple in the bath!