Eight years? If you can afford it, I'd go with new cabinets, or resurfacing. That way you'll be able to enjoy the finished product!

I recently did a Show House that had new cabinets but they had NO character at all - very plain an boring. The house was a historic horse farm and cabinets didn't fit. we added some trim and crown molding to the uppers and bead board to the lower and then stained the new trim to match. Then we glazed the cabinets with a chocolate glaze, which gave them depth. If your cabinets have enough detail you can put a glaze over the bleached maple to give it a richer color without having to add trim like we did. I've done that in a number of clients homes to update their cabinets with out buying new.

Can you post a couple of photos of the kitchen? I've seen numerous HGTV kitchen re-dos with painted cabinets that look spectacular!! Gray-greens, dark grays are especially modernizing colors, but would have to see the rest of your kitchen.

I recently had my maple cabinets refinished professionally. They sanded, primed and sprayed them with a creamy white and they are beautiful. The cost was 1400 and well worth it. I didn't want to spend money on refacing because they are in excellent condition but the honey color had to go. I also had a custom hood installed over my slide in range and a cornice over my window and sink which was sprayed as well.

Hi Laurie,

Just found a before photo of those kitchen cabinets we added trim to and then glazed. The whole project cost about $1,500 but everyone who saw the cabinets before thought we replaced them. As I said, if you have enough detail in your cabinets, you wouldn't need to add trim. You could just glaze them to update the look. I just remodeled a client's kitchen here in Michigan with light Maple cabinets and we glazed those and added new hardware. Her friends all thought she replaced her cabinets.

If your cabinets are in good shape and not falling apart, painting them is a good option. I painted mine and I'm very happy with the results. Here's an ideabook with a how-to:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/from-the-pros-how-to-paint-kitchen-cabinets-stsetivw-vs~4415504

The thing is I like the kitchen and everything works fine. A new kitchen would be wonderful but do we really want to spend all that money?! We want a bigger refrigerator but since that is a separate wall of cabinets, when we do replace it, we will replace that wall of cabinets. I would love granite so we are doing just that with a new sink and faucet. As the appliances start to die off, we will replace them with stainless steel. Here are some pictures

If you prepare and paint you kitchen properly, it will last a lot longer than 8 years. If you can purchase Fine Paints of Europe oil based paints they wear extremely well and are easy to maintain.

Go for a turquoise or blue shade to match the cream and black. eg. http://www.designmanifest.com/inspiration/a-touch-of-blue/
for heaps of ideas.
But personally, I don't think you should paint the cupboards at all! they are the best feature of the kitchen. and bleached timber is very in vogue. i think if you stain them a dark colour the kitchen would look really dark and gloomy, especially as all your appliances are black. I think that rather than having to paint the cupboards per se what the agent was getting at was to update your kitchen a little. To achieve that it is not necessary to paint the timber cupboards. instead I would firstly ditch the cafe curtain, and the fake ivy, baskets and the old liquor bottles, and declutter the bench tops. I would opt to inject colour ( i would still stick to turqoise blue) by painting the walls and the door to the kitchen a bright turquoise or aqua blue. I would then find turquoise decor items to really make it pop, turqoise glass bottles, turquoise appliances (retro style toaster, kettle, blender), some turquoise enamel cooking pots, paint your bread box too, a turquoise rag rug, tea towels, and perhaps a big fruit bowl for the dinner table. if you are really game, pick up some bright turquoise dining chairs or repaint/recover yours. (i can't tell what the dining table and chairs looks like)
Here are some good links for ideas about using turquoise. if you really want it to pop and look a little retro, try adding bright red bits and pieces too!
http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2013/01/turquoise-appliances.html
I think adding a bright pop of colour will make the room look more updated without sacrificing the beautiful bleached maple. I always prefer to add colour with accessories and paint first, because you never know what will be 'modern' in 8 years.
have a look:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-products/turquoise

While pretty, I'm not sure why everyone is offering up color options... if you want cinnamon color, do the glaze suggested by Donnah Miles.

As well, I have read several posts on Houzz where people used the Transformations and were really happy with outcome...just no personal experience. I like painting and have painted kitchen cabinets before... ivory... beautiful... time intensive the old fashioned way.

You are correct.... kitchens are EXPENSIVE! if replacing everything... I'd spend that money on things I could take with... Best "colors" will have changed again in 8 years by the time you move...

Be sure to show a before / after.

We have grinds that did the transformation product and it turned out great.

I agree with a post above that there is no need to paint or glaze the cabinets. What this kitchen may need is a wood trim on top, removal of all dated decoration such as the fake ivy and the cafe curtains, updated paint (the current shade of blue isn't too attractive) and perhaps changing the backsplash in addition to countertop. I can't tell what the backsplash is made of but the color and style look rather gloomy and dated.

i thought change the backsplash too, but i think its made of the same stuff as the bench? so might be a bit tricky to change.

I suggest not painting the cabinetry. It is best to replace/remodel with new cabinetry. We have seen a lot of clients paint their cabinets and 2-5 years later we are tearing them out and install new cabinets. New is always better.

We finish and refinish custom cabinets all the time and our clients get a lot more than 5 years out of them. New would be very costly if every time one our clients wanted to freshen up their cabinets they had to completely demo the kitchen.

Don't worry all, I am taking down the curtains and everything on top of the cabinets! I hate them. The countertop and backsplash are now formica but will be changed to granite countertop and a tile backsplash. The walls will also be painted (hoping for a light sage green). All the colors in our home are warm (golds, rusts, sage green). Appliances will be swapped out with stainless as they crap out (hopefully sooner rather than later LOL!) I like the cabinets as they are but was hoping for suggestions. I appreciate everyone's input!

Bleached maple cabinets with trim on top, black granite countertop and glass backsplash:
http://www.interiorsbybroadway.co.uk/kitchens/bleached-maple-shaker-kitchen-01/

Think this combination will go well with black appliances or future stainless steel appliances.

I was buying a home this summer and saw so many properties where the sellers had done such a lousy job of painting their kitchen cabinets, anyone who has Pinterest can spot a home painted builder grade cabinet a mile off. As a buyer it especially irked me to see the realtors list 'renovated kitchen' in the property description.

I misread your original post. If you're planning to stay in your home then sure, paint/stain now and replace when funds allow. Don't update the counters until you get the new cabinets though.

Agree that you should not install expensive granite countertops on old cabinets. However, for an inexpensive update, Formica makes some realistic granite like countertops.

If you are updating the countertop and splashback, and all your appliances then I think that you don't need to change the cupboards. sage green is a lovely colour. Do all those changes first and I am sure you will see an improvement. Its so peaceful. The countertops right now are quite dark, so go for something lighter and it will brighten the whole room! Ceaserstone looks nice.