I would consider replacing all the upper since they are way too high above the counter but also don’t reach the ceiling, and the island is so small. Honestly a pro paint job is $$$$, I would look at the cost of ikea cabinets and compare (they will be far nicer than what you have). Obviously I’m spending Monopoly money since you are a new homeowner but it might be worth planning for versus painting. If you do paint a mushroom color would help pull out the warm tones of the floor versus the grey. Man those uppers…

I agree on the uppers. It seems they got a deal on the cabinets that are meant for over a refrigerator. I would try stripping the lowers and find a stain you like. The paneling on the island and end run of lowers makes me wonder why. It looks nice but not likely chosen for the look. Unfortunately it won't strip as easy as the doors and drawers.

The cabinets are high, but are they high enough at the vent hood so you don’t bonk your forehead on the hood? And the vent hood straddles two separate cabinets? Does it look odd in person?

What is the rib behind the Food and Friends sign for?

I agree with the upper cabinets as well. Just not a good look…..maybe painting the wood around the island and the end run
of the of the lowers a nice soft color you like. Since gray is neutral, you can go with anything really that you like. I also wondered what that thin rib or panel was for.

debra

Like bath, what the

Houzz is doing something wonky with my words…… lol

debra

Are you in the UK? I’m just wondering because the products available to us in the US might be different, so we might not be that helpful to you.

Your flippers also forgot to finish the side of your counter top. And there’s no way that vent hood is installed to code. You can possibly install the cabinet that is supposed to go over the fridge over the stove instead, and re-install the vent hood under that.

That’s what fixing this kitchen is going to be like. You’re thinking about colors, but first you have to fix the mistakes that can cause fires. Electrical cabling that runs visibly along the surface of the wall (trunking) isn’t generally to code here, it may be fine there.

Your cabinet color, whatever you choose, is still going to have to go with your black and white counter tops. You could choose white. I would use Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel. It is a fantastic coating for cabinets. Good luck.

The comments telling me to demolish the kitchen and rebuild it aren't real helpful. We had to move here because we lost our home in a natural disaster and the housing market was crazy. It's a 20 year old doublewide. I'm asking for a quick decorative solution, like a paint color. It's a batten strip, not an electrical fire hazard. That edge of the granite counter is unfinished because the fridge goes there, it just wasn't in yet. I will eventually redo the kitchen with IKEA cabinets when I can, we've only been in the house a couple months and we just had a death in the family so I'm trying to make the place feel more like home and less like a rain cloud.

The fire hazard I was worried about involves your vent hood which looks to be mounted too low. They always collect grease.

Try painting the cabinets a neutral or warm tone (something with a yellow undertone, so think teal instead of navy). If you want cheery, pick a color that makes you smile. It’s just paint. Buy some sample pots, paint some cardboard, and prop it up in front of your cabinets.

Are you going to paint the cabinets? To do that correctly is a substantial time and effort investment. If you're thinking of getting an experienced cabinet painter, not a house painter, to do this, the cost will be up there. Ikea cabinets, if you do the assembly and install will be worth comparing. 25-year warranty.

I think the idea is to slap some paint on the cabinets to look good, or sort of good, or simply not gray, for a little while until OP can redo the kitchen more completely?

Might be more cost-effective and more effective to treat yourself to fresh cut flowers weekly . . . and eat out.

Seriously, you’re looking at a substantial amount of work or expense that you’re going to throw away as soon as you can.

i am sorry about the loss of your home. How about just painting the island for now? A color you love. Get a colorful runner for in between the sink and the island, fresh flowers (great idea @John Liu), and either put in a tile backsplash or paint that area. I know the gray is a downer but trying to think of ideas that may brighten the area faster than painting all of the cabinets which is a ton of work. Good luck to you.

Fresh flower budget is really not a bad idea. The photo appears to show a decent amount of light and the walls appear fresh and bright. Add something really pretty and the gray is just a backdrop. Best wishes!

Red area rug, red towels, and maybe a red bowl. If you don't like red, then orange, but red and gray is a bit of a classic.

Sorry for the loss of your home and your family member. It is helpful to understand that these cabinets are not long term and a quick DIY paint job is all you are seeking.

I would paint a neutral color that goes with your floor and counters, though I’m afraid those are cool and you are going to end up with another cool kitchen.

Here is a pic of your floor from the HD website. Does this seem accurate? Maybe others can suggest colors that go with it. Would a warmer mushroom taupe color work and then you can accessorize with a warmer runner, wood blind on the window, brass hardware? You could spray paint the black hardware a brass color.

"Just" painting the cabinets is 10K and at least a week for a professional with all the tools, including zip walls and a sprayer. With the experience to not inject paint under the skin and lose some fingers.

You can do a "hold you over" type of DIY cabinet painting job, but what happens when you do a month of labor is that it is SO much work, that you just live with a bad kitchen in a pretty color. Follow theKitchen Cabinet Painting Experts "Guides" if you want to invest that month of labor, for cosmetics, instead of finding a second job to actually remodel to a better kitchen. You will end up with better looking, but the same dysfunction.

That's a lot of gray!

You've been through a lot, and I understand your desire to perk things up, but as others have said, painting cabinets is not an insignificant process to do well. Painting the walls is a LOT easier and cheaper.

I would liven things up with your favorite colors, with rugs, a fruit bowl, artwork. Even the things they have on the counters are neutral! (I assume this is a listing photo). Add some color to the space and let us know how you feel about it.

I did some finger painting for you with the RGB options. I really love the pink (Oleander). i know you’re unlikely to use this much color, but sometimes when you make a change it is worth it to make a big change.

Teal, robin's egg blue ceramic accents will work with the grey and bring some life into the space. Teal and orange, blue and yellow. You can see how the greenery in the pic DOES pop - more of that!

Mount a roman shade or balloon shade higher than the window to give the look of a taller window and bring in the colors. A floral or a geometric print and then the ceramic accents.

You deserve some color and brightness here and I think you can do it with accessories.

Give yourself grace after all you have been through - grab a couple beautiful things that brighten your day and highlight them.

Showing with simply adding the shelves, the roman shades, and counter stools. The touch of wood and natural fibre window treatment does bring warmth to the room without painting anything. You can also place a machine washable runner for a touch of colour.

Another thought - if OP does a temporary paint job on the cabinets, I suggest going BOLD with color, vibrant and alive colors, try different hues on each cabinet, go wild.

We see so many monochromatic kitchens here.

There are the ”all-white” kitchens whose owners are anxious and fearful of adding any color to the dictatorial sterility.

Increasingly there are the “everything gray” kitchens that make their owners morose, glum, depressed, where’s-my-sertraline.

I expect the “all over greige” kitchens will show up soon, requiring yet more therapy.

What other room in the house do we treat this way? If someone said your living room should be all white from ceiling to floor including all its contents, or your bedroom should be entirely gray from bedclothes to carpet, you probably wouldn’t listen.

So OP, you have a mulligan, a free pass, a Get Out Of Jail card here - no matter how much color you go nuts with, you won’t have to live with it very long, and you might just find you like it!

Love that shelf under the cabinet idea!!!! Totally out of the box but it looks really cool!

I love the shelf under the uppers idea too! I think you should consider the gray everything as a background for COLOR. It is actually wonderful paired with quite strong colors! Bring in nothing neutral, only wood/woven items & colorful things. Colors like leaf green, terracotta orange, teal blue. While John Liu is correct that you have a chance to do a punchy repainted kitchen for the short term, I'd guess you don't have the bandwidth or inner reserves to undertake that big project. So please paint just the island your favorite happy color (a colorful color, not like navy or white which will not bring the impact you need) and add art, runner(s), plants real or fake, copper tea kettle on the stove at all times, bright glazed ceramic fruit bowl, cookbooks somewhere visible, bright stools, cheerful print cafe curtains or roman blind, etc etc. If it sits out it's a decoration, so use those opporunities to bring in color. Changing your pulls and knobs to a soft gold would be great. A warmer neutral paint on the walls in the kitchen could help - a light beige with a peachy or golden lean would be my pick, like SW Swiss Coffee. I found a couple articles with many good examples of color added to gray kitchens on Better Homes & Gardens - not much on google image search!

Along with adding some wood, like the excellent suggestion for wood shelving, I thought some colorful runner rugs would help. I intended to find some that were vibrant and would detract from the gray. But what I found was the more vibrant colors actually increased the impact of all the gray, where the softer colors that also incorporated a bit of gray and some colors that you'd find in natural wood, really made the gray much less impactful.