I think a nice stain would be a great contrast with the wood floors.
Something like this possibly:

I would add a dark tone high lights to the doors and fronts. Some wood working supplys have it in spray cans. Very fast drying 5 min to touch fyi. Grizzly.com

Honestly if you are doing it yourself save yourself the agony of staining. I did that with the kitchen cabinets in my first house and it was so labour intensive. I had to remove all the drawers and doors, sand, stain, then varnish. It took me weeks. Then, to top it all off, I didn't like the way it looked so I ended up painting them white after 6 months anyway. Leave staining to professionals. Painting is a definite do-it-yourself job and you will be happy with the results.

Try painting just the island and see if you're happy with that change.

I think your cabinets are not that bad. It will be a lot of work and mess for just a little bit of movement on the aesthetic scale. You might consider instead - re doing just the island in your darker color and adding a pretty raised panel to the end of the island. I think the shift in tones would look lovely and give you that little piece of richness you're craving.

Your black granite countertops are much darker than what you showed in the sample photo. If you paint the cabinets, stick to a lighter shade of gray. Another thing you can do to lighten up the room is change the moss green paint on the walls to an off-white color, perhaps a very, very light gray.

Oak cabinets do look dated. I would paint them an off white or cream color. If you choose to do that..the very best, easiest, and least costly is the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation system. Many colors to choose from with or without glazes. Lots of choices and information on their website. http://cabinets.rustoleumtransformations.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=cabinet%20transformations&utm_content={K_CREATIVE_HEADLINE}&utm_campaign=Cabinet%20Tranformations

Changing out the wild flame-like grain on the island will do a lot to update the kitchen. Either paint the island or use some mild-grained oak. You may be able to get a couple oak doors that would fit and look like paneling.

What a great kitchen! I like your dream kitchen picture - it looks so rich! I have used a product called Saman to darken some of the golden oak trim in my house (mirror frames, desks, etc.) and I had very good luck with it. I takes some light pre sanding though, and a quick hand with the brush to avoid overlap stains. It also took 4 coats to bring it to the depth of colour I wanted, but it goes on very quickly and also dries fast. I am very happy with the results. It's a hybrid - oil based, but water clean up. It also dries very shiny, so a clear satin finish topcoat is needed to bring the shine down a bit.
Your kitchen would also look great with painted cupboards, especially with the dark counters. I painted our oak kitchen cupboards with Benjamin Moore's Aura Cloud White. It was a lot of work, but I love how fresh and clean it looks now! It's also very durable. I painted ours two years ago, and they've stood up very well.
No matter what you do, it's going to take some time and patience. I suggest you research, research, research before you actually decide on the finish you are going to use. I would love to see pictures posted of your reno!

You have a great kitchen to work with, so if you decide to paint the cabinets, I would consider going with a lighter color, such as cream or gray. But, if you prefer dark shades, perhaps a dark gray. I'd still go lighter or at least have some color for contrast.

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

Restaining oak cabinets...is a great option! :)

If you refinish the floors you could use something darker like this.

another option is to remove some of the cabinet doors and have open shelving look. You could paint/wallpaper backs of cupboards to add some pazazz and reduce the amount of oak in room

Add colourful pottery, dishes & glasses

Can also replace one of the cupboards with a dishrack - you may be able to buy finished one from cabinet warehouses - this also reduced amount of oak & introduces colour.

island could use pazazz. What about panelling in tongue & groove & staining it a colour that will pop yet work well with oak cupboards

I had a similar problem. I painted just my island in an off white. It looks amazing and really broke up all that oak.

I will also go with the suggestion of just making changes to the island. For other changes to "make it your own", you could change the cabinet hardware, maybe put in some glass panels in some of the uppers, change the pendant over the island. If the trim is stained throughout the home, definitely think long and hard before you start painting it in the kitchen. You would need to decide where you would stop, or invest the time to do it throughout the home.

I'm curious to know what option you chose and how you like it.

We have too much oak throughout our house but we have been advised numerous times not to paint it. Oak is too porous to paint and as a result, you end up not having a smooth finish, but several holes showing through the wood.

So what did you end up doing?

Esmerelda Smith: I painted our oak 4 yrs ago, and have had absolutely no problems with it. I eliminated the wood grain on the cupboard doors by applying a watered down, skim-coat of wood filler (I used Aylmers brand) Once it's dry, just sand it lightly - I used a palm sander, then prime and paint! It's an extra step, but SO worth it! I also used a product called STIX as a primer for our baseboards and door jambs (no sanding needed!) It still took two coats of Aura paint to cover, but the results are amazing. I also used a dark stain by SAMAN to darken the oak handrails, fireplace mantles, etc. (see above comment). It can be done. It just takes patience.

Thanks for the reply. This is good to know and now makes me give more consideration to painting.

I'm glad you like your finished product.

Contrary to another poster regarding painting, it is not really a "do it yourself" job. If you want it to look great, they should be sprayed. You would need to remove doors and hardware and drape off everything in your kitchen to do the cases. Plus, oak is not a great wood for paint as the grain will show through. There is a product called PolyShades by Minwax that will go over finished wood to change the stain color. As a different poster mentioned with another product, you need to be quick and careful about overlap and it might take 2-3 coats to get the color you like. As mentioned in another comment, you might start with the island and see how you like it. Good luck and please post progress photos. :-)

I agree with the other posters, your oak cabinets look great! I wouldn't go darker with the cabinets since you already have a black countertop. I think it will make the room look like a black hole. If you want to break up the wood, what about only painting (or staining) the island a darker color only??

Love your idea of painting the trim (and walls) white.

laurie0714. I totally agree that spraying the cupboards would be the ideal way to paint. However, any quotes I received were nowhere near my budget. The painting worked, and worked well! I absolutely love my kitchen now, whereas before the darkness in this north facing room was depressing. My only cost was the sandpaper, TSP, wood filler and paint - also new hardware. I was able to complete the job for well under $300. It's now been 8 years since I did my cupboards, and they still look wonderful. It's just a matter of patience and determination.