Hi ummyusuf. You could just repaint the cabinets, the most popular colors being white, black or brown, depending on the style of the existing cabinets, counter, flooring and wall color.

Another option might be refacing the fronts to save the hassle of doing all the sanding and removing / installing doors.

Check out the ideabook below for more painted cabinets.

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4235/list/Think-Beyond-Resale-I--Colorful-Cabinets

Paint and new hardware will make a great change. Personally I prefer white cabinets. Have fun and good luck!

We painted the cupboards in this home because of an incredibly tight budget that didn't allow for much more than paint and a couple of accessories. It turned out fantastic!



We used Behr Premium Plus Ultra.
The cabinets are Dark Pewter (UL260-20)
The walls are Classic Silver (UL260-18)

Happy Decorating!

Heather your kitchen looks fantastic! Love your color choices.

heather, your idea and kitchen is great!

Thanks luvleestuff and jewel girl!
Feel free to steal ;)
It was incredibly inexpensive and easy to do but a warning: Painting cupboards properly takes a lot of patience!

How about having the lower cabinets sprayed a highgloss grey and put some new doors on the uppers in a frosted glass or a highgloss white. Then add some modern chrome pulls and handles. Don't forget you might need to upgrade your lighting.

I have painted many an oak cabinets in my day. My most popular color choice is a warm white with a soft raw umber glaze stried over the paint. Proper prep is the key to this kind of job.
Clean with a good de-greaser, I like Krud Kutter
Sand lightly with 150-220 paper
Apply one coat of 100% acrylic bonding primer.
Sand lightly w 220 and wipe of with a good tack cloth
Apply one coat of base color, 100% acrylic/latex
Apply glazing if desirable
Apply one coat, two on base cabinets, clear acrylic polyurethene (I exclusively use Coronado Plastic Urethene with a dull sheen)
I also like to use a roller and a brush when painting. Quickly roll on a coat of paintand quickly go over that with a brush following panel, frame, rail and stile direction. This minimizes brush marks and makes the work go faster.

Thanks for all the response.... Sorry it took me a while to answer, I've couldnt manage to post a reply from my phone, which is what I usually use to check houzz.
I'm not much of a DIYer, so I'd probably give the job to someone else to do. I really like the look of the dark painted cupboards, but just wondered, wont the paint wear off after a while? Would staining it be much more expensive than painting it? (I wont be doing either myself) Thanks.

Talk with a few cabinet refinishers or a good painter , they will help you decide how to get a lasting finish you can live with.

@Stephen thanks for the tips; I'm having to paint my cubboards too (oak that is turning way too orange) @Heather Van Veen wow.... nice job on your cabinets!!!!!
@ummyusuf you should post pics after you're done!