I am in the same situation....almost the same color cabinets with 1 very large window that lets in lots of light. I am leaning toward staining or painting the cabinets darker....I can't seem to bring myself to paint them white even though white kitchens seem to be all the rage. Are you keeping all the white appliances? What color sink will you get?

I like white too, but think it might be too stark and sterile since we are planning on keeping the white appliances. Our taste is more casual, shabby chic (or cluttered by the looks of this photo!). I do like light greens also, but am concerned that we might grow tired of that. I've always wanted a white farmhouse style sink but have seen some nice, newer stainless steel ones, so am not completely decided yet. Such a hard decision, right?!

Yes...very hard decision. I feel the same way about going white- too stark- especially with that much natural light. I have all black appliances & sink and want to go to an off white or cream colored countertop (maybe with smaller flecks of color)...my current laminate counters are light maple woodgrain- YUCK!

Do you have any other colors you like or would consider? I looked at a lot of quartz samples and there are so many varieties that have multiple colors that look great with a painted backsplash area or a solid color tile backsplash (pulls a color out of the quartz and makes it really stand out).

If you're keeping black appliances, I would consider a darker stain on your cabinetry. It's hard to visualize though without a picture?

Not sure about other color options for our space--the more I look at it, I think staining ours makes the most sense too. Since we're not doing a gut reno, I think it would be a more subtle change which I am leaning towards. love white or creamy colored quartz and I really like the long/thin stacked glass backsplash in a muted tone, with greens. I'm debating on whether to add gas and finally getting a real cooks stove to take up the entire space where the stove is. Just not sure what the cost of converting to gas is going to add to the project.

Does anyone know of an iPad app that you can put your picture in and and play with options??

With the flat slab doors, I would go to a darker stain.

I thought I read on here somewhere that Sherwin Williams (or one of the big paint companies) has something on their website where to can add a picture of your house and change the wall colors...I don't know if you can change cabinet colors? There is this site that has 3 or 4 sample layouts of different kitchens- you can change the color of cabinets, countertops, backsplash's.....it's not great (wood cabinet colors kind of stink) but it gives you a feel of what it might look like and it has tons of back splash patterns. http://www.msistone.com/RoomSceneVisualizer.aspx

I just painted mine last year with porter high gloss enamel because my kitchen gets a ton of abuse. I wanted a finish that didn't yellow that can be easily cleaned. We primed and gave them 2 coats of paint. I have been very happy with the results. Just a couple of pin dot sized chips which could be from poking them with a knife or something by accident but that would be expected. If you have white appliances, I probably wouldn't do white since it is really hard to match whites. If you do your cabinets in a darker stain you may wind up with a dated look since you are keeping the appliances white. I think a grey tone like the other person mentioned would be a color I would go with also. I had thought of that color myself before also for my own kitchen. I know that gray is the most popular color is a kitchen at the moment. However keep in mind once you have your new counter tops in you may think of a totally different color scheme. I would have those in installed first then pick a color, trust me it is alot easier to pick a paint color to go with your counters than vice vera. Good luck!

I would be quite hesitant to attempt having your kitchen cabinets re-stained. Mainly on account on the amount of work and money that will inevitably go into re-finishing the wood. Everything would need to be completely stripped back to bare wood, re-stained and re-sealed. And that's assuming that all doors, panels, and bases are built from solid wood and not a wood veneer. Paint these days is so versatile and opens up many choices in colours. Biggest mistake we see in DIY cabinet re-paints is not using the correct primer to set your top coats up for optimal adhesion. This is one of the most important elements to re-painting cabinets and not an area to overlook.

Best of luck!

Here are some examples of kitchen cabinets we've professionally painted for various clients:

Thanks so much everyone!! I love the suggestions for grey - my husband was not too sure but I spent some time playing around with that color on the website that was submitted and may have gotten him to change his mind. I would go with a much lighter grey, which would be great with the natural light we have! Love it so much, that I am ready to test the color on one of the doors. I did find a countertop and backsplash I like as well - thanks for that suggestion as well!

I do have someone from Home Depot coming to give me an estimate on "color changing" the cabinets - they have a new system called Nhance....anyone have any experience with that?? Or we will just hire a contractor to professionally paint cabinets and install countertop/backsplash etc.

I am currently staining my cabinets with Java Gel Stain. (Google it if you like, there are tons of blog posts about it and pictures). In 2 previous homes, we painted the cabinets, but had chipping with both. I am hoping to avoid that with stain.

Good luck with your decision and project.

This is an idea of how my kitchen will look. I have a brick backsplash that I painted creamy white: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/23192054/thumbs/Kitchen

(Actually not this exact pic...if you click on it, you will see my ideabook...)

when painting cabinets, do they need to be taken down and completely sanded, or with the right primer, can this be avoided?

An
Ie Sloan chalk paint is great how sanding or prep and it will not chip,off ,google it,comes in all colors too

Thanks Bella--I checked out the gel stain....love that too! Some of the colors are a little dark for our taste and how it would "blend" in with our current style, but you've given me another option. Now if I could just make a decision! :-)

I'd paint them a pale gray with black counter.

Check out this link I found on Pinterest! We have the same cabinets, in a lighter color, and are getting ready to paint them next month! http://www.beautifulmatters.com/2013/02/diy-inexpensive-cabinet-updates/

Oops! Didn't mean to post that picture four times

Great post, Meghan. I can't wait to see how this kitchen turns out!

No worries Megan--thanks for posting that--another cool solution!!

Oops - sorry, Meghan....thanks for posting!