Paint the bannister. Ah those orange oak cabinets. Everyone loves to hate those. Get a quote to have them professionally sprayed. If they are white they will look contemporary. From what I can see the style is fine. New hardware and paint will make it look like a totally new kitchen. Don't try and do it yourself though. A pro job will last much longer. They can take the doors off and get a much more durable finish than you can.

Any idea or ballpark on cost for that? Won't it look like painted oak with the grain showing? Will they be able to fill in the grain?

I can't really say but it will be a lot less than new cupboards. They won't be able to eliminate the grain, but it will look much better. Oak is a very strong, serviceable wood. It takes a tremendous amount of abuse, which is why it's used so much in flooring. When was your house built? You may even have plywood carcasses in that kitcken and let me tell you, if you do, hang on to those. Pressboard isn't the same.

1987. Wondering if we should try to save up for an all new kitchen and flooring or if we should just paint now and get a new kitchen in ten years from now....I can live w the orange for now (at least that's what I tell myself).

Check out our crazy counter and backsplash. So. Much. Grout. Ugh.

Can you post a picture of your kitchen? Take a pic of the bottom of the upper cabinets where two of them are joined.

I would paint the balusters and leave the bannister and newel the oak to tie into the oak floor. It's not necessary to obliterate every trace of oak.

The kitchen is a mess at the moment. Let me tidy it up and I'll post a pic

No problem. If you can get a shot that can tell us if it's pressboard or plywood that the carcasses (insides) are made of, that will help. Is the wood in good shape? Does it all work properly?

Yes wood is in great shape and works properly. Here it is.

Inside of cabinets and a view of kitchen to family room...

A little back story...we closed on the house the day I learned I was pregnant which was 1 year ago so it's a work in progress. I know light fixtures need to be changed and lots of things need to be painted!!

The cabinets look nice, I don't think I would rush to paint them now.

Is it ok that the trim won't match it in the kitchen if I paint it white?

Hi! Just cutting in here! You said you were wondering if you "should try to save up for an all new kitchen and flooring, or just paint now and get a new kitchen in ten years from now..." I suggest go ahead and paint it while you're at it, and then reno the whole kitchen when you can afford it, or at least change that crazy counter! That must be annoying to clean!

I suggest going with a warm, deep, dark brown for your cabinets. Nothing too red. A dark colour like in this first picture would look good with your counter tops (and appliances!) until you get around to updating the countertop.

A lot of people are also doing two colours for the cabinets, with the lighter colour above the dark colour. A good combination for your kitchen would be; like the second picture; a crisp white on the upper cabinets, with the dark brown on the lower cabinets. This will make the place look brighter and more open, as well as work with the white trim you now have everywhere (nice choice by the way!)

If you go this white-upper/brown-lower route, It would look more appealing if you also paint the bulkhead in the kitchen the same colour as the upper cabinets. This will give the appearance of a higher ceiling and more space, and who doesn't want that?! (NOTE: If you do this, I noticed you have the bulkhead meeting up with the edge of the hallway. When painting the bulkhead white, just paint the front and underside, and leave the end the colour of the hallway. BUT where the bulkhead slants on an angle on the other side of the kitchen, paint that portion white).

Just to add a suggestion for the counter/backsplash if the colour bothers you... there are many ways you can refinish the tile to make it a more uniform colour, for a low price.

Good luck & I hope this helps!

Wow Laura! Thank you for the suggestions! So much to consider! I like the look of the two tones...I will certainly consider it. If I change out the countertops I wonder if the cabinets might get damaged from trying to remove all of that tile and grout.

Here's the bottom of the cabinets

Ok, the carcasses are plywood,(particle core) although not the highest quality, but not too bad. I think your cabinets are worth saving. If you don't want to get them painted right away (get a quote, it's free) then at least take down that little wood valance over the sink window. Paint the window, all the doors and door frames. Having them stained makes everything look choppy. Your kitchen set is very nice.
Change your cabinet hardware, maybe something sleek and stainless or brushed nickel. Do something with your counters: if you don't want to spend the big bucks on quartz, at least get a nice, plain laminate. The backsplash has to go too, of course. These changes, even if you don't paint your cabinets right away, will improve your kitchen 1000%.

I know you know you need lamps, but yours look very 80's. You can get a few pendant lights at a big box store and a simple white drum light for over the table without spending a fortune.
Removing the tile from the counters and walls shouldn't damage the cabinets if done by a professional. Keep hubby away from the pry bar; some men love that kind of stuff!

we aren't the handiest people around, so the painting is as much as we can handle for now...haha...we'll look into lights when my hubby is feeling more adventurous with fixing things up!

No problem, happy to help! And taking out the tile shouldn't cause much damage but if you are really worried about it, you could take out the tile BEFORE painting the cabinets in case you need to fill any dents in the wood. But yeah the two colour option is my personal favourite as well.

I know you said you aren't thinking about this yet, but lamps are easy to replace, and my suggestion would be for over that round dining table to go with a simple pendant light like (photo 1) which you can find at places like home depot for under $50. With the lighting, you could either go white, or if you want to be more bold, you can find a pendant shade with a bright colour (no pastels!). With the colour though, it is best if you choose one that matches your accent colour in the room. For example, red is a common accent colour and would look good if you match the lamp with decorative pillows and objects in the kitchen/connected living room of the same colour (photo 2). I also found a photo of the same idea using green instead of red (photo 3) just to give you a better look. Hope this inspires you!

Thanks - those are great suggestions! I love red or green as accent colors. The family room will pose all new decorating dilemmas as we have an old brick fireplace with an old reddish orangish mantel. Very 1980s. The doors in the family room have to be painted to match the trim in the foyer and kitchen and my husband is fighting to keep all of the old wood trim in the family room. He says it makes the room look warmer AND it matches with the kitchen cabinets. I do kind of agree with him that it makes the room warmer but I argue that we can do that with accessories. We also have the dilemma of where to put the large-screen tv which is currently next to the fireplace (and I think it will stay there). Anyway, we love nautical décor (we live close to the ocean) so I think we can easily convert the room into something to fit our style. I have some ideas in my Ideabook but I don't know how to attach them here...So much work. I never realized the domino effect of beginning one little project of painting the trim. Didn't realize it would lead to all of these other projects but it is certainly motivating me to tackle each one. Now if we only had a lot more money!!!!!!

Haha no problem! There are also ways of painting the brick of the fireplace until you can afford to replace it. There are ways around everything! I would say a warm medium/dark grey would look lovely. Just make sure when painting different surfaces, to find the right paint that will adhere correctly. Also, tell your husband "sorry" but the trim should be painted white. There are other ways to make the room look warmer, like I meantioned earlier, red accents will definitely do that! The house will also look a lot nicer overall if all the trim matches and will make the space more up to date. AND best to do it now while you're painting the rest, to save time, effort and paint! Also if you do paint the cabinets, the trim will no longer match anyway. To work with the ocean theme, your accent could be a bright turquoise colour. Haha and yeah it's crazy how inspired to just reno everything once you start! It becomes addicting! Nice work though. It will be worth it!

I would paint or replace the door (?closet) in the entryway and add new hardware. Replacing all the hardware on your inside doors will refresh all your rooms. The brass turn knobs are so dated.

True about the brass being dated! It's great that the handles in the kitchen are already chrome! One step ahead! :)

I've found some good deals on door hardware at Overstock. Might be worth a look.

Thanks for the input everyone! Have to work in small areas for now as caring for a four month old while trying to paint takes a lot of time!!!! I'll get my hubs to change out the hardware and find the pendant lights when we get the chance. One thing at a time!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT PAINT THAT BEAUTIFUL WOOD!!! That is vintage wood and it has aged with the house, i promise you if you sand it and polyurethane it you will be amazed! That is very special wood and the curves and grain will pop out if you do a little sanding and just coat it twice with poly!

lol. Well Tyler, too late!!! It's painted! Guess I'm gonna have to live w the regret?!

I guess I should have warned you before Lauren: men LOVE unpainted woodwork, mine included.

Hey Maureen, I know that's true about men, but since I do all the painting, mine doesn't get a say. Love how this is turning out here, though. It's making me reevaluate some of my dark woodwork, that's for sure.

It took me 8 years to convince my hubby to let ME paint the woodwork/panelling in our front hall/staircase. How did I finally do it? They were showing a special on the White House just before Obama came into office and I said 'See, they painted their woodwork and IT'S mahogany! Surely ours isn't quite so grand.'

Timing is everything in keeping a happy marriage!

The house we live in now has had quite a few owners and it appears there were many discussions about trim work as every room is different! Well, at least either brown stain or painted white. But I love it anyway.

Maureen, I'm quite impressed by your knowledge of just about everything concerning home improvement. How did you get to this point? Can't remember what all you had to say on Spencer's thread and probably have to go back too far to get to anything at all relevant to this subject, in case you've already explained your handiness. So sorry our topic went astray there. Totally unexpected. I don't understand that ##### thing at all.

Great to see your updates throughout the comments. And I don't know how you've managed to paint with a 4-month-old to worry about too. (But I guess they do sleep a lot!)

Cindy, I studied art and so am pretty good with my hands and spatial ability. I have had too many people think they could do a bad job and charge me a fortune so I took up woodworking with the encouragement of a friend who was a millwright. Then I moved on to sewing, general renovation, a little plumbing (which I still hate) and a whole bunch of other things which I did for myself and a few others, not professionally.
Thanks for the kind words on the other matter. Sheesh. Life is too short not to have a sense of humour!

Maureen, I would love to learn woodworking and told hubby that when I retired I might do it on a small scale. I just hope my eyes and body don't let me down by then!
Totally agree about paying someone to do "bad"work...I'm very particular but not generally confrontational, so if the work isn't perfect I just kind of moan and complain. So better if I can do it myself.

Cindy, when I started I had no tools and barely a clue. I bought a few hand tools and started slowly. I did my own kitchen reno on a rental (with the landlord's permission) with tongue and groove boards. I was terrified but my friend talked me through it. I was very proud of myself and it looked so impressive (at the time. Now I would cringe.) I acquired power tools one at a time, when I really needed them. I must be lacking the 'guy gene' because I didn't rush out to buy big fancy stuff before I was ready for it. I found that learning the basics of joinery and doing it by hand was the best way to learn. I started doing it the hard way, but I think the right way because I really understood the concepts. I started using softwoods because they're easier. I found it really enjoyable but the worst thing was the sexism at the lumberyards. I always hated that. Still do, though it's getting better.

All this reno has been a bit tough on the old bod' though. The arthritis is catching up with me! So there is a downside. I always think that it's not fair that men have a lock on all of this reno stuff. They do it because it's expected. Women learn to think that it's not their domain when I think a lot of women have better spatial abilities and patience to do it really well. You don't necessarily need strength, you just need to learn to 'work smart'. So I say 'go for it girl!'

Lauren, I didn't mean to high jack your discussion. Glad to see you and your husband are painting buddies. I think what you've done so far looks great, and must agree, it gets a little overwhelming when it seems there is nowhere to stop. You've got a good group of people here offering advice; listen and go with what your heart says is right for you. Lots of hard work while baby sleeps, but it's worth it!

Hey everyone! Thanks for the words of encouragement. Honestly I think this website can be quite addicting because now while I'm moving furniture around in the house / out shopping for pictures or decor, I think to myself, "what would the people on Houzz say?" haha...

I plan on posting some pics from my phone of the updates so far. Now, the hardware hasn't been changed yet and the steps haven't been painted yet (all a work in progress!!), nor has the lighting been changed out, but the paint really has made quite a huge difference already. I love how much brighter our house is. I wish I had done this waaaay sooner (like in the beginning of this miserable winter we've had) because it would've made being inside every day during this maternity leave at least a "sunnier" inside the house...

Speaking of which...being home with a four month old day-in and day-out really has made me quite antsy to redecorate everything all over the place! I stare at the same walls all day and I have a need to constantly move around furniture, rearrange pictures, paint stuff, etc...My husband jokes that I like to "pick things up and put them down." Sometimes he comes home and everything is rearranged. Reading peoples' comments on here really has motivated me to do even more!! The support I've had with painting the trim has really helped tremendously! Otherwise I would've been sitting around mulling it over and saying "one day we will paint it." I'm glad you got my butt in gear to paint and LOVE the results!

Next on the list: the bannisters on the step and the family room....We are thinking about hiring someone to do the bannister because I'm afraid of getting paint all over the carpeted steps....(well my husband is, I'm not too worried about it..). I also know that the lattice in the front door window isn't completed, so that's still a work in progress...and the door needs to be rehung after it finishes drying...

Here it is so far...my foyer will also need some decision making help with artwork over my little console table

So much better lauren. Wow - you're fast. That what we like: instant gratification while someone else does the work ;-)
Just don't rearrange any furniture when hubby has to come home late. I used to do that and it was the only reason he noticed I got something new-when he tripped over it.

Wow! Loving the results! I agree, the white looks amazing! For the stairs I feel if you're careful and cover things up, your stairs should be fine. I always say, "if you want something done right, do it yourself", and especially if you can skip paying someone to do it for you. The white looks great but I feel like the entrance still needs something though.. not quite sure what yet...
The entrance is usually the first place you and your guests see when they enter your house, so you want it to POP! It needs to express the rest of your house and intrigue them to want to see more.
Just as a quick idea, if you're fine with wallpapering, there are some really nice, affordable modern designs that will show off the space nicely. Wallpaper is also really durable (especially with kids) and is great in a high traffic area. If that won't work for you, you can always stencil designs across the wall! You probably want to do something bold but not crazy, and something definitely formal. Stick in the beige and browns, or even better, warm greys. medium grey can look really nice in an entrance.
The pictures here are wallpapers that will help give you inpiration. :) (the second photo shows my absolute favourite paper - great colours too!)

Here is another nice wallpaper. Something like this will look amazing with all the white new trim!

More nice wallpaper patterns.... :P

Now, here are some stencil paintings you could possibly do instead..? Just for ideas! The first & second picture are definitely my favourite pattern, and it looks great anywhere! - not too busy or too plain, not too square, or too wavy, just right!

I would suggest a darker base colour wih lighter lines. Anyway, I'll comment more later, but I hope this helps! You're doing great!!!

Thanks! The painting is about all I can handle now both financially and time- wise! We will skip the wallpaper for now...

Plus I always feel like wallpaper patterns die very quickly trend-wise. At least paint is easier to change...

No problem! Just let me know if you need ideas! :) Good luck!