Not sure if I'm liking cool colors with the warm oak. Should I bite the bullet and paint the cabinets?

If you clean cabinet door fronts as much as possible., you would get a better finish with light sprays. Try and hire a professional one would be neater and quicker in the long run.. Then paint out walls bight and change door handles. Some of these products could be found in bargin basement stores.. Or check in your area if anyone has a website free to collect. Etc. I have done bits in my time for a few pounds.. And has worked out well with good results.. Happy DIY ing... :).

Hold On a few minutes. Let me play with your pictures on Photoshop. Can you attach a zoomed out picture of the kitchen? If you still aren't feeling it, I would strip then STAIN them, not paint

Just the paint and supplies to paint the room and cabinets will be above $200. Which is fine if you want to up your budget. But don't underestimate the amount of WORK that a proper paint job will be. Anyone can do a hack job and slap some paint on cabinets without doing the proper prep, but if you want a job that will last you the 5 or so years until you do the gut (and don't underestimate the way that 5 years can drag into 8-10 years) then you will want to do a pro grade job. That involves cleaning, sanding, priming, sanding, priming, and painting two top coats. That's a job that will last. But that's more than $200 worth of paint in that. You need to go to a proper paint store and use the proper products.

Any job worth doing is worth doing correctly.

$200 not including paint.

I totally understand! :) Paint them white! White matches everything! Or stain them espresso :) And fresh walls in your room will make it even better :)

This is the best I could do John

Sorry about my terrible editing skills but I think blue looks great and will revitalize you bottom brown wall

Oh no, I can't see the blue. I've gone BLIND!

However, if you want to minimize the color of the oak, blue is the last color you should choose. It will pop the orange right out.

Greige paint, peel'n'stick backsplash:

If you want to cool down the oak color, paint the walls a warm color so the oak will look cooler by contrast. Blue will make them look more orange; green will make them look more reddish. A creamy yellow would be good. I got oak doors for my cabinets online ( it worked out to $10 each) and painted the walls and cabinet frames butter cookie yellow. The cabinets were cheap dark brown fake wood laminate before. You might think about wallpapering the inside panels of the oak doors.

Pullsdirect.com has 127 door pulls from $1 to $2. Overstock.com has 3007 lighting fixtures from $80 to $150 each. 1829 under $80.

hey groveraxle, how did you do that? in photoshop? or is there a simpler app?

I would go with new pulls, and a light colored back splash with a soft color paint above cabinets maybe a light shade of green.

@abuterfli, yes, Photoshop.

i painted the same exact cabinet. looks so much nicer now!

We removed the wall paper. I like pleasant valley by BM but my husband isn't into it. Thoughts?

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/paint-color/pleasantvalley

It's the closest thing I can find to this picture...... http://bungalowhomestagers.com/2013/10/5-top-wall-colors-for-oak-cabinet-kitchens.html.

Painting the kitchen and changing the handles will give the cabinet an instant lift.
I go for a green

She said she didn't want to paint the cabinets......................I like Groveraxle's suggestion. Greige on the walls. Add new pulls. If/when the budget allows add a backsplash and change the counters. Formica counters that look like granite look nice and won't break the bank. That should work until you can do a whole gut job.

The walls... paint the walls !!!

The beige paints in the homestager website are perfect. But they are also identical in tone to the colors in the wallpaper you just got rid of.

How about choosing a green instead?

What if we did pleasant valley for walls and then the chandelier the one I posted in the first few comments, not the one in the picture, spray paint it gray or black?

The chandelier shown on the floor would look good in an oil rubbed bronze finish sprayed on. You can add highlights of gold or copper paint by hand if you like. Gray is not good for spraypainted fixtures, IMHO. Black could be a good option, too. Replace the plastic candle cylinders, they are very cheap. Lose the shades. Use frosted bulbs instead.

Does anyone like pleasant valley ?

I think pleasant valley goes well with the cream chairs and stainless steel appliances

Not really. Too blue. Because you are changing the cabinets in the near term, it would save you time and money to keep the walls neutral. With your budget, I suggest getting a rug and freshening things like window coverings, lampshades and seat cushions. Those items can transfer to your new kitchen when the time comes, and the new colours involved ( paint included) will make the cabinets less important looking, in the meanwhile. There are many youtube tutorials that can take you through the painting process you asked about.

A quick facelift could include removing your existing paper, add an inexpensive backsplash and most definitely update the cabinet hardware.

http://bungalowhomestagers.com/2013/10/5-top-wall-colors-for-oak-cabinet-kitchens.html
This is where I got the idea of pleasant valley, scroll down a little.

Tia, you are preaching to the choir. The suggestions you have received are based on a supposition that you wished your cabinets to recede, and on the near term arrival of a new set, but perhaps those are not the issues. Your colour choice is fine if you want to bring out the vibrancy of the oak more.

We decided on quiet moment by Benjamin Moore, now what color to paint chandelier?

stainless steel and use the shades for a pop of color. You choose the color to accent the new paints.

I want to help you I too am wanting a new house or one to renovate.

Update: I painted the kitchen, now what colors to accent with? I'm thinking either red or coral.

I want to spray paint the chandelier maybe coral? Get rid of the shaded?

Leave the handles or paint them? We don't want to replace.

Breath of fresh air! Try spray paint- oil rubbed bronze- on one door pull.

What if I painted the chandelier and handles like a matte dark grey?

I'm kinda liking the gold now.

replace the shades with glass ones

Nice paint color. Was it Pleasant valley?

No, ended up doing quiet moments by Ben moore

I painted my oak cabnets in the master bath as well as oak molding/baseboards in bedroom "Rockport Grey" By Benjamin Moore but had Sherwin Williams mix it in their Pro Classic in Satin. I painted the walls in bedroom "Urbin Putty" and bathroom Natural both by Sherwin Williams. I am keeping oak in rest of house with walls to be "Khaki Shade" by Sherwin Williams and Netuno Bordeaux granite, it has Grey's, cream and hint of olive in it. All of my wall paint is in A matte finish in between matte and satin. It will be completed in a month or so and I think will look great. The hardware on oak has a green cast to it that I have ordered from Home Depot.

@gwynn28 I know this is an older post, but as I was browsing through the comments I noticed a picture you posted of your kitchen remodel. What a nice job you did!!

I have been trying hard to figure out what paint color you used. I can only see a small portion above your cabinets. If you could let me know of the color name I would so greatly appreciate it :)

To Charis93

The wall Color is Behr's Pure Earth. I have it throughout the house because it is neutral and suits all four seasons. You can decorate warmly for winter and cool it down with white accessories in the summer.

@gwynn28 If you happen to still be checking Houzz from 8 years ago, I love how your kitchen turned out! We’re doing ours and I feel the same way about my cabinets - honey oak but too solid to justify replacing. I love your floors! Are they solid hardwood? Do you remember the name/color?