Carpentry and Woodworking - How to match side of vanity

Hi, I need some advice. I was thinking of staining my oak bathroom vanity a darker color, perhaps cherry or mahogany. However, the side of the vanity, is not wood, but looks like some kind of cheap cardboard printed to look like oak. What can I do to the side of the vanity (paint it?) so it matches the rest of the vanity if I go ahead with the darker stain? Thanks for any advice.

You could clean it with mineral spirits, prime it with Zinsser 123, and paint it. Maybe you could come up with a good paint color to work with the color of the stain on the rest of the piece.

Hope this helps.

I just got new vanities, and when painting, masked the trim, including the side of the vanity with blue painters tape. I taped on Saturday, painted Sunday and removed the tape on Tuesday. In doing so, some of the "finish" on the side of cabinet peeled off. I was really surprised, as I had "assumed" the whole cabinet was solid wood, but was apparently was some sort of cardboard/paper/film finish. People are telling me to call the installer and complain, but I have granite countertops and don't want to take it apart and risk damaging the tops. It took too long to get the guy to finish the job in the first place! My question is, what can/should I use to touch up the area. It's in a fairly inconspicuous place, but would like to make it look as best I can. the area is about 6 sq inches.