Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Painting our kitchen cabinets

Hello all -

We're looking at doing a "cheap" redecoration of our Kitchen. Our cabinets are old, darker wood - We're looking to paint the cabinets, new countertops, and put a new floor in. My question, request- Can anyone provide pictures of kitchens that have been painted that Are Not white? We're trying to come up with a color scheme, and all I can find pictures of are white cabinets. We don't want to go crazy, just looking for options. If you have any ideas, or pictures, I sure would appreciate an email - Thank you!
Steve

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Ive seen some kitchens that the cabinets were a light green or a aged looking green. Not sure really how to describe the color but I believe this was used in late 50's early 60's. I personally like the white.

A few years ago while living in Houston. We took the doors off the cabinets and sanded the doors down and refinished them in a lighter color wood. The frames were then painted almond the look was great and we were very happy with the outcome. I still like the color combination. We sold the house and have moved into an older house.
I painted the old cabinets here almond, and have hated it sense. The cabnets were not in good shape. Now we are thinking about replaceing all the cabnets. While painting is an option they seem to get dirty faster and where the hardware (pulls) are they paint wears off.

This is just my opinion but if you could do what we did in Houston you will be better off, if not replacement or new doors is another option.

In the last few months I've painted cabinets off-white (almost biege), sage, and light blue, no white...ooo, wait, I did do one white

The reasons some have undesirable results with cabinet painting is due to improper prep and/or use of wrong paint.

Cabinets should be sanded and cleaned well. If painting over varnish/poly a bonding type [solvent based] primer should be used. The same is true if using latex over oil. Cabinets should be refinished with a quality enamel - preferably oil base or waterborne.

Look through the kitchen magazines- you will find cabinets painted blue, red, black, green, etc. Of course, the trick is always proper prep. I painted my last kitchen with a peachy color, which I liked for a while but seemed dated by the end. I repainted my current kitchen in a cream, with a glaze--but my "accent" cabinets are black crackle. Everyone loves it, including me and I've had no problems with chipping or them getting dirty. Kitchen cabinets require a lot of prep. Proper cleaning is essential, as you must remove all the grease. This is the only finished picture I could find, but you'll get the idea. http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f277/kimeyers/DSCF0004.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f277/kimeyers/DSCN0197.jpg