Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - paint or reface???

can anyone offer an opinion on the best solution for updating kitchen cabinets?

we just moved into our new (old) house and are looking to update the kitchen without blowing the budget. the kitchen has custom cherry cabinets that were installed in 1983. they are in very good condition and the layout of the kitchen is great, but i am not crazy about the way they look since i would prefer the white farmhouse/french look.

Our plans involve removing linoleum to expose the original hardwood floors, adding a new backsplash, high-end stainless appliances (viking range, bosch dishwasher, liebherr fridge -- all floor models purchased on the cheap) and honed marble countertops.

we had refacers come out and their estimate was $9k! (about $3k more than i expected). we have also thought about painting the cabinets but are afraid that they will look "cheap" (compared to the appliances and counters) and they will not wear well.

Can anyone offer up their own experience? Pros/cons? I need the kitchen to look great 5 years from now when we sell the house. Does paint stand up the wear and tear? Is is possible to get an ultra smooth finish that looks high end? I am afraid that painted cabinets will detract from everything else if or worse i am afraid of ruining the cabinets. Yet I keep seeing painted cabinets in books, magazines, and tv shows that look stunning.

Should we paint or just suck it up and pay the money to reface??

Your advice and experience are appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

If you have custom cherry cabinets in great shape, I'd update everything else as planned and keep the cabinets. You can visit some kitchen design showrooms and have them price your kitchen in cherry. You will have sticker shock and have a greater appreciation for your custom cabinets. Cherry cabinets are at the top of the price list.

If planning on selling in five years, a white kitchen may be a turn off to some buyers. Many simply do not like white kitchens. Cherry, however, has long been a traditional, beautiful, and expensive wood. Painting cherry cabinets seems to be a pity, hiding this treasured wood.

As you indicated, a DIY painted kitchen tends not to be as durable as a factory applied painted finish. Too, there is much work involved.

Keep in mind the expense of replacing cabinets, time and mess with painting, and the amount of money saved by simply cleaning the cabinets. Minor scratches can be touched up with crayon or shoe polish.

New appliances, countertop, knobs/pulls, floor covering, paint, window treatments, and light fixtures can provide you with an updated kitchen. For help with your selections, post in the Decorating/Design Forum.

In my opinion, your cabinets will look cheap. You are going high end appliances, countertops etc, and want to cut costs by painting the cabinets?
When I bought my house 10 years ago, it had dark brown cabinets circa 1972. We painted them, put in a new linoleum floor, and it looked better. But it never looked great. We have since remodeled the entire kitchen top to bottom, and it looks 100x better. Looking back at old pics of the kitchen, it looks like we took the cheap way out. Spend the $10-15k and replace those cabinets. You won't regret it.

I agree with the other suggestions that painted cupboards look cheap. It's very difficult to do a good job painting cupboards at home.

Also, on refacing, check out the cost of you ripping out everything, and having entirely new cupboards put in by a supplier if you haven't already put in the new countertops. You may find that the cost of the complete job isn't much different than refacing. Why anyone would want to reface is beyond me, no insult intended. The facing of any cabinetry is where most of the cost goes. The frame and shelves don't amount to much and are usually cheap!

sorry, i should clarify that we would have a painter do the work, we would not do it ourselves. but it seems like the consensus is clear. better to reface, put in new cabinets, or live with the existing situation.

Your options are clear. There are good, better, best levels of refacing materials as well as painters. As indicated, if you are not satisfied with existing cabinets then probably a buyer will not be either. New cabinets is probably the best option to go along with the upgrades. Just keep in mind the comparable property prices in the neighborhood. In most markets, properties are not moving right now. If cabinets still look great, then you can proceed with other suggested upgrades and still get a good return on your investment. You did not indicate what price range in which your potential would be and for what comparable properties are going.

I came on the forum looking for info on bathroom vanity tops and saw this thread. We are in the same boat, with both the bathroom vanity cabinet and the kitchen cabinets.

Not wanting to spend a fortune on refacing or replacing, I did a Google search and found a cabinet restoration solution. It cost $50 total, including S&H, and I just did the bathroom cabinet today.

The vanity is 5 feet long, with a double sink top. It's made out of solid wood and I believe it's cherry. After applying the cleaning solution, I waited the two hours for it to dry and then applied the restore solution. So far, it looks great! We had tenants in the house for 11 years while we were stationed out of state and they had a small dog that scratched the cabinet.

I tried Old English, but it didn't do much. This stuff, though, looks extremely promising. It has to dry for 24 hours, so I'll know tomorrow afternoon how the end result will be. I also did a test on one kitchen cabinet door and it also looks great.

I don't know if I can mention the brand name, but will provide the web site if anyone emails me.