Decorating and Design - Paint/Finish the underside of upper cabinets?

I am renting, but the landlord is letting me do whatever I want, within reason. I can't afford to change the cabinets, but I decided a nice way to update the look of these cheap oak, raised panel cabinets is to paint the beaded edge around each door and drawer (in addition to new wall paint, countertops, a backsplash and some nice door pulls and knobs). Here's a concept drawing:

Click for full-size picture.
http://1footinthegrave.com/images/kitchen-plan3s.jpg (http://1footinthegrave.com/images/kitchen-plan3.jpg)

My dilemma is the underside of the upper cabinets. They are visible from any seating position in the living/kitchen space. They are currently a melamine type finish - actually just a smooth coated particleboard - in a beige color a little lighter than the cabinets.

Should I paint them the wall color, the trim color or just leave them alone? I think the current finish is ugly, but I don't wanna make it worse either.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Jim

Hi Jim,

The main problem I see here is the fact that you can't paint over the laminate--> the paint will not stick
Instead, you can use a trick--> take a picture of the underside the upper cabinets and go to HD, Lowes, or a paint store and ask them to identify the color (for interiors)--> buy this color to paint the edge around the cabinet doors / drawers--> In this way, you will get a sense of harmony and the cabinets will look as whole custom colors units

Thanks for the reply, Patricia. I wasn't aware the underside of these cheap cabinets was laminate. They are the builder grade oak cabinets contractors got for many years at Lowe's and Home Depot. Even so, the surface looks like it could be roughed up pretty good with a palm sander. If what you say is true though, there's no way I would paint the edge of the doors and drawers the same color as the underside of these cabinets. YUCK!

http://1footinthegrave.com/images/orig-cabinets03s.jpg (http://1footinthegrave.com/images/orig-cabinets03.jpg)

Maybe I should just not be so picky about it and realize that everything else will attract the attention of my friends and visitors and the underside of the cabinets will be inconsequential.

Jim

You're the one living there and the landlord seems to be ok with you doing these things, but the opinion I've always maintained in a situation like this is 'who cares, it's a rental unit.' You're not going to see any financial gain for your effort, only your landlord will. Also, from the picture above, I don't see anything wrong with these cabinets to warrant the effort and expense you're going to incur.

Your call, just my two cents.

the opinion I've always maintained in a situation like this is 'who cares, it's a rental unit.' You're not going to see any financial gain for your effort, only your landlord will.

Not really... looks like the user cares. I think that a personal touch is the way to call an apartment "my home", rental or not

Jim,

I think that the cabinets are nice. I'd not touch them

It will be just a rental unit when I'm gone, but right now, it's my last home and my landlord also happens to be one of my closest friends for the last 35 years. But I also tend to be a bit anal about these kinds of things and am happy that you guys have helped ground me. I'll leave the underside of the cabinets alone. There are better things to do. :D

Best R'gards,

Jim

As I said, this is your call. Sounds like this is more of a home to you than any of the places I lived, so you're going to be more likely to put in some effort and cash than I ever was. Please post some new pictures of what you do to them when you're done - we always like to see how the projects turn out.