Decorating and Design - Painting kitchen cabinets - what color?

I am thinking of painting my kitchen cabinets. I already painted the walls and like that color a lot. Not sure what color my cabinets should be. I would like to lighten up the room a bit. Maybe an off white? The countertops will eventually be changed. I just want to know what would look nice with the stainless steel appliances and the darker colored walls. Thanks for any help! Hopefully my link works....

<a href="http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=farthing99&P=&AID=5779304&IID=213732230&T=2"><img src="http://www.dotphoto.com/SAN1/EE/C0/74/iEEC07422-17BA-47DA-81DC-62CC2041C77C.jpg" width="480" height="360" border="0"></a>

Just my two cents but I wouldn't paint the cabinets - that's nice wood and I hate to see nice wood covered with paint. I'd go ahead and replace the counters first and see what you think after that.

I normally wouldn't paint them. The person who lived in the house before was a heavy smoker. The cabinets are pretty smelly. Any other suggestions?

Hi Andi Kaye,

The cabinets are very nice and any paint color (including offwhite, beige or metallic paint - see the first three colors in the image below) will look odd and very poor with that beautifull floor

IMO, you must cover the smell, not the wood grain... so why not a transparent veneer? you can choose a clear finish (see 4th door in the image below)

http://www.punchhelpers.com/DIY/cabinetscolor.jpg

I like nice wood, too, but oak cabinets are pretty dated. If you do paint, I would go for a cream that has the same tones as the wall color. Perhaps take a door off and try it on the back of one door, then prop it up in the kitchen for a few days and live with it to see how it works. Here's more on painting cabinets:

Painting Kitchen Cabinets (http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/painting-kitchen-cabinets.shtml)

Allison,

Dated? why? Oak cabinets are realy nice and there are several cabinets brands offering this product with excellent acceptannce
Also, as we are not going to change our cabinets every year, we can't speak about "fashion" :rolleyes:

And... the user is painting because the cabintes are smelly...

i understand why you want to paint the cabinets. with the wood floor, it's too much wood. and your new wall color is too similar to the wood color, so right now, your whole kitchen is very much the same orangey tone from top to bottom! if you paint your cabinets, your floors will stand out more. i'd go with white or off-white, or even black (don't be afraid, Luke, come to the dark side!), whichever works with your whole-house color scheme.

Hi Annette

As I understand the problem, the problem is not the cabinet color regarding the floor color but the tobacco :mad: smell

I am not a fan of Oak cabinets. If I were you, I would go to Home Depot (or any cabinet store) and look at the paint colors that are being sold from the various cabinet manufacturers. Pick a few, check out the doors and bring them home. Set them around the room look at them at different times of day and pick one. Then you can have any paint store color match them. Add stainless hardware and you will have a new kitchen.

We are currently in the process of painting ours...they were the same oak finish you have (definatley dated in my opinion). We went with white (Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, which is pretty close to a pure white) and we're very happy with the results. I think some flavor of off-white that leans in the yellow/tan direction would complement your wall color.

More important than this though, make sure you wash them well, let them dry, scuff them up with 150 grit sand paper, and invest in zinsser BIN shellac-based primer. I maybe telling you what you already know, but that primer is indispensable.

Also, this is a project that requires patience...definately not a one weekend deal. Taking your time, especially for prep will pay off.

Hope that helps...

Hi Do1st_AskLater,

Very nice colors!!
I'd love to see how they look. can you post a picture?

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As I think the kitchen should be in green colours. It is very fresh colour, which help you to cheer up after working day while you are having supper!

HI matunechka,
I think that the user intends to paint the cabinets, not the kitchen