The cabinets look like there in good condition. I wouldn't suggest painting them. How about wallpapering the door panels with removable wallpaper? It will give you a splash of color and not hurt the cabinetry's resale value in case you sell your place.

I actually do think dark cabinets would be too dark -- it looks like a relatively small kitchen. I really like the existing cabinet color, but white would be OK too. Maybe if you just updated the handles, and got a nice tiled or glass backsplash?

Those cabinets look beautiful, nice and light. And they look brand new! It seems like an absolute waste to change them (and painting would definitely hurt the value). Perhaps changing the hardware would change your view of them? The handles on the drawers look pretty nice to me...something other than those plain knobs above that would match the style of the handles better (although I can't see well in the pics...)?

I would keep them as is. If the cabinets were in poor condition, I'd advocate painting them but they look pretty new. With your white walls and warm woods, you could play up the Swiss chalet or Swedish rustic look.

Why would you paint the cabinets or change the floors?
They appear to be new, the finish is good and they provide a nice warmth to the place.

Unless you paint the walls a contrasting color, painting the cabinets white and tiling the floors would turn your kitchen into a drab, cold monotonous space.

Why not install a new tile backsplash instead - perhaps a bright glass mosaic or stainless/aluminum tiles?

I have your kitchen with walnut-y cabinets, see: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/painting-fixing-repair/sf-good-questions-white-walls-with-these-floors-041171
I think its too dark, but take a look. I'd love to paint mine.

I would go white if I were you (I have beige ceramic tile so no-go for me.)

The cabinets are pretty nice (though maybe not your style). One way to improve their look is to draw your eye away from them. Currently it looks like lights are shining right on them, making them the focal point. Maybe putting in upper and under cabinet lighting, would draw your eye of the cabinets and help brighten up the space. Also a bright backsplash, like maybe some whitish glass mosaic tile could also help lighten the space.

Also, some chunker handles or a couple of glass front doors may help to tone down the look of having so much wood.

I think dark cabinets would stick look amazing. Since you have " blue gray, red and white in the living room, I think it would be a nice dramatic contract. Especially with the brick wall, I'd go dark. Black cupboards with brushed nickel or satin hardware.

http://www.kitchenandbedroomstudio.co.uk/images/bella/kitchen/lrg/high_gloss_black_pisa.jpg

It looks like the cabinets are new, and probably pretty solid. You could save a ton of money and give your kitchen a brand new look by only replacing the cabinet doors.

To brighten the room up, I would recommend either white lacquered finish, or a very light wood, such as sycamore.

Also, I'm guessing that you're trying for a more modern/contemporary look. If so, do away with any beveled frame and the doors will instantly look more contemporary.

And if you do go with a lighter wood grain-- run the grain horizontal instead of vertical. A seamless panel of a light wood in a horizontal grain will give a much more contemporary look. It will also position the grain to move the eye with the flow of your kitchen space better, and likely make the room appear a little larger.

I understand where you are coming from. I felt the same way about my kicthen cabinets and floors when I bought my townhouse; great condition but not what I would choose. Don't touch either and find ways to live with them.

Perhaps a nice sea grass rug for the floor and some new knobs and pulls for your drawers. These will all help to make your kitchen more to your liking without spending money you don't need to spend.

I agree with the others in keeping your cabinets as they are. Your cabinets look new and your kitchen appears to be fairly small, in addition your cabinets appear to be of a fairly high quality construction, given these elements, I would leave their finish as it is. Painting your cabinets, especially a dark color will result in your kitchen becoming a dark space, especially with the black granite countertops.

Instead I would look into installing an interesting backsplash. Again I would stay away from dark colors/finishes and use a lighter or reflective surface that coordinates well with the cabinets and countertops. In choosing a surface, I would consider stainless steel or aluminium sheet/tiles, or even mirror, glass tile would also be a great choice. Improving your task and overall lighting in the kitchen could dramatically improve the space. In addition, doing something as simple as changing out the door and drawer hardware could help immensely.

In considering changes, start with small reversible projects first (i.e. drawer pull/door knob changes), live with the improvements then proceed further.

ya, that's the problem when people go with the contractor options du jour... yay black granite and stainless/black appliances for everyone!!! NOT. all that white and exposed brick really screamed out for another choice of granite and/or appliance color. seems a shame that they didnt go all out and complete the contractor color trifecta and put in wenge wood...behold...http://www.condonewhaven.com/new_haven_condo.htm
white paint if anything here, that certainly would brighten it up, but you may be stuck with it.

Thanks guys! They are in great shape-brand new, in fact, I am just not crazy about light wood- it makes me think of matching bedroom sets in college dorms. We would like something more contemporary.

I agree that a dark stain would make it too dark, especially b/c it is small- DahliaCactus, thanks for the image! Als interesting that painting it white would bring down the value- I didn't realize that, and it is definitely something to consider. In fact, that will probably be the only thing that my husband hears in this conversation :). The knobs and handles are a brushed stainless steel- we changed them from a brushed brass. A backsplash is also a good idea.

I could spend all day thinking about this, which is embarrassing...

Eek! I disagree with everyone telling you to keep them.. Obviously you don't like them, (I don't either they don't go at all with the countertops..visually breaks everything up) so don't listen to them! I think either painting them gloss white or replacing the doors is a GREAT idea. They currently take away from the beautiful brick in the other view... Keep the kitchen visually clean by blending in the cabinets and then the beautiful countertops can shine! I'd consider adding a tiled backsplash in different whites to add texture to the space and bridge the cabinets and counter.

I have to say, I REALLY hate how people worry so much about resale that they don't make the improvements that would make them love their OWN house... If you love the improvment, why wouldn't someone else down the road? BTW My sister bought a bungalow with all natural wood and painted every last inch including the good quality wood cabinets (now white) and the place is valued exceptionally higher now).

=D

You actually have birch cabinets, not oak. They look solid, but are very basic.

I share your lack of enthusiasm for them (they do blend into the floor), but you have to ask yourself how long you plan to live in this current space, and how much money you are willing to invest into this.

You could just put in a backsplash and new handles -- my suggestion would be bright red back-painted glass (a custom product from a glass store) for the backsplash and elongated horizontal stainless bar handles.

However, what bugs me about the cabinets is that they are so narrow and tall; it makes them look very dated. Kitchens now tend to have low horizontal uppers (stacked for more storage) like in this kitchen:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/kitchen-spotlight/kitchen-spotlight-ernie-and-drews-lovely-renovation-053396

You could go to IKEA and check how much it would cost to replace the uppers (and whether such cabinets would fit). If you want to paint (e.g., the lowers after you change the uppers), I would go with grey. Good luck!

Can i get volunteers to come w/me to the headquarters of The Homogonizing of Condo Rehab w/pitchforks and burn that shit down??

I'm sure I would have been estatic w/the original 60's cabinets my building came with. If only, if only, most of this design is just blerg... lukewarm. I wish people would get wise, or pre-sell when the future owner still has options. I could have kept my old kitchen and put the money into the hardwoods i ended up paying for anyways. It would have also saved me tons in paint.

I would suggest using some colorful accent pieces such as a low profile ceramic fruit bowl in red (blue or green would work too) to replace the tall wire mesh one. Also throw in a long narrow rug on the kitchen floor. If you really want to paint something try the door, this will help draw you into the kitchen. A back splash could be nice but you might want to try some under cabinet lighting.

Don't paint them! Take off the hinges and do some open shelving; you could paint the interior or backs of the cabinets some fierce color like tomato-soup red or greeny-gray...It would afford you some change and likely open up the space a bit!

after reading through all these responses again (I've apparently taken quite an interest in your post) I think the best, simple recommendation was to change the cabinet-illuminating lighting to undercabinet lighting. It would be cheap and easy, and would have the effect of "darkening" your cabinets (or at least taking your eye off of them) and concentrating your eye on the countertops, which it seems you have no objections to.

they'll also be functional for lighting up your workspace, and I think they create a much more "dramatic" (I hate that term) look.

I second SpanishOlives - if you want to just remove some of the doors that would open it up and allow you some flexibility to paint without totally tossing the whole thing. also, it would reduce the overall amount of the brown which may make you dislike it even less.

I agree with most here---

I think it would be a shame and a waste of time and money to paint such nice-looking cabinets. Also, to me they look like birch, not oak.

I also think that you should put up an interesting/bright/shiny/catchy backsplash (glass tiles?) in a bold color and add some undercabinet lighting to highlight it. Also, change the knobs/handles to something sleeker and modern and you'll be well on your way to loving your kitchen!

One last idea is to add a polypropylene or cotton patterned rug (with a skid pad) to cover the wood on the floor and set off the cabinets. Both of these kinds of rugs are suitable for the kitchen---you can hose down polypropylene and toss cotton in the wash.

I would KILL for those cabinets...AS IS! Sad that you want to change them.

"I think it would be a shame and a waste of time and money to paint such nice-looking cabinets."

The whole point is that the homeowner doesn't view them as nice-looking. No matter how great of condition the cabinets are in or how great looking everyone else thinks they are, if they aren't your style, I don't think you should feel like you need to keep them the way they are. It's your home that you have to live in for however many numbers of year to come, do what will make you happy! I personally like white in kitchens, so if it was me, I would paint them white. I think the white with the black granite would work well together and look very modern.

This is like crack! Thanks for all of the input. There currently is undercabinet lighting on the lower cabinets, but we rarely use it b/c it is a heinous tube light akin to a 7-11. We could easily replace that, but would have to think about the tall ones- they are bizarrely high, like a basketball player designed them, so you would see everything...We would however, like to add another layer of cabinets or some sort of shelving below the tall ones- not nearly as long though so you don't close the kitchen off completely, but stacked to get some more storage.

We have someone that would paint them for a great price as a favor to my husband, so what I might do is buy some wood, paint it a glossy white and hang it up there to see how it changes it. I feel like it could take me in a more Barefoot Contessa direction without the glass doors- http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/how-easy-was-that-recreating-barefoots-kitchen-029674. A backsplash could tone down the white.
I am wary of the open shelving- we have to cram a lot of stuff in these shelves.

Bepsf's suggestion is great! I added stainless steel to my backspalsh and it really upgraded the look of the entire kitchen. You could also add a mirrored backsplash which looks very sharp and can help make the kitchen look bigger and add some brightness.

I completely agree with Barbidahll. I worked as the designer on a design show where I wanted to paint a wooden cabinet turquoise. The entire crew told me not to do it, that the tenants would hate it and so forth. I did it anyways and guess what? They LOVED it, it looked so beautiful and unique and it fit perfectly with the rest of the decor. As a matter of fact, I heard later on that they sold their house and made a huge profit on it. Decorating is also about taking chances and letting your creativity loose . If you paint them and realize you don't like the changes and you absolutely want the 'blah but it's "new"color' back, well... just sand off the new color, give it a new clear coat and they will look the same again. If you want a little preview I would say, try different colors on a big piece of paper (aura paint has those little samplers and their paint is environmentally friendly), hang it on the cabinet, live with it for a few days and then make up your mind. Or even better, now that I come to think about it, preview hundrerds of different color choices with Benjamin Moore's personal color viewer. They let you download pictures of your space and have you virtually paint it in as many colors as you like. Most importantly - Have Fun With It!

I would NOT worry about re-sale - that's nuts - you just bought the place. If you don't like the cabinets, do something to them - it is your place and you should enjoy it for as long as you live there. Otherwise, what's the point?

I would definitely change the lighting. It changes color AND adds a design element to the room.

If you want to see what glossy white would look like, go to an art supply store and buy some board and paint that - WAY easier to cut and hang than wood. The board could be anything from oaktab to something more rigid. Easy way to try out different colors/finishes.

Also, you could leave the cabinets the color that they are and have the doors cut and a glass inset added - and get great handles.

A few months ago there was a post on AT where someone made a wall unit in her living room (???) out of Ikea cabinets in a wood like yours. The amazing thing was that she put these huge, wide vertical handles on them so they looked very stylish, very '70's. I wish I could find it.

I made you a picture. I know people suggested knobs and pulls and back splashes.

How about black knobs, black painted back wall, which I tried to make for you here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96179754@N00/2589964058/

JUST that one wall in black, not all the walls. And for the floor, FLOR:
http://www.flor.com/service/flor/shop_detail.html?mv_arg=167103198_03

That would give you the contemporary look you desire, for just the cost of a few FLOR tiles, knobs/pulls and paint for ONE small wall.

You can browse knobs (and pulls) by color at MyKnobs:
http://hardware.myknobs.com/?style=knob&color=Black

This is kind of nice:
http://www.myknobs.com/lew51101.html

I also liked the Maki and the Northcoast knobs and pulls in the black in this collection:
http://www.myknobs.com/annpacificdreams.html

Those are more "natural" and rhythmic than the contemporary knobs and pulls.

You can let me know too, if you don't want that image up, here or over there, either way. I enjoy trying to make a picture, and sometimes they don't turn out so good. But I think this time, the black WOULD be a very nice touch and give you what you want for your kitchen, without having to do a lot of work.

I want to follow Chris' advice about upgrading my own cabinet doors with a light grain wood (see below). Does anyone have ideas on where to find the wood/materials in NYC? And please keep in mind I'm on a bit of a budget. Thanks!

"To brighten the room up, I would recommend either white lacquered finish, or a very light wood, such as sycamore. And if you do go with a lighter wood grain-- run the grain horizontal instead of vertical. A seamless panel of a light wood in a horizontal grain will give a much more contemporary look. It will also position the grain to move the eye with the flow of your kitchen space better, and likely make the room appear a little larger."