I prefer the darker cabinets just like I prefer darker furniture...it is just a matter of taste. I also love darker rooms over lots of light. Love lots of light from a great lamp when I am reading, but prefer the cozy feeling. With this light floor, darker would look very good!
Some use Polyshades to darken already stained wood. Personally I don't care for the product, but that could be because I had a tendency to over do my brush strokes. You have to be extremely careful, using a number of very light coats or it will streak. If you have a light hand, it's really the easiest DIY way to go since you add color and finish together.
Others have used gel stain over lightly sanded pre-finished wood. I have not tried this so I
...»
can give no personal help. Hopefully someone else will come along that has tried it.
Either way, if you have something with a similar finish that you can play around with, I'd recommend practicing.
Another idea is have them professionally sprayed with a colored polyurethane like Polyshades. I believe Cabot has a poly and finish combo too. It's sold at L's Home Improvement stores. Ask some professional painters that work for construction companies and have stained wood using sprayers before about what they'd charge. It might be well worth the cost when you consider the worth of ones kitchen cabinets and how much work and time it would save you.
I'm not a fan of polyshades either....I'd go with a gel stain...you should lightly sand them first then test it out....you can experiment with the back side of one of the doors until you get it right.
Others have used gel stain over lightly sanded pre-finished wood. I have not tried this so I ...»
Either way, if you have something with a similar finish that you can play around with, I'd recommend practicing.
Another idea is have them professionally sprayed with a colored polyurethane like Polyshades. I believe Cabot has a poly and finish combo too. It's sold at L's Home Improvement stores. Ask some professional painters that work for construction companies and have stained wood using sprayers before about what they'd charge. It might be well worth the cost when you consider the worth of ones kitchen cabinets and how much work and time it would save you.