Asked on Dec 14, 2017

What to do with a kitchen with wood cabinets and green countertops

So we're in the process of buying this house. I love the kitchen but hate the wood cabinets and the green counter tops. We won't have the money to change the countertops or redo the cabinets when we move in. So I was wondering if anyone thought maybe there was a color I could paint it to tone down, at least the green countertops.
If it helps any I plan to do my cabinets white in the future. So any color that would go good with that and not to bad with the green lol. Thanks.
  14 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Dec 14, 2017

    there is nothing wrong with the cabinets...you can restore the counter top with either Rustoleum or Gianni countertop restoration kits

  • Diana Deiley Diana Deiley on Dec 14, 2017

    Paint the cabinets a satin black! It will make everything look rich and elegant. The wall color looks a little grayish so I think everything will work together. Best of luck. (p.s. nice house ) Good luck.

  • Trillian Trillian on Dec 14, 2017

    I had a similar problem years ago: maple colored cabinets, robin's egg blue counter tops and little money . I went all in with the blue by sponge painting the walls in bright blue, light blue, and sunny yellow it drew attention away from the large blue surface of the counters and brightened the kitchen. I toned down the cabinets by sanding lightly and with watered down white acrylic paint wiped on a "whitewash" and varnished. That was over 20 years ago.... still have the whitewashed cabinets but now granite counter tops and a different color on walls. Hope that helps.

    • Amanda Herington Amanda Herington on Dec 14, 2017

      I love the idea of white washing the cabinets. Is that hard to do? You wouldn't have a picture of how you did your cabinets would you? Lol I'm so anxious to redo the cabinets but I'm scared to bc I have not any kind of major home diy. No clue what I'm doing except for tons of you tube videos under my belt 😂 lol

  • Emily Emily on Dec 14, 2017

    If this were my kitchen I would paint the cabinets white and live with, embrace and love the green counters. Anything you do to them will look like a half baked job, IMHO. I have to admit though that I am partial to green. The interiors of my open kitchen cupboards are green.

    • See 2 previous
    • Emily Emily on Dec 18, 2017

      Well and they really look beautiful!

  • Leah M Leah M on Dec 14, 2017

    Chalk paint in the color of your preference for the cabinets. Don't forget to paint the window sills. The counter tops there are a lot of options. There's some paint options, also a skim coat of concrete if that's your preferred look. I saw where someone bought 24 inch wide planks and did a wood counter top, but that would require removing the old one.

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Dec 14, 2017

    They can be whitewashed, or a glaze could applied. I actually have a similar kitchen and green counter tops. I have the walls painted a warmer color, have red small appliances, and have vintage toy kitchen collectibles on the upper cupboards. I've debated whitewashing mine, and haven't decided yet, but, did whitewash my kitchen table and love it.

  • Emily Emily on Dec 15, 2017

    Amanda when I look at all the pictures I would change my advice. You have a lot of cabinetry that if you painted it all would be a big job, Can I give you an honest opinion? What I see when I look at your pictures is a lot of ditzy objects. The kitchen itself, cabinets, island, even counter top is fine. But your decorative items are way too numerous and too small. The bowl of apples is IMHO the way to go. The pictures are too small, what is the draping stuff over the tops of the cabinets? The things on the window shelves are too small. BUT it is great you posted all the pics, because when people do that it is really possible for others to advise more fully. It is o.k to have a number of small things as long as they "add" up to something more, know what I mean? Like the wine glasses in this picture are each small but together they are large. This is one of my windows in my very small kitchen. The other picture is the other window, whose "greenhouse" is decorated for Christmas.

    • Amanda Herington Amanda Herington on Dec 15, 2017

      Yeah the decor isn't my style. This is what it looked like when we went to look at it lol. So I totally get that you're saying.

  • Trillian Trillian on Dec 15, 2017

    I had little skills as well and it was too easy. Sand the surfaces of the cabinets....That's the hardest part.... but only requires a light sanding. For the "White wash" just mix white acrylic paint with plain tap water (about 1/2 and 1/2). The proportion is not critical. Wipe the wash on the cabinets using a wet rag. Wipe off as much as you desire for the effect you like with a dry rag. When dry put a coat or two of clear satin varnish to seal and protect. Sorry I don't have pictures of the process but I will get some photos of the finish. Have fun!


  • Trillian Trillian on Dec 15, 2017

    Found some old photos. Cabinet door is open and you can see the original finish. (Didn't bother doing the inside of cabinets.) Also photo of the wall paint.....not a technique much in use these days. I had forgotten that I had put a blue and white checked fabric border with yellow flowers above the cabinets.


  • Sandy Sandy on Dec 17, 2017

    I faux granited countertops in a rental and did nothing to the cabinets but then the cabinets with new hardware looked great. I watched videos and am thrilled yet with the results. This was over two years ago, and it still looks new and good.

  • Margaret Webster Margaret Webster on Dec 18, 2017

    Looking at the counters, cupboards and the flooring was painful to me. There are plenty of projects in my fixer upper but the time finally came to aesthetically makeover the kitchen and I did it with only paint and new hardware. We plan on renting this house in the future when we finish and move to a new fixer upper, so spending thousands on a kitchen remodel not only didn’t make sense, but was not affordable for at least another year.... and my eyes could not take another year of this sight Every Day of my life. Instead of drywalling the house, we painted the paneling- so now it has a cool striped look to it instead of a boring flat wall. I built the pot holder to hold the pots, pans and lids save space and make it look prettier. I painted the floor, the walls, the ceilings, counters, cupboards and I still have more to do, but not the time yet. However my family and friends were blown away and I couldn’t be happier With the closer to finished result. Still more to do but I’m at a functional point for now

  • Geezer Wench Geezer Wench on Dec 20, 2017

    There are a lot of cabinets in that kitchen, so maybe put off attacking those just yet. A different paint color on the wall would help to change how the cabinets appear.


    Now for the counter tops ... that's tough. Other folks who have answered have given some great ideas.


    Maybe try brainstorming on that. I think of malachite when looking at the counters.


    You could also try googling color wheels.

  • TAMMY SPALSBURY TAMMY SPALSBURY on Dec 20, 2017

    Personally I think the cabinets are AWESOME. The top picture