Is painting the best way to update solid maple cabinets and kitchen?

Honestly I would re-stain them in a darker color to compliment the black countertops.You have plenty of light in the room.

Do you prefer a wood finish or a painted finish on cabinets? I love a white/cream kitchen myself, but if you like wood grain, those cabinets look to be in good condition, so as Janet says, you could just re-stain. What about repainting the walls? The beige walls with the beige floor and light maple aren't providing much contrast, so if you repaint both the cabinets and the walls, you could take the room in a completely different color direction.

Hi Trish - I love the cabinets. With that being said I would leave cabinets as is, Update handles, put up a colorful back-splash, leave ceiling white but update lights to canister lighting, you can still have a double oven by having that portion of cabinets reconfigured, and paint any wall area with a contrasting bold color (maybe one color from the new back-splash). Great Project - Have lots of fun...... :)

i would do nothing it looks good with the darker counter top-- just for kicks you could make a black out line in the center of each door -- edge around the middle panel with paint-- be sure and use masking tape to make it even and easy

Here's what I would do: replace all the knobs and drawer pulls with black ones, do a beautiful backsplash in glass mosaic tile that has blacks and grays in it, re-grout the floor tiles (or stain the grout) in black. But leave the cabinets untouched. Also pull in more black with countertop accessories. Just my crazy opinion. It would be heaven if you could find a free website that would let you upload a photo and then be able to preview the changes before taking the plunge.

I think that would look great. If you have darker counter tops the cabinets should be lighter. I would also upgrade the hardware.

I like this look also, but they don't hold a candle compared to the look of white or off-white kitchens. So clean looking. This would be a big job and there are plenty of how-to videos on how to do this. I would plan for a week of really hard work, but if you're healthy (and have friends who could help), go for it! Please send before and after pictures.

My previous neighbors had a similar kitchen with black appliances and a darker granite and they used a gel stain to stain them darker and it looked gorgeous!

I personally think painting the kitchen with a pop of color and add a trailored valance and omit the blind and table cloth, place round rug under your table in colors of your new paint and add fabric chairs and update light over the table. Add new hardware to the cabinets and a island center piece and accent items throughout the cabinets.

Thanks for the great suggestions! I am thinking that the faded cabinets will have to be painted instead of refinished- because the sun is fierce in my kitchen,

A lot of people are going with white or painted cabinets BUT your cabinets are like mine- a good quality maple. I think white cabinets are too common, and once you paint your cabinets they're harder to keep clean IMO. Since your cabinets are such a pretty maple, I would leave them alone, BUT I would redo your island to bring interest in your kitchen. Either paint your island or reface it in either shiplap, barn wood, or something like that, and install contrasting countertops, maybe a white granite. Repaint your walls in your favorite color, with your cabinets it doesn't matter. Since you have a lot of sun that may fade your finishes easily, go ahead and install blinds under neath your curtains. Blinds will save you money by keeping you're house cooler and the air from running so much. Just close them when the sun is on that side of the house or you want privacy. Do install curtains that come to your bottom windowsill. Longer can look to formal, and just the topper looks 80's-90's and to me makes your windows look unfinished. Good luck!

Also, you know that you can paint your ugly (lol, I've got the same thing!) tile. They make some great floor paint now that really sticks. It depends on what color you paint your walls, but I would do a shade darker on the floor. I'm getting ready to do it, if I can pick a time when I can keep my husband out! I think I will also stencil on top. I've seen some beautifully stenciled floors on Pinterest.

Changing out the hardware will make a big difference, too!

Sounds like you are between staining or painting, If you use poly wiping finish you can add Minwax stain color to it and just wipe it on with a rag, quich, easy and cabinet doors can stay on while being done. I have done this and cabinets came out beautifully, Do not try the polyshades they are terrible and the smell lasts for weeks. I ended up painting my cabinets a creamy white, Love them and as far as showing dirt/etc. It is a matter of a quick wipe where they get dirty around the handles , but am glad I see the dirty spots and wondered how much I didn't see when they were wood coloted. My kitchen walls are now butter yellow, would have done it years ago but hesitated painting wood, soooo glad I did. Good luck with whatever you do, and make it your own since you are probably the one spending the most time there.

I would make all the cabinets batch since you have lighter ones on the island...