I would paint the cabinets espresso and do the counterparts in the same shade as the floor covering. You already have enough white, with your appliances and window frames.

*countertops

Expresso will make the room look smaller and is "hip." I like timeless. Did you say you were changing the countertops to marble? I do agree that between the floor and counters you have enough white. Go to any store and find the colors/wood that make you feel good.

I'm also a fan of grey painted cabinets (with white counters). White has just been so overdone the last few years -- grey seems like a "fresher" choice to me. I'm actually in the process of doing a combination of walnut stained and grey painted cabinets in my personal kitchen right now.

But given the 2 choices you have offerred, I would pick the white cabinets. I'm afraid the espresso on the oak would not be an updated enough look. The white paint will do a better job of hiding the dated oak graining.

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We will be replacing all of the appliances and repainting the walls. I haven't decided on a wall color yet. The flooring will be replaced with hardwood. Again, I haven't decided on a flooring yet either. So much to decide!

Consider painting the lower cabinets the espresso, if that's what you like, and the upper cabinets white. What color is the countertop going to be?

I am not sure. I was thinking of using white quartz.

Dark (almost black) charcoal would be smashing with the red and white you already have in there.

I'd go for white. it is timeless and it looks like your space is on the smallish side. Bring in other color through accents and maybe cabinet handles.

You could go cream if keeping the red splash back. The cabinets look nice and a nice bright colour would work. But you always have (4) colours to chose. Counter (1), cabinets (2), splash back (3), and walls (4). For us the counter governed everything else. You may on the other hand start else where good luck.

I would simply extend the gold paint in your dining area into your kitchen on walls. This accent your existing cabinetry and give a cohesive flow into the dining area. Replace the counter top with a neutral w//dark expresso granite and paint range black, get a black dishwasher cover and replace white microwave with a black one to make all appliances match.

We chose colours from the marble we selected I would go with marble but I am bias, I just think it is better. Go for what appeals to you. If you go with espresso I would go with zinc or stainless steel counter with marble insert. :)

I love your red walls, but in this case, it may be what is causing you to want to make these changes. I like tandbllc suggestiion. Maybe if you paint the walls the lighter colour, you will get better clarity on what you would like to do.

I just painted my tired oak cabinets parchment white with a dark glaze from the caromal colors website. This paint comes in several colors and covers the grain without sanding. Take a look at the website first and get some ideas.

Light blue

The latest trend for kitchen cabinets is grey!

Rust-oleum makes a product called cabinet transformations. It comes in many colors. I think Grey cabinets and white quartz counters would look fabulous. The product is time consuming but well worth the effort.

I would do the floors in a medium tone perhaps with a hand scraped look and then I would paint the cabinets a sage green color and glaze in a warm brown color. I would distress the edges and natural places of wear and then clear coat. Consider a Greenish cast soapstone counter top and glass mosaic tile on the back splash to tie it all together

If you change the floors, move your base cabinets and put the new flooring underneath them. You will thank me later. Also, if you're going with stone, pick an inexpensive one. Your cabinets are not that great (sorry), but if you ever decide to replace them and/or make small changes to the layout, the countertops won't be reusable and the flooring (if it doesn't go underneath) will restrict you from moving anything by even an inch.

Check out Paris grey chalk paint by Annie Sloan. You can do them yourself in a weekend and make a dramatic change very reasonable. No sanding, priming, just paint ... Don't even have to remove the doors. Good luck, I happen to love the red

We are currently having custom cabinets made for our outdated, 70's kitchen. The cabinet shop owner shared that many people are going with a color called Modern White (very creamy vanilla - not white) with Vandyke Brown detailed glaze. It's beautiful! Good luck!

I like the idea of creamy white on top and espresso below. If you find the contrast too much you might try a glaze of the espresso over the cream. apply with a cloth and rub off a watered down bit of your lower cabinet paint. You can get a product at Home Depot/Lowes to paint your appliances too if you don't want to replace them just yet, and I'd go black with that. There is a beautiful granite that has all these colours in it, and you can tie it all together with a lighter wall paint shade of what's in your dining room. If you do replace your appliances , I'd go stainless. I'd do brushed stainless door handles/pulls also.
Good luck!

Ps - the granite is white/cream with flecks of black, brown, gold and mica which gives little bits of shine and goes well with the stainless. Sorry, can't recall it's name, but any granite shop will likely have something similar.

Give the cabinets a dark espresso glazing and a stone called quartzite for the tops. Unlike maple or birch Oak has a very deep grain to it and when you paint it it comes through. Not a very nice look. Good luck.

I like the idea of dove or light gray as well. That second photo is nice. Grey with white counters!

I know this is bathroom, but I stained the cabinets in my bath myself in a weekend. It was super easy, and didn't take a lot of elbow grease, just time. We moved into our house less than a year ago, and these are the before/after pictures. I would say darker cabinets, with lighter accents.

Go with white to keep with the era and style of thw kitchen. Choose a tone that will causw your countertop and applances to disappear...this will create a clean visual line so that the eye does not get stopped when viewing the space. It will also create harmony that will allow for a few more red retro small appliances...just saw a new red blender and toaster made in a retro style...wld expand the already cute idea of yur red tea kettle. Good luck!

I wonder how hard it will be to keep the white looking white on a countertop. Even formica can get stained but a bit of bleach makes it come right. A counter top choice is going to be something you can't change easily later without a lot of expense. Will the white be something you can live with a long time? I'm a fan of colored stone. It's pretty but pretty pricey and it is very hard. A glass put down too hard will break and a corner hit moving in an appliance can chip off ruining them. Some folks like Corian because it can be repaired. I'm undecided myself. Stone is very attractive. When I decided to paint my cabinets I went to Home Depot and got a chip off the Martha Stewart paint chip area then Iwent to the back of the store and looked at the different cabinet door samples to choose my white color. I love this shade of white. It's sophisticated - slightest tint of cream/brown - but still white. Used pewter pulls & knobs. When initially deciding what to do I went through this site and many others looking at finished kitchen photos before I decided. Still deciding on the counter top for my kitchen. I may use tile for the counters with a waterproof grout. Cheaper and easier to repair and change than either stone or corian. Still deciding. I can do the labor for the tile counters and backsplash myself. It's kind of fun. You can get an inexpensie wet saw for $100. It's cheaper than renting one. When choosing tile I want the surface to have enough glaze to make it waterproof but I don't want it shiney and slippery like old style white bathroom tiles. Home Depot as a really nice ceramic tile marble look alike with a good surface that I like. I've seen it installed as a counter top on another house and it was very attractive. HD have dark and light shades in the same marble look tile. Good luck with your choices. It's a fun and exciting time!

I'd go white cabinets with the red walls.. If it were me, though, I'd use something like a country white, something a little softer than bright white white...My kitchen is country white and red and I love it...

This shows them in progress. I painted the backs inside the cabinets with a color to cover the inexpensive plywood backs. I used spar varnish for the sides and shelves so it is water proof and easy to clean. The front frames and doors are oil based paint. Using oil based paint is harder but it lasts better. Key is to do the right prep work - fine sand first and use steel wool last, then use a tack cloth to clean all the dust and wool off before painting. Do any filling needed. Use the right kind of brush - one rated for oil based paint. Have a thiner that will work for the paint, wear old clothes. Put clean white papers under the doors before you flip them over so news print doesn't get into the curing paint. Start with the backs first. If there are any imperfections after the first coat, use a sponge finish sander to lightly knock down the little bumbs then finish with the second coat. Use only satin, do not get suckered into thinking semi-gloss is just as good. It isn't. Don't skimp on the paint cost. I had the best results with Sherman Williams top quality oil based paint. It looks great dried & self levels some. Use long strokes top to bottom and watch for runs. (I was making a silk purse from a sow's ear) I got some new hard ware also. Will post finished pictures soon. Tops are done but still have a couple of more days on the bottoms. Oil based paint doesn't dry, it cures so you can't get in a hurry. Still the finished product is one that will last a long time and be easy to maintain. It's enough work to paint cabinets you don't want to have to redo it every time you turn around.

Do yourself a favor, invest in one of those small sanders shaped like an iron. They make shortwork of sanding prep and they fit into corners well with that little pointy tip. They are not expensive. The sand paper just peels off velcro when you need another sheet and the paper lasts well and is not too expensive. I went through 3 boxes of paper doing the entire cabinets, inside and out. Also one gallon of the good oil based satin paint from Sherman Williams was enough to do the entire job which was a lot of cabinets. You go girl!

Someone wrote that your cabinets aren't that great.. RUDE... They look fine and painting them will really make them sharp looking.. Also, I love the red walls against the background of the straw colored walls in your dining room... I hope you'll post pictures when you get done.. I'm sure it's going to be beautiful...

I would also choose either grey or white, but make sure you purchase a paint that has the coverage and durability for cabinetry. Also, clean your cabinets well with tsp (trisodium phosphate) a day before to ensure any age-old gunk is removed. A light sanding to lower the grain and you're set to paint.

If you were prepared to change the red walls ( too strong for this suggestion) what about using the marble top with a greyish white lime wash or watered down paint on the cupboards so some of the grain shows through and this colour looks like it would relate to your floor but if it is between your two options I wouldn't do espresso very dark with the red walls not so suited to covering timber ( in my humble opinion)

One option is to replace the cabinet doors in whatever color you choose, then you'll only have to paint the cabinets. How about 2 colors on the cabinets? I like a lighter, cream or white color on top and something darker on the bottom, such as gray. Installing a new, light colored countertop would really bring it up to date.

Dear Zehl, my comment is based on the flooring. It looks grey to me. If so, then I'd do a dark gray on the bottom cabinets (you have some black appliances), and a lighter grey on the top cabinets. The walls will be a soft gray. If the flooring is beige-toned, then I'd do a rich brown (not espresso & not cherry, but something in between) and a cool beige (not ivory) on the top.

Change the draw pulls and handles AFTER you have finished painting - perhaps brushed nickel

I loved my oak cabinets that we painted white with a brown glaze. Subway tile backsplash with cambria quartz in Canterbury color. Never regretted painting the oak.

DO NOT PUT MARBLE ON YOUR KITCHEN COUNTERTOP!!

keep it simple a nice white( dove white) and use a ceaurestone or quautz that looks like marble silestone has a nice one and lots of other companys are making it-

also i would suggest changing the red to a soft grey colour-

Yes, a quartz look-a-like is the way to go in a kitchen. Marble is entirely too soft and fragile for a kitchen that will actually be used. Caesarstone has some beautiful new marble looking styles.

try recycled glass countertop - works/looks like quartz. I used it in an office - wonderful

With the light floor colour shown in your photo, I would recommend the espresso with a white counter and continue up with the same material for your backsplash for impact so that it won't look choppy. Personally I love black cabinets and I think they would look amazing with your appliances and chrome cabinet hardware.

mind boggeling isnt it? So many opinions... so I'll add mine. I agree with most that you should go light rather than dark. It all depends on what your floor color is in that it will remain for quite some time probably. If the floor is a grey, I would go with a mid range grey for the bottom cabinets and a very light grey for the tops with either stainless or black appliances.

If your floors are actually in the beige family perhaps then I would go with dove white, cottage white all of those creamy whites or actually a true creme color again with either black or stainless appliances.

I would probably want to change the counters, but instead of guessing at the counter tops and perhaps making a mistake, get yourself two pieces of bristol board (cardboard). One in white and one in black spend one day with the white carboard and then the next with black. Look at it from all angles and in all lights (day and night). It will help you decide on counters. Once you decide on color for countertops you could paint them with a roller with an appropriate paint until you can actually afford the granite or corions etc.. By the way, I agree that marble is not a good option for a counter. It stains like crazy... I used to have one in a bathroom... never again.

I love your red color - big fan of reds. Even if you wanted to go all white that would work too with either white or stainless appliances. My personal favorite (dream kitchen) is white cupboards with a darkish wood floor. Have fun...

Here's a tip painting for painting wood cabinets: Use a foam roller... it doesn't leave brush marks and goes much faster. Use a brush for corners and edges. Do a coat of sanding sealer and you won't have to sand plus the paint will stick really well. Then apply 2 coats of paint thinly so you don't get drips. Apply a coat of matte varnish after everything is dry to keep paint from chipping off and wipe downs easy. Your cabinets will look great forever with the varnish.