Hi clikmania, Mealamine is a versatile material to use and can look great when used well. The trick is to make use of some of the wonderful textures and colours available. Even though you've said you'd prefer one colour I think the layout of your kitchen lends itself perfectly to 2 different colours. I suggest having the tall cabs (including the pantry, in a lighter colour similar to the walls and then the lower cabinets under the bench in a darker colour that co-ordinates with the benchtop colour. As you dont have overhead cabinets I also suggest taking the tiles up to the ceiling around the rangehood. You don't need to go over the window though.This will give the illusion of height and the 2-tone will help to balance the shape of the room. If you're in Australia you're welcome to post your wall colour and I can make some suggestions for Melamine and bench colours. The pic below of a recent project is not a galley kitchen but thought it might give the idea of 2-tone...also, the island bench is one of the fabulous melamines I mentioned.

Agree with Doh. I've painted kitchen cupboards to sell a house. It's a hard job, and you need to take off the doors and do it outside , as you need to use oil based glossy paint that smells (it's the hardest wearing. ) Since the doors are off anyway, send them off for the 2pk, as that's the hardest wearing.

Hi Val, Your house has beautiful timber floors and Cornices to work with and the kitchen even though very good quality has limited storage from what we can see in the photo hence my suggestion to change the glass to allow for better storage. You could add extra shelves and use as pantry space. A long light similar to the one in the photo could look good, you can get them a bit shorter as well, check out the splash of colour in the stools, New York Bar style. Can we see a photo of what's opposite the kitchen. Have you had any quotes to have the kitchen painted and what do you think you could sell it for. I say this because even though it is a high quality kitchen from the 80's they don't necessarily function very well. cheers

Hi Nancy, Just thought I'd offer a few thoughts for you to consider. How much you change depends on your overall budget and how much of the house needs updating. My guess is that you wont be changing the window frames so why don't you include this colour in the overall colour sceme? I agree that the joinery looks to be of really good quality and it would be a real shame to dispose of them. I fear if you update the cabinets with a new finish, the granite will let down the overall updating. While these images may not be the right tone or style, I would suggest considering green cabinets and a light or grey bench top. The green on the cabinets could be paint or 'whitewash' if you want the Hamptons vibe. You could also mix and match and have green lowers with white high level cabinets and look at a 'hand made' look wall tile. Good luck, C.