There are alot of us here that have painted or gel stained our oak cabinets. I've done both. I used Walnut gel stain on my kitchen cabs and painted them in my powder room. I think possibly painting was easier but ofcourse I was more experienced by then and it was a single vanity not 16 doors. I love them both. The main thing you have to decide is whether you want the grain to show or not. I did but some people don't. If you don't then you have to fill it in with wood putty. Once you get your technique down, it's really not hard, just time consuming. Good luck!

There are lots of detailed instructions on the Painting forum -just do a search on cabinets.

Good luck!

These are the steps used by girlwithaspirin, who turned a very dated oak kitchen into an espresso brown masterpiece. I imagine the steps would work with lighter colored paint, as well.

1) Clean with soap and water.
2) Lightly sand, only where needed. (I'm lazy, but the varnish had built up in some places.)
3) Prime with a thin coat of Zinsser Bullseye 123 Deep Base, tinted to match paint color. Let dry for a few hours.
4) Paint with a thin coat of Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo Alkyd. Do cabinet backs first! Don't paint bottom or top edges. Let dry overnight.
5) Paint fronts. Again, let dry overnight.
6) Hang cabinets. Carefully.
7) Paint bottom/top edges and do any touch-up.
8) Leave them open for as long as you can stand it. This stuff takes forever to cure.

I didn't do two full coats of paint like many people suggested. For one, the Satin Impervo covers amazingly. The dark color helped -- I imagine a light color would require more coats. But also, the thinner the paint, the more it looks like stain. If you glop it on, which I accidentally did in some places, it doesn't look as much like a pro job.

I imagine I'll be touching up for the next few months, though. Whenever the sun hits somewhere new, I notice an area that's a little too thin.

Here is a link that might be useful: girlwithaspirin's before and after photos

Don't mean to hi-jack, but, would these techniques also work on part oak/part veneer or laminate? I would love to paint the cabinets in my powder room just like girlwithaspirins. They are not solid wood, however.

Mine are far from solid oak. Mine have every material imaginable.
I only have a pic of the kitchen cabs but not the painted powder room one.

Oooh - Mlraff! That is Walnut gel stain? Very pretty, indeed.