I *just* did the same thing. Not because I couldn't afford new cabinets, I just couldn't bare to throw them out as they were in great condition. So we painted them, got new hardware and added quartz. I think it looks great. I have friends who have done it too and are happy with the results.

Are the cabs in good condition?

It depends on the condition of the cabinets. I painted mine in my last house and added granite. The cabinets were sturdy and functional. They looked great painted and my house sold quickly close to asking price because the buyer fell in love with the kitchen.

There are many price points to granite. You can find something economical. Many have either gel stained the oak, which actually looks really nice, or have painted their cabinets white.
There are also some laminates that look really good now and many on GW have used them.
I know that budgets can be personal, but if you give us an idea on how much you want to spend we can help you better. Also, posting pictures always gets more people interested.

Yes, the cabinets are in good shape. I don't think they are of the highest quality but they are functional. Thanks for giving me the boost I need!

no one is going to give you a definite yes or no to this-what do they look like? they get brittle-the removal might do some damage...or might not..Ikea??

I'm on the eve of doing the same thing (paint oak cabs white), replace tile counter with quartz. Can't wait. Be sure to post pics!

Herbflavor, I wasn't asking for a yes or a no, just opinions.
Linelle, what type of paint have you decided on? Are you painting them white? Please post pictures! Here are my cabinets. We are replacing backsplash, too. I have warm oak floors which are not in the picture.

About 14years ago, I painted my dark oak builder cabinets glossy white....sanded, 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. I used Pratt and Lambert oil based primer and paint, now available only in quarts in my area so could be expensive. They have held up remarkably well. Upper cabs still look great....obviously a little more wear and tear on bottom cabs. Use high quality paint, oil based if you can.

Here are pics of my old house. My cabinets were very similar to yours. I did move the island, I had a few cabinets cut for glass, faced the sides with beadboard and added a few beadboard boxes on top for a bit of drama. We did everything but the painting.

BEFORE:

AFTER

It looks wonderful! Those are my cabinets and my floor looks a lot like yours. Is that granite? I'm thinking of putting one set of cabs with glass fronts, too. I love the idea of using the beadboard on the cabinet ends, too! Great job!

The granite was Santa Cecilia. The glass doors really added some interest. We had a local glass company cut them for us.
The cabinets were painted with oil and we moved after 2 years. They still looked great. Here is a view of the hutch we created on the left of the pic above.

Yes! We have 80s oak cabinets that were in perfect condition so we just replaced the counters to granite (yellow river with ogee edge). It looks great.

gmp,
Your updates look great. I'm really interested in your decision to lose the island & add the peninsula instead. How're you liking that layout? Was getting to your fridge difficult before, when it was located behind your island?
Thanks!

We just installed Delicatus Brown cabinets on 32 year old Oak cabinets, built on-site by my dad. Structurally they are sound, but they do need *something* done to the finish. Either: Paint or Gel Stain. Will wait until spring to decide what we're going to do. Think I'll need to live with the *new improved kitchen* for awhile before I decide.

Here is a pix of the kitchen now:

We still need to do the backsplash and I'm obsessing over it daily ;)

jody

ooohh jjean, love your granite! Your cabinets would look terrific with a dark gel stain. However, they look really nice as they are! Mine have that country arch--which I really really dislike.

bichon ... sorry to hear you don't like the arch in your cabinets. I just love arched *things*.

Our front door has an arch (with 15 paned windows in it); and my 2 new doors in the kitchen (you can see them in the first pix) have them.

ALSO, the area behind my sink will have an arch with sparkly 1x1's in it (as soon as I pick out what sparkly tile I want) .... obsessing over this daily ;)

Here's my drawing of my BS ~ however, we decided NOT to use the 2x3 subway tiles IN the arch area (will put 6x6's around the arch) ... and run the subway across the bottom with a molding piece above it and then the 6x6's

Get your granite ... you'll love it!!! And YES that is my old kitchen, with 1x1 mosaic tiles on counter AND BS!!!! But I tell you, it held up well for 32 yrs. .... just very sick and tired of it!!!

jody

Jody, It's not that I don't like arches. Now that you mention it, I have an arched window in my master bath! I guess the ones on my cabinet say "country" to me. Or I guess I'm just sick of cabinets!

Oh, and I love your sink, too!

Bichon, I have similar oak cabinets like yours (no arch though). I would love to replace the current cream laminate (with oak edging) with a dark countertop. Personally, I think dark countertops look great with oak cabinets.

Lastly, I wouldn't paint the cabinets. After lurking on this forum for so long and falling in love with white cabinets, I decided that for my household the oak cabinets are fine and functional; just need a little tweaking (hardware and countertop). Plus DH really likes the oak.

I've also seen some pics of vintage kitchens with white (marble?) countertops and they also look really nice. I guess, it depends on the look you want to create.

And JJ, your cabinets look to be in great shape and the countertop looks great on it...sort of like vanilla chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, yum!

Be very sure that your cabinets are of good quality. Pull out the drawers and look at them. Are they glued and stapled? Dovetailed? What about the drawer hardware itself? Is it coming loose from the drawer boxes or cabinet boxes anywhere? Does it roll smoothly?

Look at the cabinet sides. There's nothing wrong with veneered sides, but has it aged the same color? It it still glued tightly to it's substrate? Is it so thin that if you sand it it goes through to the substrate? How has the finish worn here?

Look at the doors. Are they individual wood pieces joined together or are they veneer? Veneered raised paneled doors tend to not wear at all well and look wrong over time. Veneered recessed paneled doors tend to do just fine other than sometimes ageing differently in color. Look at where the rails and stiles of the cabinets join. Is there any separation? Are they still tight together? What about the finish? Has it flaked or rubbed off anywhere? Nicks, scratches, gouges?

In other words, don't look at your cabinets through familiar eyes that skim over the defects. Look at them through "new home buyer" eyes. If you were buying your home today, would you deduct money over the state of the cabinets? Would you want to redo things before you moved in? Repair them? What about the layout? You can get used to almost any dysfunctional situation, so get a neighbor or friend to help you with this exercise. Do you find yourself using the same 18" of space in the kitchen no matter how much counter space there is elsewhere? Does the fridge stick way out into the center of your space making it a PIA to prep and get a snack at the same time? Do you wish you had a stool or two for friends to keep you company while in the kitchen?

Choosing to put in stone countertops is like tiling those old cabinets with hundred dollar bills. No matter if they only hold up a few years longer looking OK, even when they start to look less than OK, you don't want to get rid of that hundred dollar bill counter. You've invested money in a way that sets what you have in stone. Literally. You can't change things later without losing that money. And, if you think you will "refinish" or paint your cabinets in place, well, I seriously hope that you aren't underestimating the extreme amount of time and labor that it takes to do that and do a good job that will last.

I have seen WAY too many kitchens where shiny new granite made the old cabinets that were "just fine" look sad and worn rather than "updated". You'll be spending a lot of money doing this. Make sure you won't regret it later.

Before our water damage and reno, we painted 80s cabinets. They worked well for us for about three years. Oil paint. We did not do an expensive countertop on them, though.

I agree 100% with Livewire-Oak. Be sure the cabs can hold
up for another 8-10 year before choosing to keep them.

I painted my old cabinets I think they are early 90s.
And yes an arch. They have held up but I did not use an oil
based paint. I went with a high quality latex primer.
(some have had issues with yellowing when using Oil base)
I primed, sanded, primed, sanded, primed again, painted
lightly sanded, painted again... It was NEVER ending.
But I love the look and glad I saved the money as my cabs
were in good shape.

Are you think of painting your cabs white?
I ask because some have tried a gel stain on their honey
oak and have super results. Here are some before and afters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gel stain

Absolutely it'll work. Before the major remodel I had oak cabinets and a warping laminate counter. The drawers on the cabs also had a vinyl face with I had replaced with the same stained oak. Topped it with Corian, and a drop in sink, as granite was not within the budget. Made a HUGE difference in how I felt about the kitchen.

As far as painting them goes... well Boxer pretty much settled that one for you. :)

Bichonlover, I have not yet selected my cabinet paint color, but I've narrowed it down to BM Cloud White, Simply White, Mascarpone or Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee. I like each one for a different reason and am still undecided. But yes, they will be a soft white and I'm having them painted professionally. I'm getting new doors (shaker) and drawer fronts (slab). For counters, I'm getting Caesarstone Smoky Ash, a dark warm gray. My footprint is staying exactly the same, although I'm getting rid of the cabinet over my peninsula (and the soffit from which it's suspended). My floor is red oak.