Fortunately for me I at least have nice square recessed panels rather than ugly arched panels or raised panels, so although they look “country” they don’t look completely 1980s and outdated. And, with some attractive hardware, the right wallcolor, and the right countertop, I have actually managed to make them look quite nice. I guess it helps that I do live in the country and have a large second-story patio door in my kitchen which looks out into the trees, so it all kind of goes. That’s all I can say to people like me who can’t convince their husbands to let them paint. Just do what you can with attractive paint, hardware, and accessories and perhaps a new high-arc faucet and you might be able to live with builder grade. But I love painted cabinets!

The only thing I would say is that, when you undertake painting bathroom / kitchen units, you may consider removing the bathroom fittings and spray paint instead. Very often you’ll have a better result.

Nice result though… But hey, you’ve gotta stop, you’ll put everyone out of business with your tips.

Martin
Martin´s last [type] ..Top 5 Designer Towel Rails

I too was on the fence about whether to paint my cabinets black. Although normally not afraid of color, this change had me questioning what to do. Anyway, saw your photos (it was the third site I saw and stopped after finding it) and knew I had to paint mine black. Have the same granite as you so that reinforced my decision. Did my walls in a toasted pine nut, which is a yellowish beige and was going to be the original cabinet color. My kitchen actually looks bigger now! Think that is due to painting the ceiling the same color as the walls. Also I cheated and spray painted the doors to speed up the process. After giving them 2 coats of spray (semi-gloss) I used a small roller to even out the color. Everything looks beautiful!

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal