Everyone that wants to update their kitchen these days is wondering about what finish or color to go with. People have seen so many white kitchens on social media that there is a bit of a backlash and that leaves some questions.

Should I paint my wood kitchen cabinets? Aren’t wood cabinets coming back in style?

Of course, you don’t have to follow trends and you can do anything you want. However, most people like to feel like they are up to date with what is going on, especially if they are about to invest in some kind of redo.

I thought I would share a bit of my own thoughts and observations about wood cabinet colors that might be up for a change, in case you are stuck with this decision and need a nudge one way or the other.

Today, I’m sharing what cabinets I would definitely paint and why.

Dark Red Cherry Wood Cabinets

This is one wood tone that I don’t see coming back anytime soon.

Many cherry cabinets have been stained a dark reddish brown and it really comes off red. These feel really dated to me and I would not try to work with them in a partial remodel without a new paint job.

Dark, reddish cherry stain cabinets have a dated look.

Dark red stained wood cabinets feel outdated and I would likely recommend to paint.

I would recommend to paint these reddish stained wood cabinets. The color is dark and dated feeling.

Natural cherry is different, it is warm wood tone and has a really nice soft grain.

Here is a natural cherry cabinet below, with no stain. It looks so nice with the gray and white.

Natural cherry is a nice look for any style cabinetry.

Old whitewashed wood cabinets that turned peach

These cabinets were from homes built in the early 90’s. This pickled or whitewashed wood finish was popular then, along with these pastel color schemes.

If I had these cabinets now and didn’t want to replace them, I’d definitely paint them.

These whitewashed wood finish cabinets are due for painting in 2023 if they are not being replaced.

This whitewashed wood, pastel look is an outdated style for 2023.

These existing whitewashed cabinets, below, were painted and a more traditional wood island installed in their remodel.

**BEFORE** - Whitewashed wood cabinets to be painted in a remodel.

**AFTER** - This job, done about 14 years ago, still has a timeless look, with simple, painted perimeter cabinets. Designer: Carla Aston, Photo: Miro Dvorscak

Light, natural oak in a traditional style

I love light, natural oak, but not in this situation. Here it looks dated because of the raised panel traditional style cabinet doors.

Light, natural oak can look amazing as more contemporary cabinets, but these traditional paneled cabinets just look dated.

Light, natural oak can look fabulous on oak in a more contemporary setting like this, below. Mixed with a white or a dark gray countertop, it can look sharp and timeless.

Light woods like this look great with grays and whites in a more contemporary home.

Cabinets That Don’t Work with Flooring

I wouldn’t mind these cabinets if they were with a different floor, maybe something dark gray or a black slate. Even a light tile that wasn’t pinkish or yellow…….but I don’t like these two woods together.

The floor or the cabinets would have to be changed for me and since the floor looks like it goes throughout the house, I’d probably paint the cabinets.

When I see a floor that is more yellow toned and cabinets more reddish toned like this, even though the coloration is similar, it is just off enough so that it looks odd. I’d redo one or the other here, likely painting the cabinets is the less expensive option.

The same goes for this kitchen below. The wood floor almost matches, but is really so much prettier than the cabinets. I’d paint the cabinets here and keep the wood floor. It’ll make those floors look even prettier!

(I’d probably redo the uppers too, to be all one height. :-)

In this kitchen Q&A I advised them to paint the cabinets as they just didn’t work well with the floor. The floor would look much richer with painted cabinets. Really, it is just a lot of brown. See more about what I advised here.

This cabinet color just doesn’t work well with the wood flooring.

Dark Brown Stained Cabinets

I do love a rich, dark brown stain……in small doses. So often, dark stained kitchens can be overwhelmingly dark and serious. That can often feel dated and monotonous.

With these kitchens, I usually advise to paint something, if not all, to contrast and lighten it up. The island, a hood, etc. can be good places to have a painted finish with a dark wood kitchen. Light, painted stools with fabric can be a nice way to lighten up a dark island area.

I might paint the island here and get a new backsplash to lighten things up and keep this kitchen from becoming all one dark tone.

Kitchens with all dark cabinetry can feel rather heavy and serious.

In this consultation I did last year, I advised painting the walls to match the ceiling and painting the cabinets the green color. It was just too much dark wood, IMO, and the colored walls with all the angles at the ceiling were distracting.

Here was the suggestion I gave her. It is a lighter, brighter space and much more current design-wise. carlaaston.com

In this kitchen, below, the homeowner wanted the hood changed but the whole kitchen just felt a little cookie cutter. We kept the stained wood base cabinets and did a fresher look with the uppers and took them to the ceiling.

**BEFORE** - There was just a lot of dark wood in this kitchen and the homeowner wanted a more coastal vibe.

**AFTER** - We kept the dark stained base perimeter cabinets to keep some warmth in the kitchen.

Orange toned wood cabinets

I’m not talking about a walnut here, I love walnut and that rather orange tone that some walnut woods can be stained. To me, walnut has just such a beautiful grain that there isn’t much you can do make it look bad.

Birch is different. Birch or sometimes alder or maple is used because it less expensive and doesn’t have much of a grain. It’s a lighter wood that can be stained just about any color, it absorbs the stain well. One of my least favorite stains, with less expensive cabinetry, is an orange tone.

Although dark grays and greens can work with this stain, most people don’t want an all dark kitchen.

In this case, below, we painted the cabinets and did a new island. We did a new hood, counters and splash too and it looks like a brand new kitchen.

These cabinets were somewhere between orange and red. They were painted in the remodel. They did not work well with the light natural oak wood floor or with the homeowners desire for a more contemporary look.

This consultation client, below, was getting a new kitchen and a new arrangement of appliances, but if they were planning to keep the cabinets and do a partial remodel, I would tell them to paint the cabinets.

These cabinets are just reading a strong orange tone to me.

The owners were replacing these cabinets but if they weren’t, I’d advise them to paint. The come across really orange toned.

This consultation client was going to paint these cabinets which was a good idea, since they were just so orange toned.

Yellowish wood cabinets

Many times wood toned cabinets turn yellow over time, especially if they are 10-20 years old. In this case, a warm light finish can start to look really yellow.

I would paint a kitchen like this that felt really yellow when you look at it. No amount of putting gray or a neutral with this is going to change that these cabinets look yellow.

This isn’t a really common color I see, but I’d definitely paint these cabinets if I wasn’t replacing them. The strong yellow really dates the kitchen.

There’s one I left out here, which you may have in your kitchen.

Golden Oak!

That’s a hard one. I’ve been challenged to work WITH golden oak cabinets in a remodel and I have to say it turned out better than I thought. The trick is toning it down with a contrasting color like a dark green or gray and painting some of the cabinets like with a two tone look (top/bottom) or painting the island and hood, etc.

Often it depends on other things too, like condition of the cabinets (are they old and yellowed, really short uppers, dated style, super shiny finish on stained wood, etc.). It depends a lot on the other finishes around it, the floor, counters, backsplash, paint, etc. It also depends on the budget!

So, have a look at that project, it was done about 14 years ago, but I actually think the design could work today, with all the love of greens and warmer tones coming back in style. :-)

>>>>> What to do with Oak Cabinets!