revamp very tired kitchen - budget of about £200

[mememe2019]

need some advice. Our kitchen cabinets are old and shabby. We can't afford to replace them in the next couple of years but they will need replacing at some stage. Since we moved in we have done major work on the mostly structural e.g taking out old/failing chimney stacks, new windows, new roof, rewire, new boiler etc etc.

My husband is very handy and very good at all DIY things. They are gloss white MDF with a sort of veneer covering on the fronts from Howdens so not high end at all. They were in the house when we moved in 14 years ago and were at least 2 years old then. Currently they show up every single speck and splash. They are very grubby. We are thinking of spray painting the doors to give them a bit more life and make them more cleanable. We are torn between an ivory silk colour in a satin finish, a chalky blue satin or a gloss version of either. He will be well able to do both. Current workshop is quite new and neutral. Old one was laminated and torn in places.

Questions are:

1. Is blue a bit dated?
2. Room can be quite dark (north facing) will blue be a mistake?
3. Should we stick with a gloss finish for sake of cleaning?

I would go with a warmer colour in a north facing room but I think satin would be fine.

There was an awful baby blue in the kitchen when we moved in a couple of years ago - eugh! - but I've actually used blue in other rooms of the house in more classic hues and it works well.
I don't think blue is dated, and chalky blue will work well with a neutral worktop. It depends on the shade - go for a warmer tone (invest a bit of that small budget in getting paint samples).
If you end up going for an ivory tone, be careful - in a dark room with a neutral worktop may end up looking cold and uninviting. In that case, use a bit of colour elsewhere to liven it up a bit.
What are you doing with the cabinet handles (if there are any?)

I agree with the previous poster that satin should be fine - actually a chalky blue will work better in satin that gloss imo.

If it's not too much, could you post a couple of pics of how it looks in the morning and afternoon to ascertain light levels (does it have big window/s?)

thanks for this, I "lost" this thread for a while, I will post pictures later on if I can. There is one window to the side and patio doors at the rear with a window over the sink as well. Light in there is never great.

I would go for the paler cream/ivory doors. You can introduce colour in so many other ways - with accessories, soft furnishings, flooring, splash backs, etc. Coloured units are still popular but there are going to be a lot of people stuck with blue kitchens (especially that godawful Hague Blue) in the near future which will cost them a fortune to replace or strip and repaint.