How do I refresh this kitchen

[Skinnymartini]

I have bought and moved into a 30s semi detached house which I am looking to modify a little cosmetically to keep within a tight budget. So no major refurb planned.

I have attached pictures of what the kitchen cabinets look like at present. Would it be fairly easy to get the woodwork painted to refresh the kitchen? The main window in the kitchen faces north west - doesnt get a lot of sunlight since the garden that it looks out into is raised. What sort of paint / colours would you recommend? I would get someone to do this (not attempt myself). The kitchen has spotlights and some under cabinet lighting. Thank you.

I reckon a light blue/ eggshell colour works in kitchens. I'm not an expert though. Wipe clean cupboard paint.

Dont paint it
Go for a mid century look
Clean lines wood is very much current.

Look at the worktop, tiling, wall paint and flooring

The sticky back glossy paper is good. A bit tricky to get the knack of though.
I'm not sure about paint, I don't have any experience of it.
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along with better ideas.
Would you consider changing the door handles?

I will post a few more pics in the morning (worktop, tiles, walls). To me - the woodwork looks v dated. I don't particularly like the colour. Changing the door handles wouldn't impact the look as much as changing the colour of cabinets. But I could change those in addition to painting the cabinets.
@Veryverycalmnow I had some sort of petroleum blue In my previous kitchen which I liked. No idea if these cabinets can be painted over.

I think the cabinets look good and would try to compliment the wood, rather than hide it.
Something like this

Or this

Or even this

Could work.

Those shiny doors like they'd be very tricky to get the paint to stick well. If you decide to do it, make sure you look into getting the right kind of primer that is designed to adhere to these kind of surfaces. It'll add to the cost, but it's absolutely not worth skimping on primer in that sort of situation.

Ooh, sorry, just noticed you weren't planning to paint these yourself. TBH by the time you've paid someone else to paint them, you may as well just pay for some replacement doors. I bought some recently from here https://kitchenandbedroomdoors.co.uk/ and I was very happy with the quality of doors - the ones I chose (a basic shaker style) were under £30 each. I reused the handles and hinges off the old doors to keep price down.

Have a look at the frenchic fans FB page,.loads of ideas and really easy to do. I transformed our old kitchen for £40.00 three years ago and it's still wearing well - good luck

It's not a great photo but will give you an.idea of what can be achieved, I painted the radio and cannisters to match lol. I'm thinking of painting them again as grey is a bit boring now, going green this time.

Please don’t use light blue in a kitchen with little sunlight, it will look so cold. I’m currently looking at bamboo or plywood doors for my kitchen, IKEA have some lovely bamboo ones.

I love the look of the doors, good for cleaning down and add warmth to the kitchen. You have to be careful with coloured kitchens, they can soon date. Bring in some accessories to change the look, are there any walls for a splash of colour, or a non slip rug on the floor. I’d love those doors in my kitchen, they’re beautiful 🤩

I would get them vinyl wrapped as well as the worktop depending on what its like. Lots of reputable companies around now who use quality vinyl and offer 10 year guarantees

Another vote for Frenchic here. I used it to paint my sons bed. It was shiny pine and the paint has lasted well.

I think it could be the basis of a fabulous modern natural scandi style kitchen .. a bit like the attached but you could add sage green walls and lots of plants. Change the worktops for white and something more natural stone on the walls

I really like the natural wood. It works better on my psychology than all the sharp edges and grey that has been so popular. I would love to see some greenery around. Dd is slowly filling her room with plants and she gets almost no sun year round.

And I do like light blue or duck egg but sage would be nice, too.

But, please, none of those multicoloured tile splashbacks.