I have some information for you that you might find helpful and some advice as well…

First, please know that oak is an open-grained wood which means that there are many tiny little “voids” in the surface of the wood. These voids aren’t usually noticeable when the wood is stained but can become very noticeable when you apply paint to them.

If you are going to paint them, I would suggest using a “grain filler” first prior to painting. You’ll find a variety of grain filling products at your local PRO Paint Supplier and this is where I suggest you go.

You can tell the staff what type of paint you are planning on using so they can direct you to which type of grain-filling product would be best.

If you don’t fill the grain prior to painting, just know that you will see all of the little voids more than you ever have before.

You might decide to buy a small piece of oak from your local home improvement store and then use this piece as a test piece. Paint this stick of wood first to see if you will be pleased with the end result.

Now, onto some advice about the overall look of your kitchen cabinet project… I’d suggest you pick a small cabinet that is right next to one of your black appliances and then paint that cabinet the way you think you want it.

After that cabinet is painted and the new hardware is on, you should be able to get a sense for whether you like it or not.

If you do, then you can just finish the project. If you don’t, you will only have to strip one cabinet before switching directions rather than an entire set of kitchen cabinets.

Best of luck,
cabinetguru

Paint them white. Be sure to clean them well with TSP and let dry. Apply a couple of coats of water-based kilz-it using a small foam roller and foam brush. Keep the roller and brush in a plastic bag in the fridge til the second coat. When the primer is dry paint with an enamel paint using the small foam roller and foam brush. I would use a satin finish enamel. Enamel paint is more durable and you won’t get a glare from the satin finish.

Yeah its a real good idea.

But if you want to break it up a little and add more style or pizzaz you could paint the cabinets black, but paint the cabinet doors and the drawers white (and use the black fixtures). This will give kitchen cabinets a neat two-tone effect.

I would use a gloss rather than a flat paint. Make sure you sand down the wood and or use primer so the paint stays.

Another color option is yellow since it goes well with black, you could use this instead of white.