There are many different angles to attack outdated wood cabinetry these days. The best place to begin is to give them a thorough cleaning; sometimes, their appearance can be so gunked up that it’s hard to tell exactly what you’re looking at (and you’ll want to do that before any other steps short of removing them anyway). The next thing to do is to consider painting. Painting your cabinets a neutral, light tone (like white) can be a quick and dramatic change. But not everyone wants to go that route, so consider painting the walls around the space to a neutral color to let the cabinets shine (instead of competing or clashing with the aesthetic).

Next up, consider new hardware and fixtures in the kitchen. Black hardware pops on wood cabinets. Especially if you coordinate the sink and light fixtures to match. The next option is to consider putting in a new backsplash (like white subway tiles). Some people even repaint a backsplash to achieve a dramatic shift. The following two options both involve changing the cabinets themselves. The first option is to remove some of the upper cabinets and put them on a floating shelf to visually open up the wall space. The second option is adding some glass doors to key cabinets to break the room up and make it pop. Finally, installing a new quartz countertop may be the most significant change. A new, lighter quartz countertop will allow a lovely contrast with your wooden cabinets.