looking for budget kitchen tips

[paper1225]

We finally broke down and bought new stainless steel appliances - and I begged to get all four pieces (micro,stove,fridge and dishwasher). I need to now update the rest of the kitchen with colors that will go.........our cabinets are a "plain" stained brown with laminate countertops..........have thought about painting cabinets, not sure what color to really set off the stainless steel-what does everyone else have out there? I can probably talk DH into new granite countertops, but not cabinets and even having them refaced is more than he would want to pay! Our cabinets are solid wood, not veneer, so I can sand and finish, just not sure what color and how hard will this be???? I have wallpaper up and would like to keep it, but the primary color is off white vs white-could I have white cabinets? What would off white with stainless look like? Or should I just stick with a wood stain??

[Califgirl]

The wonderful thing about stainless, is that it blends with everything. If you think you will be replacing your counter-tops, I would choose that first, and then refinish or paint your cabinets to go with that.
I'm putting in black granite with copper flecks, a copper sink, oil rubbed bronze fixtures, and stainless appliances. Stainless will look great with this. So, go with what you like, and what suits you.

[rbork]

Stainless goes w/ almost anything. But a budget diy is get rid of the wallpaper and paint ANY color you wish. You can even change it if you don't like. Use granite remnants if you can find them or even granite tiles. Don't know what shade/stain/type of wood your cabinets are now. How about new hardware? Declutter (free). New lighting (found my bathroom lighting for 26 bucks and 14 bucks at Home Depot. New faucet found in the clearance section too but took a while to find just the right one. Don't forget about the flooring too. Start watching hgtv for some ideas and pick up some mags.