I absolutely love the look of shelves in a kitchen - they help to create a really light and simple feel to the space, and create a stage for all your favourite things. However, they do provide less storage. So if you dont have the luxury of plenty of storage, I would suggest going for wall cabinets instead, or having a mixture of the two. There is something to be said for keeping the walls open too - it can be tempting to fill every possible space, but don't be afraid of leaving space for your cabinets to breath. This might mean having a clear out, but it will make your room feel much more open. Charlie

If you want to paint, paint. I think I'd agree with the people who suggest professional re spraying though unless you love diy and love the idea of being able to change the colour yourself relatively quickly. I recently painted a dresser (heavily stained and varnished wood, nowhere near as nice as yours) and a chest of drawers (bog standard orange pine) and unless you can take the wood right back it takes coats and COATS and a lot of patience to get a good finish. It is worth it though! Personally, I'd go for a greyish blue on the bottom half, White worktops, and paint the uppers the same white as the tiles (there's nothing intrinsically wrong with them, a classic choice that won't date). Put in a steel splashback behind the cooker (it should be possible to fit over tiles) to tone with your handles and a hard wearing natural fibre rug on the floor to break up the dark grey. A few wood accessories and the usual bits and pieces to finish.

Dear Azfar, I think your units are lovely, very sophisticated and much nicer than white. Your units and work tops are very similar to those I have in my kitchen, which also have black granite tops. I also have a wooden floor of a similar shade, please don't change this, it is lovely. I was aware when I had my kitchen fitted that the units appeared darker than in the showroom but this was due entirely to the colour of the walls they were installed on. To lift the units, and celebrate their beautiful colour, you should paint your walls a darker and contrasting colour, I have chosen a really shocking pink, Rock Candy, but there lots of options. The showroom I saw my units in used a burgundy colour, too dark for my Victorian kitchen. There are so many colour options which don't have to be expensive, play around with a few tester pots and see which you prefer. This is by far the cheapest option, and I'm sure you'll fall in love with your kitchen units again once your units are allowed to stand out. Incidentally your unit colour helps to visually integrate your stainless steel 'fridge, another reason to stick with it. If you want to add units in the future you could pick up on your new wall colour for a very stylish look.

If you've got the time and the inclination (and budgets are tight) I reckon it's worth giving the paint a go to see how it looks. Lots of the kitchens we're doing for clients now are ones with painted finishes and although (as mentioned above) this isn't the most classic style/a bit old fashioned it will look completely different painted. New handles... save up for the kitchen you really want!