My kitchen also doesn't get a lot of natural light. It has one small window on the west side of the house. The cabinets were white when we moved in, but we had that water leak a few months later and had to replace them. We did a "whitewash" look over the natural wood, which gives them a cream colored appearance but with some wood texture showing through, if that makes sense. I mostly like them, but they are in need of being done again or painted, so am in the same boat. We used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit on our main bath cabinets and they came out great, so I think that is our plan when we get around to the kitchen. It comes with a deglosser and pads kind of like you'd scrub dishes with...these take off the paint or finish and help the new paint to adhere.