Kitchen wooden cabinet update??

Hello everyone!

This is the kitchen I grew up with and is about 30 years old. We are slowly updating the house room by room and this kitchen is next. The kitchen counters, sink and tiles will be changed to something plain and white- possibly marble with hard edges, for the counter. We are also demolishing a wall to create a bar on the side where the fridge is, so the kitchen table will leave to create space. However, my parents are very keen on their solid wood cabinets which they claim are hard to get by these days and for which they paid what they believe was a good sum of money back in the day. Any ideas on how to revamp these cabinets to brighten up the room to meet them half way? Perhaps a white paint job? Any other suggestions regarding the kitchen are also welcome!

Maybe paint the cabinets with white milk paint?  Not sure what would stick to an existing finish so you might have to sand them down first to make the surface rough enough to accept a whiter color.