[villagetinker]

A neighbor had Steve Kling paint their cabinets as part of the house (outside) painting they seemed to do a good job. my personal concerns are whether the cabinets were properly cleaned of dirt and grease. Were they properly primed, some paints do not stick well over previous finishes. IMHO, I would have the doors removed (in order) cleaned, and spray painted, and then have the cabinet faces cleaned, lightly sanded, cleaned again and brush painted with high quality brushes.
Also, unless your cabinets are solid wood door and fronts I would NOT try to re-stain, and if you are still looking at re-staining, I doubt that you will be able to go lighter, only darker. The door will be very hard to remove the original finish. Due to the typical detail work on the doors, I would spray these.
Hope this helps, good luck with your project.