We live in an old Sears & Robuck farm house. I love my old, white kitchen cabinets, but I do have to wash them a lot - I really need to sand and repaint them. But I'm with you - it sounds like a lot of work. My have enamel on them.
My kitchen is a cream/ivory color with a red accent wall (which took several coats of paint).

The bathroom is the same cream/ivory color (I read that if you have a small house, to try and use a common color throughout). All the towels, shower curtain and other accessories are navy.

Our bedroom is hunter green and a neutral beige color (I haven't gotten around to repainting this room yet, it's still in "bachelor" stage with deer on the curtains. . .
The spare bedroom though is the cream/ivory color with a warm orangey/spice accent wall. I love it. It's actually the room I did first - which is why I'm continuing to drag the cream/ivory (technically "burning candle" by Dutch Boy) through the rest of the house. It's neutral enough.

I hate painting, but the end results are so satisfying!