I have a cherry wood interior but it seems too dark to me
and am thinking of how to brighten it up somehow---any ideas??

Or should I just live with it??

Cherry, mahogany, and other dark woods are virtually impossible to lighten. However, if it's actually oak, birch, poplar or another light wood stained cherry, then - with major effort - possible to strip, bleach, and refinish.

That would be a major effort, and not worth it IMHO. I'd suggest overlays of mirrors or a lighter material like a wood veneer or contact paper.

I just redid the cabinets in our Barth. I made all new panel doors to replace the original solid doors. The old doors were solid but not solid wood. The rest of the cabinets, carcases and faces were either solid wood or heavily veneered plywood. I will attest to the fact that it is very difficult to remove the original finish. We used a water-based stripper from Ace Hardware and scraper. That we followed up with sanding using a vibrating sander. To do the underside of the cabinets we ended up using scaffolding and cushions as well as cabinet tops. Refinishing the Birch was not easy since it tends to blotch. I had to pre-treat with shellac (wax-free) diluted with denatured alcohol. I then applied two coats of stain and three coats of polyurethane semi-gloss. It was indeed a great deal of effort but well worth it. The veneered plywood can be sanded but be careful it will sand through and that spot will stand out.

If the finish on your cabinets are like ours was then stripping and applying clear finish may lighten it up. The finish on our cabinets had darkened a great deal since new.

My cabinets are oak but they have a whitewash type of paint on the surface. It isn't a stain. I have not been able to match this color exactly It is very nice and very light! Really opens up the small space of the 30'

The oak flooring has the same type of whitewash on it but I will re-do later this year and just return to natural oak finish with a hard durable urethane finish. I did this to the dining table and like the color and contrast.