Revamp Your Kitchen. The Ultimate Guide to Painting Cabinets

Step One.

Do you *really* want/need to?

If you are going from original wood to painted wood, really stop and take a minute to think. As silly as it sounds, once you paint it, you really can't go back - so be sure it is the right move for you and your kitchen! While painting is exciting and you have a vast choice of colors, remember that once you paint, it will show wear and tear over the years and will need touch ups and/or to be repainted occasionally.

Personally, I love a wood cabinet. However, in this particular situation, there were too many areas with damage, so painting was a necessity. I used Samplize.com to test out different colors. You can also get small paint samples ($6 each) at local large hardware stores. Be sure to test in your space with the lighting you plan to use since it all can impact how the color turns out. You definitely want to be sure before you start painting!

Step Two.

Clean, clean, and clean again!

Alright, it's time to get to the nitty gritty! Now that you're confident in your decision to paint, your cabinets need to be thoroughly cleaned. You will not paint the inside, but it's worth cleaning it out now as well. If the previous owner used contact paper, just rip it out and replace with an updated design.

When cleaning the cabinets, you'll need to really scrub to get the years of grease off to prep for painting. The closer to the stove, the thicker the grease will be. I've used Krud Kutter in the past, but any solution to clean off grease should do the trick.

Step Three.

Take a picture and label doors + hardware.

You will never regret this step. As good of a memory as you think you have, it's easy to mix things up and it can add a whole lot of stress and time if you do! I take a photo of the entire kitchen and label the cabinets by number both in the photo and on hinge section of the doors themselves, which won't show once installed.

I put the hinge hardware for each cabinet in a small bag and label that as well. Even though it may all look the same, I don't like to take my chances! This makes for much easier reinstallation. Note: some people prefer to paint around the hinges to avoid taking them off. In my opinion, it's faster to remove them instead of trying to paint around them, but to each their own!

Pro tip: Put a small piece of painter's tape over the hinge imprint so that it's easy to paint around it and you can ensure the doors will still closer properly once put back.

Step Four.

Plug up hardware holes (if switching location) and putty/caulk as needed.

If you're reusing the old knobs and pulls, or your new ones have the same dimensions, then you can skip this part. Otherwise, you'll want to use wood putty to plug the holes so you can drill new ones where you want the knobs and pulls to be. The wood putty takes about a day to dry and sand, so leave ample time for this.

For cabinets with a thick wood grain, you'll want to do a light skim coat of putty on the entire door. (This is awful. But you'll like the finished look better, I promise!) In my example here, there was no wood grain so I was able to skip that step this time around.

Use paintable caulk on any open cracks on the cabinet doors and bases to help avoid paint drips and to create a smoother finished look.

Step Five.

Sand, wipe down, and lay out.

Sand any spots you've puttied and lightly sand the entire door before wiping down with a clean, damp cloth.

Set out the doors for painting. I prefer to first paint the inside of the cabinet doors, so begin with that side up. I use these small tripods, four per door, which work well!

Step Six.

Fiiiiiinally, you get to paint!

While some prefer to use a sprayer, I like the look best when using foam rollers. Full disclosure, I'm also just better at painting with these compared to the sprayer when indoors. Paint sprayers are much faster, but require a good amount of skill to spray evenly, and a lot of prep work so you don't have paint all over the rest of the room. If your doors have any sort of wood detail, use a brush on that first, then go over with the foam roller.

Two coats of a cabinet paint (one that contains self-leveler) is best in my experience. I paint the inside part of the doors as well as the edge on this first pass. Be careful you don't push too hard with the roller, or you'll get overflow paint and drips underneath, on the front side of your cabinets. Between coats on the doors, go paint the cabinet bases in the kitchen. Never paint inside the cabinets. Use painter's tape as needed to cover sections that shouldn't be painted.

Once you've waited a day, flip the doors over gently and apply two coats on the outside of the door. Most paints say to wait up to two weeks to set before reinstalling doors. I typically try to give it at least a week (yes, this feels like forever!)

Step Seven.

Install hinges, reattach doors, add hardware and voila!

If you removed hinges, put them back on the cabinet base first, then attach doors. You'll need to make sure the doors are installed properly and can close comfortably and evenly. If you're having any issues, it's usually an easy fix of the hinges to level things out.

Attach knobs and pulls (drill new holes if needed). I prefer to do this after the doors are installed to ensure the most accurate placement of hardware. Measure twice, drill once!

Give it a quick clean, and enjoy your gorgeous new kitchen, and send me pictures of your work!