Our Painted Kitchen Cabinets

This is the second home that I have painted kitchen cabinets and I have the process down to the absolute necessary steps and supplies.  Overall, this project is not difficult.  Yes, it is a commitment, but the end result is a kitchen that will be loved for years to come.  Oh and at a fraction of the cost of a kitchen renovation…

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PAINTED KITCHEN CABINETS BEFORE

It doesn’t look terrible in photos.  But can I let you in on a secret?  These cabinets are not amazing.  Nothing spectacular.  Most people would opt to replace them.  Not us.  I could see their potential {and our budget is currently focused on a bigger project}.

Painting the walls and adding open shelves really got me excited about our painted kitchen cabinets.  I just knew that with a little hard work, a custom kitchen look could be achieved.  {Missed the adding of shelves?  Click HERE.}

And eek!  Do you see that shiny new dishwasher?!  Our kitchen did not have a dishwasher when we moved in.  We attempted to live with hand washing for as long as we could.  But friend, it was too much.  I literally spent a few hours every day washing dishes.  A few months after we moved in, James installed one for us…and we never looked back!

Did you catch that we also added a new refrigerator?  It is amazing, especially compared to what was here before.  {Click HERE for that blog post.}

Our homeschool nook is actually right off our kitchen!  {Click HERE for that makeover.}

BEHIND THE SCENES

Now, let’s get to the process…

HOW TO PAINT KITCHEN CABINETS:

Remove all of the cabinet doors, hinges, and drawers.

If possible, move it all to a location outdoors for the next few steps.

 

If you are changing the hardware, fill in any drawer knobs or pulls with wood putty.

Let it fully dry before moving on to the next step.

De-grease your cabinet doors, drawers, and the cabinet base with a cleaner, such as TSP.

The directions instruct you on the proper ratio of TSP and warm water.  It is quite easy to work with and the results are amazing.  {And do as I say, not as I do: wear gloves!}

Clean all of the hinges and screws.

I let mine soak in a clean solution of TSP and water for a few hours.  You may want to do less time, but the plan is to re-use these after a fresh coat of spray paint, so I wanted all of the grime off.

Sand the cabinet doors and drawer fronts.

Okay, I know.  This step.  It stops most people in their plans to achieve painted kitchen cabinets.  But I promise you friend: the sanding is no big deal.  Really, not at all.  Simply go over all surfaces with a 60-grit sandpaper.  Apply with medium to light pressure.  You are not trying to remove any top seal coat.  The goal is simply to create a surface for the paint to apply.

After the 60-grit, follow-up with a 220-grit sandpaper.  Apply a light pressure this time to simply buff the coarse sanding from before.

Using a clean damp cloth, wipe off all sanding residue.

Use tack cloth to remove any last remnants from the sanding.

All the dust needs to be wiped off or it will be painted into your kitchen cabinets and trust me: you do not want that!

Bring all the cabinets and doors into a clean and dry space.

Be sure this is a space that will not be needed for the next few days.  Think basement, garage, bonus room.  I used our living room because my family was out of town during this part of the process.

Lay plastic down on the ground and prop all of the cabinet doors up off the ground.

You will want to reach all edges and having them raised will allow this.  Note to self {and you}: feel free to use all the canned goods and random items you can find in your kitchen to accomplish this.  Or you can use something created just for this scenario…click HERE.

Always start with the inside of the cabinet doors.  That way, if you flip them too soon, any paint smudge will be on the inside and not the outside.  All of the drawers can be stood up with the drawer facing the ceiling.

Start by applying primer.  Always do the cutting in of any corners with a brush first, and then use a foam roller.  The goal is to do a minimal amount of painting with the brush…rely heavily on the foam roller.  This will give you the best coverage, as well as finished look.  {Fave brush: HERE and fave roller: HERE}

Go back and forth between the cabinet doors/drawers and the base

Because primer dries so fast and another coat can be added within an hour, your time will be maximized by keeping yourself moving.  In other words: one coat on the doors/drawers an then into the kitchen to paint the base.  By that time, you can go back to the doors/drawers.  And then back to the base.

For my kitchen, I applied 3 coats of primer on both sides of the cabinet doors/drawers and the base.

Once the primer has dried thoroughly, start the process of cutting in and using the foam roller for the actual kitchen cabinet color.

It took a while, but I settled on what I think is the perfect green: Farrow and Ball “Treron,” but I color-matched it in Benjamin Moore Advance {satin}.  I will never work on painted kitchen cabinets with anything other than BM Advance.  It’s really that good.  {I used 1 1/2 quarts for my kitchen.}

After reading the instructions on the Benjamin Moore paint, I followed their directions of applying another coat after 12 hours.  Yes, that is much longer than the 1 hour drying time for primer.  But do not rush this step.  Give the paint proper time to set before applying another coat.  In the end, I applied 3 coats on the cabinet base, cabinet outside doors, and the drawers.  {I opted for 2 coats on the inside of each cabinet door.}

Optional: Paint the Hinges

While I {literally} waited for the paint to dry, I spray painted all of the clean hinges and screws.  I choose a gold/bronze in order to match the drawer pulls that I had ordered.

Leave it alone: walk away

Once all coats of paint were applied, I just let it all sit…for 3 whole days.  We were careful with the cabinet base and left all of the doors and drawers in the living room while the paint cured.  Honestly, I was dying to get it put back together.  But I knew that the 3 days of waiting would be worth it.

And then one day I came home to find that James and the kids installed the new hardware on our painted kitchen cabinets.

Painted kitchen cabinets can be a process.  But it is not insurmountable and is worth every moment spent on it.

Have you ever painted kitchen cabinets?  If so, what color did you choose?

♥ Leigh

 

FIND MORE OF OUR PROJECTS:

Kitchen Phase One: Open Shelves

Dining Room Makeover

Painted Stone Fireplace

Enclosed Back Porch Makeover

Homeschool Room Makeover

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