When we toured this house for the first time I saw potential around every corner, and the early 2000s orangey oak kitchen was no exception. We knew we would be updating this kitchen over time, but that just painting the cabinets to start would make such a huge difference. After living with the kitchen as-is for about 6 months and getting some pretty outlandish quotes from professional painters in our area, I decided to roll my sleeves up and do it myself…
The results were incridible. I honestly still can’t believe it is the same kitchen.
In the months leading up to my decision to tackle this project, I read through endless tutorials. The idea of sanding, priming, and painting our entire kitchen (22 drawers and 34 cabinet doors to be exact) seemed SO unmanageable and frankly exhausting to tackle myself with two small children. Then I saw Chris Love’s Julia’s tutorial using liquid sander instead of sanding and I was sold. It was a game changer and saved so much time! I used lots of their other product recommendations too, and I’m so happy with the way it all turned out! I will say that I do think sanding is still the safest bet, but if you have tons of cabinets like I do, and you really just don’t have the time or desire to deal with the hassle and mess of sanding- the liquid sander / deglosser works really really well. I anticipate that I will probably have more touch ups over time than I would if I had fully sanded everything, but so far we are a couple weeks into this kitchen being finished and since the paint has fully cured I haven’t had to do a single touch up. And that is saying a lot because my 18 month old thinks slamming doors and yanking small appliances out of cabinets is the most fun.
If you have a smaller kitchen and/ or lots of uninterrupted time to devote to this project, I don’t doubt that you could get this done in less that a week. Dare I say even a weekend. It took me A LOT longer than that!
Tom works from home but is fairly busy with work during the week. He is pretty handy with lots of things, but he will be the first to tell you that he is not patient enough for painting, and I actually really love it. So we made a deal that for as long as the kitchen took – on the weekends or whenever he had free time during the week he would be on kid duty and I would do all of the painting. He did help me with some of the hardware installation (especially one day after I exhausted myself installing it and carelessly got my thumb in the way of the drill… I have a scar. It’s fine.) But other than that I did it ALL myself. In the margins of our day. During naps and after bedtime, and during Tom’s breaks in work. It took me three weeks, some new muscles, an aching back, a few tears, and approximately 21 consecutive days with paint in my hair and under my nails, but I DID IT, and that sure feels good to say! Have I sold you yet?
All joking aside, it completely transformed our kitchen and I am so so glad that I took the time to do it. Also worth nothing that we were quoted $4,000 by the painters and it cost me roughly $500 (that includes all of the hardware) to do myself.
If you are ready to amaze yourself and tackle your kitchen cabinets too, I am including all of the supplies you will need, a full step-by-step, and a price break down below. I also have a story highlight bubble called “cabinet painting” on my Instagram, so check that out for some real-time behind the scenes and lots more tips. If you tackle your kitchen I would LOVE to see and maybe feature some of your before-and-afters! You can email me your photos or tag me on Instagram. (@stephanie.jane.cameron) Happy cabinet painting!
Supply Checklist:
- Liquid sander OR Power Sander – I chose the time and mess saving liquid route. This stuff worked like a charm for us, but it may depend on your cabinets.
- Primer – This Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 is THE BEST for cabinets!
- Paint Sprayer – There are so many big expensive options out there that I’m sure do an incredible job, but this little $70 guy was a game changer and worked so so well for us. Such a smooth finish! I may never roll anything ever again.
- Paint – We followed Chris Loves Julia’s recommendation on this and went with HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams Infinity line in a satin finished and I am so impressed with it!
- sponge / rags for liquid sander
- roller for the primer – This little guy is made for cabinets and provides a super smooth finish. If you plan to roll your cabinets instead of spraying, I would recommend using this one for that too.
- paint trays
- plastic drop cloths, builder’s paper
- painter’s tape
- mask, gloves, goggles
- painter’s tripods
- Felt bumpers – You can using rubber or felt bumpers, but I love how soft and gentle the felt ones are.
- Cabinet Hardware – The most fun thing to pick out in my opinion! Pulls, knobs, latches – there are endless combinations and so many pretty options out there. Do your research and choose something that works best for your kitchen and your budget. Here’s a great post from Studio McGee about hardware.
We went with these beautiful knobs and pulls from Sumner Street Hardware and I am in love with them!
The Process:
Note: There are a couple of different approaches you can take to this project. If you have a small kitchen, you don’t have small children running around, or you are just are all in-committed to getting this project done in a short timeframe, the ideal method would be to take all of your cabinet doors off first and just do each step on all of the cabinets before moving on to the next. I needed to not have all of my cabinet doors off for weeks because: toddler, and since I knew I was in it for the long hall I wanted to contain the chaos in my kitchen as much as possible, so I did my kitchen in sections. (Primed and then painted the uppers first, then did the lowers in three sections, and the island last.)
Step 1: Decide on a color & finish and gather your supplies.
I really loved the idea of doing taupey, greigey-beigey cabinets colored cabinets (yes, those are all words no matter what my husband says), but I also really love the look of two-tone cabinets. Since I have so many cabinets and that can feel really heavy, I decided to paint the uppers white, and the lowers taupe. The colors I decided on were Alabaster by Sherwin Williams (uppers), and Stone Hearth by Benjamin Moore (lowers). I got them color matched at Lowes in the HGTV by SW Infinity line. I chose a satin finish because I really like the softer look it provides. The most popular finishes for cabinets are semi-gloss or satin. There are pros and cons to each. The glossier the sheen, the easier it is to clean but the less glossy, the more it hides imperfections. It really is a matter of personal preference, but I personally prefer the look of satin.
Step 2: Label all of your cabinets and drawers.
Trust me on this one! It will save you a lot of time and headache later. I just placed a piece of painter’s tape labeled with a number on each cabinet or drawer base, and each door or drawer. That way once you are finished painting you know that the door labeled #1 goes to the base labeled #1 without any guesswork involved. (Someone asked me what I do with the tape when I am painting the doors. I just switched it back and forth to whichever side I wasn’t working on.)
Step 3: Take off your cabinets doors and drawer fronts.
(You can actually do this before or after the next step, liquid sander. Whatever works for you!) Unscrew all doors and drawers. I found it helpful to have a baggie for all of the screws and to label the inside of the hinges with a sharpie. I don’t actually know if it makes a difference which hinge goes to which cabinet, but I figured I’d rather be safe.
Step 4: Scrub all doors, drawers, and bases down with the liquid sander / deglosser (or actually sand everything if you are an over-achiever like that 😉 )
I obviously chose the liquid sander method. I used a big sponge and some rags and scrubbed everything down with the stuff. This doubles as your cleaning step too. Takes dirt, grease, and any glossy finish your cabinets have right off. If you still see any glossiness after it is all dried, just wipe them down with it again. My cabinets totally felt like they had been sanded after a couple coats of it!
Step 5: Primer
Set up a priming station using painter’s tripods, boxes, or any other elevated surface for ease of application and drying. Using a roller and brush for getting into any grooves / detailing, apply a coat of primer to your bases and doors / drawers. This is the glue that your paint will stick to, so do not skip this step! I only needed one coat of primer, but depending on what color you are starting with you may want to do two. Allow at least one hour of dry time between coats and a couple hours before moving on to paint. I would recommend doing the backs first and then the fronts, both when priming and painting.
Step 6: Painting!
This is the fun part. If you are using a paint sprayer which I highly recommend, you will need to do some serious prep work to protect your kitchen and work station.
I would recommend starting with your doors and drawers (back sides first) so that you can get a feel for your paint sprayer before moving inside to your cabinet bases. Set up a paint station outside in the open air or in your garage with the door open. I taped up lots of plastic and found some large cardboard pieces to use as my backdrop for painting, and I used cardboard boxes and painter’s tripods to prop them up for drying. Be aware of wind, debris, bugs, etc. if allowing to dry in the open air. I learned this the hard way. The garage may be better for drying.
Once your paint station is set up, carefully follow the directions on your paint sprayer and familiarize yourself with it by practicing on the cardboard first. Depending on your sprayer and type of paint, you may need to thin the paint some. With my paint sprayer and the HGTV Infinity paint, I thinned it very slightly by adding a tiny bit of water to the paint in the spray container and that worked perfectly. Once your paint is right and you have a feel for your sprayer, start by spraying the backs and allowing them to dry for at least 4 hours (depending on type of paint) before flipping or adding a second coat. I only used one coat of paint on the back and two on the front.
When you are ready to move inside to the cabinet bases, use plastic drop cloths and paper to tape off any and all surfaces that you would prefer not to be speckled with paint from here on out. Your kitchen should look like a scene from Dexter. It’s fine. Carefully following all of the directions on your paint sprayer, spray your bases! This part should be super quick and easy, which should be a welcome change after the hours you just spent taping everything off! If you choose to do a second coat, once again allow at least 4 hours of dry time between them.
Step 7: Re-attach doors and drawers to the bases!
Allow all pieces and parts to dry for 24 – 48 hours before reattaching. This is also a good time to add bumpers to the corners of your doors and drawers to protect your paint and prevent them from having that icky “paint sticking to paint” sound every time you open them.
Step 8: Install Hardware!
Step 9: Enjoy your gorgeous new kitchen!
I got a few small dings and scratches in the process of reattaching doors and installing hardware. After those initial touch ups, I was gentle on them while the paint fully hardened and cured, and after about a week they were good to go. We haven’t had a single chip or scratch since!
One last question I have been asked frequently is about the wood grain in our oak cabinets. Can we still see it through the paint? Yes. You can if you look close enough, but it doesn’t bother me one bit! It is inevitable unless you take the time to fill the grain. But I really don’t think it’s a problem. Here’s a close-up so you can see for yourself:
Price Breakdown:
Paint & Primer: $115
Other paint supplies (including paint sprayer): $160
Cabinet hardware (knobs and drawer pulls): $250
Total Cost: Approximately $525
$525! We were quoted $4,000 for just painting! Worth every tedious minute. We still have lots we want to do in our kitchen over time, but this is the best first step in the transformation and I still can’t get over how much of a difference it made.
Sending you lots of happy painting vibes if you decided to tackle your own cabinets too! If I can do it, so can you. Hopefully it doesn’t take you three weeks like it did me, but even if it does- it will be worth every single second!
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