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This may be the biggest “bang for your buck” project we’ve ever done.
We have builder grade oak colored cabinets in our kitchen. They were in pretty good shape but we were getting tired of the oak finish.
We decided the best choice for our budget would be to paint the cabinets we had instead of replacing them. Painting the cabinets is MUCH less expensive than replacing them!
I’ll take you through the process and share little tips that worked well for us.
Before we get started here are a couple things to think about. Painting all of your kitchen cabinets is not hard but it is pretty time consuming. Be ready to live in a mess for a couple days. Here’s some suggestions I have to make that time a little easier:
- Think about making some meals ahead of time or getting a lot of take out since your kitchen will look like a war zone for a couple days.
- If you have kids, see if they can spend some extra time with friends or grandparents during this process. It’s really hard to get painting done with little ones running around.
Allright, on to the project!
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. See my full disclosure here.
Major supplies needed:
- High quality paint brushes like these
- TSP to help clean the cabinet surfaces
- Primer
- White paint in a satin finish (this is what we used. You can choose gloss finish if that is more your style)
- Paintable wainscoting wallpaper to give the cabinet ends a custom look
How To Paint Cabinets
First step: get some good music playing. Something that will put you in a good mood because this project will take a long time!
Clean out the cabinets. We took out all the dishes and glasses and left the non-eating items and pushed them all the way in the back of the cabinet to protect it from dust and chemicals. Looks nice, right?
Prepare All Surfaces For Painting
To sand or not to sand. That is the question.
We really debated about whether or not to sand. No sanding = less time. Sanding = better results.
We decided to do a quick sand and then treat the surfaces with a TSP product similar to this one
We used medium grit sand paper block and lightly sanded the cabinet frames, doors, and drawer fronts. While we didn’t do much sanding on the “skeleton” part of the cabinets, more time was spent outside sanding the drawer faces and cabinet door faces. We used a small motorized sander and roughed up the surfaces. We didn’t feel the need to sand all the way to the wood, but it helped provide a good, smooth surface for the primer. Little to no time was spent on the inside of the cabinet doors. In this picture I sanded the bottom part to give you an example of the “light” sanding I did.
After the sanding is all done, wipe off dust and sanding residue with a dry clean cloth.
Wipe down all surfaces with TSP according to the directions on the bottle. TSP will help clean & de-grease the surfaces to help the painting process go faster.
Then we primed all the surfaces with Zinsser primer
We took off all the doors and drawer fronts and painted them outside so we had more space to work.
Here’s a quick tip: while taking off doors and drawer fronts, clearly label the doors and where it came from with the same number. This will help make sure all the fronts go back to the right spot.
Next we started priming the cabinet doors and drawer fronts. My hubby discovered the secret to a very smooth finish on painted cabinets…
We took the doors and drawer fronts outside and used spray paint primer. Spray paint primer is thin enough to let the wood grain show through but is substantial enough to give the final paint a surface to stick to. We only used the spray primer on the doors and drawer fronts since those could be taken outside to paint. The rest of the cabinet frames were primed using the conventional primer.
After the coat of primer was dry, we started painting with our final paint. We used Krylon acrylic latex enamel paint in white with a satin finish. We chose this paint specifically because of its thin texture. Using a thin paint helps the wood grain show through the dry paint, giving a more realistic look.
We began by going to the local home improvement store and buying the expensive, custard like paint, and we hated the results. We much preferred the thinner paint and more coats.
We painted with a lot of thin coats and were really happy with the results. Look how you can see the wood grain through the paint!
The best tip I can offer you is to take your time when you paint using thin coats and a paintbrush. Don’t glop it on. It’s better to put on a couple thin coats of paint and get a smooth finish. Some of the bottom cabinets we only used a couple coats of primer and a couple coats of finishing paint, while on some of the uppers, we used more coats (my hubby is a bit obsessive). After the cabinet doors are re-installed, a coat of paint takes almost no time at all.
One problem with painting cabinets is once the project is done, the cabinet doors and drawer fronts can stick to other painted surfaces and end up ripping off dry paint. I have a solution to that problem that I found online.
When we put the drawers and doors back on, we put little foam pads on the corners. Then we wiped a little Vaseline on the pads so the pads won’t stick to the paint. Even though the paint is dry to the touch, it isn’t cured yet so that leaves a lot of opportunities for the paint to flake off. Not good after spending all that time painting!
After all the surfaces were dry, we put the doors, drawer fronts and pulls back on and were amazed at the results. Seriously. This was the one project we’ve worked on where the results were BETTER than we expected.
Here’s the results!
I love how bright and cheery it is!
The white cabinets really make our counter tops stand out!
We could never figure out why the builders of our house didn’t continue the upper cabinets all the way to the end like our lower ones. So we added a new cabinet to fix that awkward looking corner. Woo-hoo for more storage space!
We put some wainscoting wallpaper (that looks like the real stuff!) on the ends of the cabinets and are ecstatic with how it looks! Not only was this much cheaper than using traditional wainscoting, it was much easier to work with. I’ll be sharing all the details on this in a future post soon! But for now I’ll just tease you with this:
It’s amazing how much brighter the whole kitchen looks now!
I hope this inspires you! If you try this leave a comment and let me know how it turns out!
This post linked to Create It Thursday, Tatertots and Jello, Give Me The Goods Monday, Whimsy Wednesday, Serenity Now, Home Stories A to Z, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Saturday Show and Tell, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Moonlight and Mason Jars, Throwback Thursday, Link’n Blogs, Thrifty Thursday, Inspiration Monday, The Makers, and Inspire Me Please
What is the name of the red you used on your walls?
I believe the name of that red color was Vesuvia Red from Walmart. We painted that wall about 10 years ago, so the name may not be exactly the same. I hope that is helpful for you!
Did you make the piece that is in front of the window? Do you have measurements?
No we didn’t make that piece in front of the window. We actually got the piece from a friend who decided not to use it in his own kitchen. It ended up to be the perfect fit for our kitchen though so it worked out well!
Here are the measurements of the piece: 41 inches long, 5.5 inches tall and 3/4 of an inch thick. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Beautiful job! Just wondering if it’s chipping at all as I had mine professionally done but it is chipping and touchup don’t do it ? Wondering I I should just redo the project?
It’s been several years since we’ve painted our cabinets and we haven’t had many problems with chipping. We have noticed some of the highly used cabinets (especially around the some handles) are getting a little dull. So we just cleaned and touched up those parts. My husband has also done a quick extra coat over the cabinet doors every couple of years to give it a fresh look.
In your case, I might contact the person that painted it for you and see if they can touch it up for you or give advice on what you can do. I hope that helps Karen!
Hi! I was just wondering, before I use your instructions, how your kitchen is holding up years later? Anything you would do different or are you still over the moon with the results? Thank you for taking the time to post this!
Marie
Hi Marie! You’re very welcome! Yes we are still very happy with the results and would still do it the same way. If I were you I would take a small piece of wood that is similar to your cabinets and paint it with your chosen paint. Get used to the thickness or thinness of the paint, observe how it dries, and try out a couple of coats on it. That way you’ve got a little experience with the paint before you commit to using it on your kitchen cabinets. I hope that helps!
LOVE that RED…. what is the color?
Transformation is beautiful!
Thank you! That red has been one of my favorite parts of our kitchen makeover! I believe it’s called Vesuvia Red and we got the color at Walmart. I hope that helps!
This is the color combination I’ve been looking for! Do you recall what paint (brand/color/finish) you used for the red walls? Thanks!
Hi Jenn! I’m so glad you like the color combo–we’ve loved it ever since we painted the kitchen. We got our paint from Walmart and I believe the red paint color was called vesuvio red. However, that was quite a long time ago so the paint color name may have changed 🙁 I’ve tried to find the paint color with no luck.
Here’s something that might work: print a picture off from my post and bring it to the paint store of your choice. Have the person in the paint department try to match the color from my pictures. I hope that helps!
Carrie, I LOVE that you did all this. I am inspired to not pay for the upgrade for white cabinets in our new home and just go with what we get for free and just paint them! I am curious how much the total cost was for you guys to do this project?
This really was one of the best DIY projects we’ve ever done. I’d say if you can find some cabinets that are in good shape that you’re happy with, go ahead and try to paint them!
It’s been several years since we’ve done this project but I think it cost about $200 for everything. This includes the supplies, paint, the extra cabinet we installed and felt pads for the drawers. I hope that helps!
looks great!!! Did you also paint the inside of the cabinets?
We painted the backside of the cabinet doors and the frames of the cabinets but not the inside of the cabinets. For the most part you’d never notice and it saves a lot of time!
Hello 🙂 very nice job 🙂 i would like to ask you how long did it take to paint it? 🙂 Thank you
Thank you Katarina! We worked on it for a couple of hours a day for about 3 days. It’s a great project to do over a weekend. I hope that helps!
1]Please tell me where you purchased the Krylon acrylic latex enamel paint, I can not find it anywhere.
2] How much Paint did you use to complete the job?
3] What kind of paint brushes did you use on the cabinets?
I have some bad news….I don’t think that paint is available anymore. We’ve been looking all over for it and haven’t had any luck.
If I remember right, I think we used Purdy paint brushes. Spending money on good paint brushes will be a worthy investment!
I hope this helps!
It looks great! I finally bought the supplies for painting my cabinets this weekend and we’re about to start this project. Where did you find the wainscoting wallpaper and the foam pads for the drawer? I want to add wainscoting to our island but wallpaper would be a much easier solution.
Isn’t it so exciting to start a project? I hope it goes well for you! I went to Lowes and got the wainscoting wallpaper there. It’s such a cheaper solution to get a high end look. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Not sure about the wallpaper, but the little pads can be found at any home improvement store (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc) or even Target and Walmart.
If you’re searching for it try searching using the terms “beadboard wallpaper.” I found mine at Lowe’s in the allen & roth brand ($19.97 per roll).
Yes the wallpaper can be found here (it’s on sale right now for $15.97 per roll!)
Hi Jenn! You can find the wainscoting wallpaper here and the felt pads here. I hope that helps! Have fun with your project!
Beautiful kitchen, Carrie 🙂 I just love browsing around your blog… We have a white kitchen too and I love it! Love the red too, and all your cupboard space!
Thanks so much Kendra! Feel free to browse as much as you like! I love how the white cabinets bring in so much light to the whole kitchen!
It seems like everyone’s converting to white kitchens. It’s a gorgeous trend for sure. Thanks for sharing the painting tips, although I’m not sure I could do it even with your tips Carrie. There’s a good chance I’d mess it up!
By the way, I love this cursive font for the comments, I’ve never seen this before.
You never know until you try! Maybe you can practice on a smaller set of cabinets like in a bathroom. That way you can build your confidence up!
Beautiful results! It would be good to let your readers know that this should only be done if their cabinets are SOLID wood. Many cabinets used are chaper grade with a ‘sticker’ wood finish, especially in manufactured homes and apartments or condos. A few years ago we painted the cabinets in our manufactured home with this lower grade cabinets and they looked fabulous … For about a week! Then they looked worse than before. We did the TSP wash, but the paint just won’t stick to that vinyl finish.
That’s a good point, Lyn. Yes this project should only be done on solid wood so the paint has something to adhere to. We had this issue with the ends of our cabinets–instead of it being solid wood it was a sticker and yes paint will not stick to that. So for the cabinet ends we put the wallpaper wainscoting on and then painted that.
Wow! What a difference that made! I love the red, white, and black! Great tips!
Stopping by from Link’n Blogs Link Party to show some love! Have an awesome week!
Emily
I’m so glad you like it! It really gives the whole kitchen a new and fresh look!
I love the new look! I need to do something with our bathroom cabinets, they are an ugly 70s blue laminate and I just hate it after living with it for 22 years! I came over from Put a Bird on It.
You’ll be amazed at the difference a new counter top can make! Sounds like you’ve put up with the blue long enough. I hope you get to change it out soon!
First, red is my favorite color so the kitchen had my love right away! I love the redo…we are moving to a new house in March and I can see something like this on the horizon. I have a “Great sites forFrugal Decorating tips” page anyway I wanted to let you know I linked to your amazing blog, when you see the trackback. 🙂 Blessings and I cannot wait to see what’s next!
Kyle
Thanks so much for the compliments! I love the red too! Paint is such a frugal yet impactful way to decorate. I hope you have fun decorating your new home–that sounds like a fun adventure!
Dropping by from Thrifty Thursday. hey! I really want to paint our kitchen cabinets white. My cabinets look just like your before. I know it’s a huge job to take on but we can’t afford to replace them at this point. Thanks for the tips and how-to. Yours turned out beautiful!
We couldn’t afford to replace the cabinets either. Painting is a big job but it makes such a huge transformation that it’s totally worth it! I’m glad to see this tutorial is helpful! Thanks for stopping by!
it looks wonderful, way to go!! A total transformation
It really was a huge transformation and we’re so glad we did it!
It really brightens up the kitchen! Really nice!
My hubby and I were really amazed at how much brighter the whole kitchen was after we painted the cabinets. So happy with the results!
What a difference! I love the way your kitchen looks now! So fresh and bright, but not too bright. Great job! Now I know when we buy a house I can actually do this 🙂
I’m glad this was inspirational for you, Chelsea! It’s definitely brighter but not painful-to-the-eyes bright! Thanks for stopping by!
OMGosh! Your cabinets look amazing! I love that you can see the grain of the wood through the paint. Plus, your tip on the little round foam pads… genius!
Being able to see the wood grain through the paint is my favorite part of this project! Thanks for your kind words!
Hi Carrie,
Can you tell me what brand, color and finish of the paint you used? Looks great.
Thanks!
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca! We used a couple different products for this project.
For the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, we used Valspar spray paint primer then used Krylon acrylic latex emamel paint in satin for the top coats.
For the skeleton of the cabinets, I primed them with Zinnser primer then used the same Krylon paint for the top coat.
We found that using the Krylon in several thin coats gave us the texture that let the grain of the wood appear through the paint. This was the key to getting a realistic look. I hope all this helps. If you’d like, I can email you pictures of the actual cans of paint I used so you can see the exact products I used.
Hello, Carrie :)….. I know this is an older post, but I just ran across it in my search for how to approach the painting of builder’s grade cabinets. I wonder, can you report back in on how they’re holding up after three years, and any revised advice you may have? And I’d love a pic of the cans of paint you used. I understand they may be discontinued products, but it could get me off on the right foot in searching current products.
Thank you so much for the detailed step-by-step. It will be invaluable as a guide for me :).
Mia
Hi Mia! I’m so glad to hear this tutorial was helpful for you!
The paint has held up well over three years. Since they are white they do make very single spill very evident, so there is a little more cleaning involved. The paint we used has been discontinued but I think the closest match to what we used would be this paint in satin white. This is a picture of the original paint we used, except that we used the satin white.
My sister and I have talked about repainting her kitchen cabinets, but in the end we always worry that it won’t look good if we try. Your kitchen looks amazing. Thanks for a the step by step details. This has given me the confidence to get those kitchen cabinets repainted.
Great! I’m glad this helped! Thanks for stopping by Frances!
Your kitchen looks amazing Carrie! Love the new cabinets! I should pin this for my future cabinet painting projects! I did one before for my craft room, the lazy way, but not as great looking as yours. 🙂
Thanks so much Vel! Taking our time on this project really paid off! I hope it works out well the next time you paint cabinets.
Your kitchen is gorgeous!! I really wish we weren’t renting- I would love to paint my cabinets. I’m dying for a bright white kitchen!
Thank you Brooke! I have some friends that (with the landlord’s approval) did some home improvement projects to the home they rented. If it’s pitched as an investment the landlord might pay for some of the cost…it might be worth asking! Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for the ideas! We need to do something to our cabinets and can’t decide what. Your cabinets look so nice!
Thanks Sarah! I’m glad this inspired you. Even just changing out the hardware can make a big difference!
The biggest question I have is how durable is the paint after the cabinets are dry. It’s the one reason I keep hesitating to attempt this job. It looks fabulous, though.
So far it’s been pretty durable, although white shows a LOT more marks/stains! I’ve had several situations where I’ve had to wipe off spills and so far it’s held up quite well. It’s a big decision so I understand your pause! It took us three years of thinking before we jumped in!
You did an excellent job!! Your cabinets look awesome! We painted ours an off white last year and the long process is definitely worth it!
I couldn’t agree more–the long process is worth every second! Thanks for stopping by!
wow, this really brightened up your kitchen! we have the same builder grade cabinets and I have been debating if I really want to paint them or not! Thanks for all of the great tips your kitchen looks great.
Thanks Allie! We went back and forth on weather or not we should paint them but we’re so glad we did! I hope these tips help in case you paint yours!
Wow Carrie! Gotta love a fresh coat of white paint. This looks amazing! So much more fun to cook in an updated kitchen right? Great job!
Corey
Ha ha! Yes it IS more fun to cook in a fresh kitchen. Although I’ve been a little lazy with cooking this summer, I’ll really get back to it this fall! Thanks so much for stopping by, Corey!
Your kitchen looks amazing! This came at the perfect time for us too, as we were just discussing how/when to paint our oak cabinets white. Thanks for the tips!
Great–I’m so glad these tips will help! Let me know if you have any questions once you start the project!
Wow, this looks great. It is so great that you took the time to do it right. We are renting and someone decided to paint the cabinets in our kitchen, but they didn’t take time and ran out of paint part way through. The result is that some of the cabinets are not painted on the back and a lot of the paint is flaking off.
Oh no! Well at least someday you’ll know how to do it right! Thanks so much for stopping by!
WOW! they look gorgeous! so fresh and bright!
I’m still amazed at how much brighter the whole kitchen looks just by painting the cabinets white! Thanks so much for stopping by, Cassie!
Carrie, you did such a fantastic job on the cabinets! I’m a sucker for white, they look so clean and fresh.
Katie
Thank you Katie!
WOW! They turned out so beautifully, Carrie! Thanks for the tips! We painted ours a few years ago, but unfortunately the paint is chipping, so we need to do some touching up. Pinning this as a reference! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
Thanks so much, Abby! We were really pleased with the results so that made all the time worth it! I really appreciate the pin as well!
Amazing!! Looks great!! I’m so glad I found this I have been thinking of painting mine but was scared lol!! What a great post & great tips!! Thanks for sharing! Found you via Inspire me Linky
~Candice @http://mylittlecircusandme.blogspot.com/
Good–I hope the steps and tips help you out when the time comes! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carrie — they look great! We actually wimped out last year and paid someone to paint ours. But your tutorial made it seem much more manageable than I’d considered it in the past. Pinning in case I need it for our next home 🙂
Thanks so much for the pin! The good thing about paying someone is you don’t have to do the work! But I’m glad this gave you more courage to try it next time. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! What an amazing difference this made! Very bright. Great, now I have to add this to my to do list! haha. I found your link via Lambert’s Lately link party. I would love for you to join me on Tuesdays at UpcycledAntiques.com, where I host Tute’s Tuesdays, created to feature great tutorials such as yours!
It’s crazy how the to-do list gets longer! I’m so glad you found this helpful! I’ll have to check out your party, too!
WOW! what a difference a coat of paint can make to your kitchen! painting them in white (spray painting) was a great decision you guys made, it looks beautiful and so fresh! 🙂 yes, your countertops pop but so does the beautiful red walls! & wow, I never would’ve guessed that it was wallpaper and not wainscoting; clever and much less expensive! 🙂
btw, you have a very pretty kitchen Carrie! 🙂
Thank you, Ingrid for your sweet compliments! We’re really thankful for what we have! I was really surprised/happy with how fresh everything looks now. So glad you like it as much as I do!
Wow! That’s impressive! I’ve talked myself out of painting my cabinets I don’t know how many times. My concern is that they won’t be as durable painted as they are stained… Yours look GREAT, I think I might need to reconsider …
Thanks, Terry! We’ve thought about doing this for years before we got the courage to try it. You’re welcome to stop by and see them in person if you think it will help make your decision. s far as durability I think they’ve held up. White paint shows a lot more stains so I’ve had to wipe them down in some spots. But it seems to hold up just fine! I’m so glad you like them!