How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets

Want to learn about painting cabinets in your own kitchen?

Save money and get a unique and individual decorating kitchens style.

Read about our own kitchen cabinet painting project...

We love decorating kitchens on the cheap - while making a quality-looking job of it, of course!

And we think we've done a great job of our recent kitchen makeover by painting our cabinets.

This isn't the first time we've painted our kitchen cabinets...

We've done it several times, painting both wood and melamine kitchen cabinets...

...but I think all our practice has led to this being the best result - by far!

We'll share with you all our secrets and experience, with what we've learned along the way...

And share with you exactly how to paint kitchen cabinets for great results!

Kitchen cabinets are expensive, so it's great if you can get a new look for your kitchen at a fraction of the cost of a new one...

And one way you can do this is by painting your cabinets.

...and I hope you'll agree, the results look great!

Our Original Cabinets

Our kitchen cabinets were originally dark wood...

When we bought them, we knew we didn't want a dark wood kitchen long-term, but they were on offer, massively reduced...

...and as they were wood, and in a style we liked (Shaker style) and which suited our kitchen we decided to go for it...

...and make the most of the bargain!

Take a look at our 'before' kitchen, here...

We lived with the dark wood for a couple of years, and as we have quite a large kitchen, with lots of light, it was not too bad...

But the time had come where we really wanted to do something about it, and change them into our perfect kitchen cabinets!

Our Kitchen Makeover - How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets

Here's how to paint kitchen cabinets for great results...

The following ideas for how to paint kitchen cabinets can be used equally on wood or melamine kitchen cabinets...

I'll explain in these simple steps how to treat each slightly differently...

This is also a great idea if you want to collect lots of different bargain kitchen cabinet units and doors together in different finishes and styles...

A painted finish will give it all a unified look and bring the whole scheme together - and save you money!

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets

1. Clean the kitchen cabinets thoroughly with sugar soap.

   This is very important as it gives a nice clean surface for the paint to adhere to.

   Any grease or other dirt will affect how the paint holds to the surface.

2. You can paint your kitchen cabinet doors on or off the cupboard - whichever you find easiest.

   We did a mixture of both.

   Remove any handles and knobs before you start, though.

3. For very shiny and glossy surfaces, or uneven surfaces, a light sanding will help provide a suitable surface for painting - otherwise we've never found this step necessary
4. Use a suitable primer or undercoat:
   • For bare wood surfaces use a suitable wood primer first, then undercoat for wood, appropriate to the top coat
   • For previously finished wood, use a wood undercoat, or multi-purpose undercoat
   • For melamine use a specialist melamine primer, also known as kitchen cabinet primer









5. We find we get the best results by using a small roller on flat surfaces.

   For more intricate designs use a quality paint brush.










6. Don't forget to also treat the kitchen cabinets (units) in the same way so that your doors match the units exactly.
7. When this is dry, give a light sanding if necessary (if there are any lumps or runs) and paint on the first coat of your cabinet paint (don't paint on too thickly - several thin coats are better than one thick one!)









8. You have several options as to the cabinet paint to use:
   • For wood: a gloss or satin eggshell, designed for use on wood.

     We've used both, and find that the satin eggshell gives us an infinitely preferable finish - it's the one we used on this most recent project.

   • For melamine: use specialist melamine kitchen cabinet paint.

     Or use ordinary gloss or satin eggshell paint over the top of your melamine primer.

     In this way you can use any color paint you choose, and aren't limited to the sometimes dubious color choices in the specialist cabinet paint ranges.

     You must use this over the top of the melamine primer though.










9. Don't forget to paint all the edges. Also paint the reverse of cabinet doors, and any units, sides and trim to match.
10. If painting in situ, leave cabinet doors open slightly once painted, so they don't stick, and pull the paint off!

    Yes, we did have a couple of incidents of this.

    Don't worry though, if this does happen, you can easily touch up with a small brush, as we did.

11. Leave the first coat to dry, and when hard give a light sanding if neessary.

    We just sanded small patches where the paint had dripped slightly and run (this is less likely if you take your cabinet doors off and lay them down flat, to paint).

12. Complete the second coat.
13. We took the opportunity for a complete overhaul and added new knobs and handles too, for a totally different look.
14. Treat your newly painted kitchen cabinets very carefully for the first couple of weeks, while the paint dries thoroughly and hardens.
15. If you have concerns about the paint coming off, try a final coat of clear varnish, for extra protection, and for very hard-wearing cupboards.







And that's how to paint kitchen cabinets!

Quite simple really, and it didn't take too long.

We did ours in stages over several days.

We also used the same multi-purpose primer and painted the radiator, and our tatty old boiler, in the same paint - with great results...!







The paint we used was 'French Gray' from 'Farrow and Ball' in an interior estate eggshell finish.







We love it! And we definitely think we chose the right cabinet paint finish...

It's slightly shiny, but not too much so, and has welded itself nicely and firmly to the cabinet doors so that the wood grain still shows though nicely.

I think this has definitely improved the look of our kitchen, we now feel like (and I think it looks like!) we have expensive hand painted kitchen cabinets (I guess we do, actually!)...

...and all for the price of a pot of paint, and a few hours work - a great result!!







The soft, light green gives the kitchen a more traditional and country farmhouse feel, and already the light color has made a huge difference to how light, bright and airy our kitchen feels!

We're very pleased!

Now you know how to paint kitchen cabinets I hope you will feel confident using the technique in your own kitchen to transform your home...!

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets with Paint and Grain Technique

It is also possible to use a paint and grain technique to give a wood effect when painting cabinets.

We've not used it ourselves, but Sally shares her experiences of how to paint kitchen cabinets with the technique, here...

...another reader doesn't have a great experience when she experiments with painting her kitchen cabinets - read about it here...

More inexpensive decorating ideas for your kitchen re-vamp, including painting tiles and fitting new countertops.

More kitchen decorating tips, here...

More inexpensive decorating ideas, here...

You can see more of our own home decorating projects, here... or share yours, at the same page...!

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