It’s amazing what a bit of paint can do. Often, a lot of our kitchen space, or certainly wall space, is taken up with kitchen cabinets, and so they can set the tone of the room. This means, you can very simply change the feel of a room by just changing them. This is often done by changing out your cabinets to a whole different approach. There are a huge variety of cabinets out there you can choose from that would alter your decor hugely; wooden cabinets, colourful, dark colours or even using glass.

If you are looking for a different way you could paint the ones you already have. By painting, you can brighten up a room, make it appear bigger, or highlight a different aspect of the room such as a feature wall. You can choose from number of different styles that can create a variety of effects such as sleek all-white, two toned, bright statement colour or a vintage look with chalk paint. The benefits are plenty, but it doesn’t go without a bit of effort. If you really want to make a good job of it, you’ll need to take your time and do it properly. To make it a bit easier for you here is a step-by-step guide of how to approach painting your kitchen cabinets.

There are 4Ps you should remember when taking on this task:Preparation, Priming, Painting, and Perfecting.

PREPARATION

First things first: time to prepare.
Preparation when it comes to painting your kitchen cabinets is super important. It can be the difference between a beautifully finished kitchen and a complete mess, so make sure you invest the time here and it will pay off later. The process is not an easy one, there’s no point in lying, but it is completely doable and it can absolutely be a lot of fun.

It’s time consuming, so put aside a couple of weeks and have it be your focus.
Like many DIY jobs it’s a trade-off between time and results. The more time you put in, the better your results will be. But if you are really stuck for time, you can always hire a professional to spray paint for you, this will speed up the process and still ensure you an excellent finish.

Prepare your kitchen

Clear it out. All of it. Empty the cabinets, clear the work surfaces, push any furniture you have in the room away from the cabinets, or into another room altogether. Spread some old sheets or drop clothes on the worktops and floor anywhere there is a risk of paint dripping to make sure you don’t get paint anywhere you don’t want it.
Prepare your cabinets

This is the main time-consuming bit, it’s just about getting yourself organised. Begin by sketching a diagram of your kitchen and giving all of your cabinets a label, so when you take them apart you apply a label to them so you know exactly where to put everything back.

Remove all the cabinet doors, drawers and shelves, making sure to somehow label everything according to your diagram. You can do this using little sticky labels with the end handing off the end. Then, when you paint them just move the label to sit in front of where the piece will be drying.

All hardware should also be removed. You can use masking tape to cover these but it is best practice to remove them as it will ensure a far better finish. This includes all hinges, drawer knobs, handles etc… You can use little bags to keep these together in their relevant compartments. Again, refer back to your diagram and label each bag so you know where to put them back in the right place.

Prepare your workspace

You are going to need a good amount of space to lay out the doors of your cabinets to dry, so make sure you get this area aside and get it ready to go. The last thing you want is to have a number of doors painted and then realise you’re going to need to move them.

Preferably, this space should be indoors and have limited disruption. It should definitely be indoors if at all possible, even if you are lucky enough not to get any rain, wind and dust will have an effect on the paint drying. This also brings in rooms that have a fan running or often has a strong breeze running through it.

Preparation key points:

Make a diagram and label all our pieces so you can put your kitchen back together again
Remove all the hardware and put into labeled bags
Have an area put aside for your pieces to dry

PRIMING

Now you’re prepared, it’s time to get priming. This is the process of getting the things you’re going to paint ready to be painted. This involves a few different things the last of which is officially called “priming”.

Clean

Your kitchen cabinets have seen their fair share of oil splashes, milk spills, and sticky fingers. No matter how much you clean them, there will be some residue on your cabinets. So, you need to really clean your cabinets. You can do this using an abrasive cloth and some liquid deglosser. This is a solvent so probably best to open the window/door when doing this for ventilation. This can take a little bit of elbow grease but it is worth it!

Fill

Should your cabinets have any holes or dents, now is the time to fill them in. (You could also use this opportunity to change some of the hardware you have, which could also involve drilling new holes). Using wood filler is generally a simple enough task, follow the drying directions on the packaging. These will need sanding after they have sufficiently dried. Which brings us nicely onto the next point...

Sand

One of the last steps in preparing your cabinets for painting is to sand them. Depending on the size of your kitchen, it could be worth investing in buying or renting an electric sander to make this simpler and quicker. Sanding down all the surfaces you will be painting will mean you will have a perfectly smooth surface to begin painting, hence you will have a perfectly smooth result.

The best suited sandpaper for the job is that marked 100 grit. If you’re doing this inside, you will definitely need to vacuum down your cabinets and then make sure to wipe down thoroughly after sanding. Use a tack cloth to make sure no specs of dust are left on your surface. Sanding will, inevitably, make quite a mess so it could be a good idea to do it outside and maybe wear a nose/mouth mask to protect from inhaling too much debris.

Prime

A primer is a base coat for painting, it provides you with the first layer that you can then paint your colour over. You should always prime regardless of what colour you are painting over. An oil based primer, not a water based should be used for cabinets, as this ensures the wood won’t bleed through and discolour the paint over time. Also worth noting a foam brush is often best when applying this. You don’t want to put all that effort into painting for it to be ruined by not bothering to prime!

Priming key points:

Clean your cabinets thoroughly
Sand down with 100 grit sandpaper
Use an oil based primer

PAINTING

The right colour

There’s so many different approaches you can take, and so many different results that can come from them. There are also a number of elements you should consider when choosing. Such as the colour of your hardware, unless you are intending on changing your handles etc… it is probably best that you try to coordinate the colour you choose with these existing pieces. Similarly with appliances that will be on display often. You don’t want these to clash hugely with the cabinets when they are completed. All of the things the colour will interact with should be considered when making the all important decision.

If you’ve gone through all the preparation to get to this point, you probably know what colour/ colours you are looking for. But, if you are reading this without those decisions being made here are, just a few, ideas for colours to use for your kitchen.

White
This is probably one of the most popular colour options. A great choice when it comes brightening up a kitchen, or making it appear bigger.

Grey
There are a number of shades of grey that work very well in a kitchen, from dark grey to a very bright, just off-white shade. Blue under-toned, green under-toned and even brown under-toned all work really well as a neutral base for your room.

Vibrant colour
A brighter colour such as a forest green or a royal blue are used as a way of adding character and making a statement in a kitchen. If the surrounding areas such as the walls or larger appliances are all plain in colour, painting a brighter colour like this can be a great way to add to your room. It is worth noting that it is mainly colours on the darker and lighter (pastel) colours that work best, as opposed to true or primary colours.

Two-toned
There’s no rule saying that you can only use one colour. A great approach is to use a different colour on the top and bottom cabinets. Often dark at the bottom and light at the top can create an illusion of more space. Even just slightly different tones can help to add a different perspective of space to your kitchen.

The right finish

There are also a number of different finishes you can go for. There’s the most popular option of the shiny, smooth surface. Then there is a slightly lighter coverage option. This is the kind of finish that you would see the grain of the wood through. Lastly, there’s the more vintage looking option of chalk paint. This has become more and more popular in recent years. This is a more matte finish that is more rustic in result.

The right paint

So, you’ve decided what colour, or colours, you are going to paint, it’s time to pick the right paint. Some paint brands will have ranges that are specifically designed for cabinets or cupboards and others won’t. But, in general, assuming you are looking for that clean smooth finish you should look for paint that highlights that it creates a smooth finish/mirror shine on its tin or is described as oil based. This kind of finish is generally good as it is easier to wipe down.

The right brush

The very best quality paint can be completely ruined if you use the wrong kind of brush with it. For a smooth finish, you are looking for a roller that is described as ‘low nap’. However, do go for the most economical of these as chances are you will need a good amount of them, depending on the amount you will be painting, and you may not be using them again. This kind of paint, strictly speaking, can be washed out of brushes but it does often leave brushes and rollers hard and unusable. A multi-pack would be the best option to make sure you have enough.

The right method

The painting method itself isn’t anything particularly complicated, just apply a number of thin layers. The more difficult part is not knowing what to paint when, the order is crucial to your efficiency. For the doors, you are best to begin by painting the back. While yes, the process itself is not difficult, it is worth allowing yourself a little bit of practise time to perfect. By starting with the back of the doors it means that when you are drying them, any issues that could happen while turning these over and painting the other side won’t result in any imperfections on the front of your doors.

Note: dry your doors horizontally, if you have them at an angle at all it will cause the paint to set unevenly.

Don’t forget about the inside of your cabinets. While yes, it might be a bit of a pain, it is up to you whether it would annoy you in the future if your doors and your inserts do not match.

Painting key points:

Research all the different colour and colour combinations you could go for before choosing one
Use an oil based paint as it will be easier to clean
Use a brush that is described as “low nap”

PERFECTING

When you have all the the parts painted, there are only a few bits left to do to create the perfect finish. You should apply a topcoat to ensure durability, a polyurethane topcoat is often the recommended type.

When putting the cabinets back together again, it is best to put the hardware onto the doors before attaching them back to their boxes.

Overall there are a few key things that you should take special note of in order to get the best finish possible. Make sure you don’t overlook these things and you should be all set for a perfect kitchen makeover.

Apply a primer
Prepare, prepare, prepare!
Remove hardware
Label your pieces to make it easier to put the kitchen together
Make sure you sand and clean your wood before painting
Dry horizontally
Allow sufficient drying time, don’t rush to putting them back together

PRIMING

Now you’re prepared, it’s time to get priming. This is the process of getting the things you’re going to paint ready to be painted. This involves a few different things the last of which is officially called “priming”.