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Lauren McBride

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Home // How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets

March 8, 2016

So today I thought I would share about how to paint kitchen cabinets without going totally crazy.

Save this! How to paint kitchen cabinets without going crazy: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

I’ve wanted white cabinets for as long as I can remember, so when we purchased this home I knew the oak cabinets would be the first thing to go. The cabinets had a great structure and were in great condition, so I knew a few coats of paint were all they needed to achieve the look I was going for. I knew this would be a daunting task, but it surprisingly wasn’t as bad as I imagined. 

How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets

I had done some major research on this process and I really love how my cabinets came out. So I truly believe this is the best process for painting cabinets.

Save this! How to paint kitchen cabinets without going crazy: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

First, we removed all the doors and applied wood putty to the existing holes for the knobs and handles. Ours were going to be different from the original, so this was important. After the putty was dry, we sanded down all the doors and cabinet frame. We removed the doors to do this and used an electric sander outside. We had to sand the frame inside, of course, and yes it’s messy! But necessary. This is an important step so the paint adheres.

Next, we wiped the doors and cabinets with deglosser. This is an additional step in making sure the paint adheres. This was fairly simple, but I definitely recommend using gloves and opening up all the windows when wiping down the frame, since that can’t be done outside.

Save this! How to paint kitchen cabinets without going crazy: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

Save this! How to paint kitchen cabinets without going crazy: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

Next up, we painted a cost of primer. Again, a key step. Definitely time-consuming because of how many cabinets we have, but we wanted to make sure we were only having to do this once!!! I always use Kilz primer because that’s what I’ve worked with before. Since I was pregnant when we did all of this, we had a friend do it for us. We had him prime the front and back of the doors as well.

After the primer was dry, I hand painted the cabinet frames. This was really the only way since we needed our kitchen to be functioning in the process. It was time-consuming, but really not that bad. I had done a LOT of research on cabinet paint and settled on Benjamin Moore Advance paint in a satin finish. It can be custom mixed to whatever color you’d like! We chose Benjamin Moore Simply White. Another option was the Benjamin Moore Impervo paint, but it’s an oil based paint and the gentleman at my local paint store said the fumes are stronger than primer. Since we have a toddler and I was pregnant at the time, I chose the Advance which was water based paint and had little to no fumes. Both of these paints are self-leveling which is the key to getting that smooth cabinet finish. At first, I wasn’t crazy about how it looked! But once it leveled out, I was incredibly impressed. There are no brush strokes whatsoever, and it doesn’t have that “painted” look. I highly recommend using Benjamin Moore Advance if you’re painting cabinetry in the future.

How to paint kitchen cabinets: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

For the doors and drawers, we had a friend use the same paint but applied with a paint sprayer for an even smoother finish. I bought this one off Amazon and it worked great. We applied a total of three coats to make sure they were perfect. See, this how to paint kitchen cabinets thing is totally going great, without going crazy.

How to paint kitchen cabinets: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

Save this! How to paint kitchen cabinets without going crazy: an easy guide that will take 3-4 days tops!

I am SO impressed with how they turned out. That paint is seriously perfection for cabinets, and it turned out better than I imagined. I also think the satin finish was key because it really doesn’t look painted. Standard white cabinets don’t have a high gloss finish unless that’s the custom look you’re going for.

If you planned on doing this from start to finish in consecutive days, I would estimate about 3 days time. I suggest sanding, deglossing, and possibly priming day one, and then taking the next two days to paint. The Benjamin Moore Advance paint can says a second coat can be reapplied in 16 hours, but the gentleman at my paint store said to wait about 8. So my suggestion is doing one coat in the morning and then one coat at night. Our process took significantly longer because I was massively pregnant and working weekends, and my husband didn’t have anyone to watch the kids so he could do it on the weekend. Hence why we hired a friend for the tough stuff, and did was we could at night. Overall, I am in LOVE with how they look!

If there are any questions I didn’t answer about the process, comment below! I hope this helps make painting your kitchen cabinets a little less scary 😉

MORE HOME POSTS: Quartz Countertop Review // DIY Planked Walls // Pergo Flooring Install // Farmhouse Dining Room // How to Choose a Farmhouse Sink

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Comments

  1. Sue Mcbride says

    March 8, 2016 at 9:45 am

    Yippee, you blogged about this. I was going to ask you the steps you took to transform your cabinets. I want to do the same thing. I think it will help sell our house. Pictures look great! Thanks Lauren!

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      March 9, 2016 at 7:19 am

      It definitely will! Let us know if you need any tips! 😉

      Reply
  2. Lauren says

    March 8, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Your cabinets looks amazing – I am so impressed yall painted them yourselves!

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      March 9, 2016 at 7:18 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  3. Ally says

    March 8, 2016 at 10:30 am

    You’re braver than me,! I’ve been wanting to do the same to our cabinets for awhile now but I just don’t know. Yours certainly turned out amazing so maybe someday! 😉

    Xo Ally
    http://www.allysoninwonderland.com

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      March 9, 2016 at 7:18 am

      Haha! I’ve waited many, many years! If you do ever do it, you will love it!

      Reply
  4. Carrie Stenseth says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:08 am

    Impressive! Closing on a little house next week and the kitchen cabinets need to be painted white. Your info will be very helpful. I am so going to buy the sprayer will save time and get a nice finish. Can you tell me how you handled the drawers? Did you have your friend just spray the fronts or did you spray the entire draw, inside and out?? Not sure how to go about the drawers when spraying.. thanks much.

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      July 2, 2016 at 9:38 pm

      We just sprayed the front! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Annie says

    June 8, 2016 at 11:06 am

    I love your blog. My kids are the same age and I’m looking to go white in our kitchen. Do you know what hardware you used?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      July 31, 2016 at 8:07 am

      It’s from Home Depot!

      Reply
  6. mrsjpruitt says

    June 16, 2016 at 8:32 am

    Did you do three coats on the frame as well as the doors?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      June 20, 2016 at 9:12 am

      We did! I liked how it looked better.

      Reply
  7. Laura says

    August 5, 2016 at 12:37 am

    Could you share what you used to paint the frames by hand? Brush? Roller? thanks! We’re tackling this project in the next few weeks. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      August 15, 2016 at 9:40 pm

      We painted the frames with a brush by hand. Good luck!!!

      Reply
  8. Kenzie says

    November 23, 2016 at 12:53 am

    Hi! I am just wondering if you did a top coat of any kind? If not, how are your cabinets holding up? Would you suggest a top coat? That doesn’t yellow?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      November 25, 2016 at 10:35 am

      We did not! The paint we used does not require that and it’s held up AMAZING! 🙂

      Reply
  9. caroline says

    December 5, 2016 at 3:15 pm

    Hello – thank you for sharing. Do you have a picture of the paint can? I’m on their website but typing in BM Advance does not give me anything. Thank youz

    Reply
  10. Vanessa says

    December 29, 2016 at 11:01 pm

    Hi!

    What is your backsplash made of? Beautiful cabinets I will be redoing mine shortly.

    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      January 2, 2017 at 9:30 am

      Hi! Our backsplash is plywood that we did a faux shiplap with. 🙂

      Reply
  11. Suzanne says

    January 5, 2017 at 3:25 am

    Hi. Looks lovely and thinking about doing the same. I was just wondering if you painted inside the cabinets? Thanks

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      February 1, 2017 at 9:45 pm

      We didn’t because we were lazy. LOL

      Reply
  12. Paige says

    March 19, 2017 at 7:41 pm

    Hi Lauren!
    Getting ready to paint my kitchen cabinets white and so happy I found your blog!
    When you used the paint sprayer did you add water or anything to “thin” the paint? Seriously considering using a sprayer for ours!
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      March 23, 2017 at 10:47 pm

      Hi! I honestly can’t recall at this point, but I think you can add water if needed! The sprayer instructions are very thorough!

      Reply
  13. North East Factory Direct says

    March 22, 2017 at 3:57 am

    Excellent blog post! The information you have shared is very informative. thank you

    Reply
  14. Furniture Store Parker says

    March 22, 2017 at 3:59 am

    Beautiful kitchen.the page they have very well constructed,and the kitchen is amazing 🙂 from u i can still learn something.

    Reply
  15. Poulin Design Center says

    May 3, 2017 at 7:01 pm

    Awesome Job! Very eye appealing! 

    Reply
  16. Sue R says

    July 24, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    No lacquer coats for finishing? Is that because of the paint you used?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      August 10, 2017 at 5:57 pm

      Yes!

      Reply
  17. Rashi says

    August 10, 2017 at 6:48 am

    Amazing job with the cabinets!! Am hoping to follow your directions with my bathroom cabinets.

    How easy is to clean/wipe off spills or stains? Have you noticed any chipping or peeling over time, given you didn’t use any top coat or sealant? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      August 10, 2017 at 5:54 pm

      Super easy! I JUST noticed some chipping down below but I’m blaming my crazy daughter on that one!

      Reply
  18. Rebecca says

    January 6, 2018 at 2:47 pm

    Thanks for info. With young kids in and out of kitchen banging toys etc will they hold up or do they chip or leave black scuff marks like painted walls?

    Reply
  19. Jasbir Mongia says

    March 7, 2018 at 10:23 am

    Could please tell us , what kind of sprayer you bought from Amazon? It is a new thing about white kitchen! It’s most popular now! Thanks, Jasbir

    Reply
  20. Linda says

    April 12, 2018 at 10:59 pm

    Did this method totally cover the grain in the wood. I really want smooth looking cabinets with no grain showing through.
    Thanks for sharing,I have been searching for this.

    Reply
  21. Meisterbuilders,Inc. says

    February 25, 2019 at 1:23 am

    Very professionally done. This is a much appreciated post. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

    Reply
  22. Jamie says

    March 23, 2019 at 7:53 pm

    Looking to tackle this project this spring. Do you mind sharing how your cabinets have held up?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      March 26, 2019 at 11:14 am

      They’re started to chip a bit, but I didn’t expect them to last as long as they have!

      Reply
  23. Crystal says

    May 23, 2019 at 11:54 am

    I’m going to be using everything you listed above to do our kitchen cabinets—- what did you use for a sander? What brushes did you use to paint the frames? Also what glosser did you use to finish it?

    Thanks!

    Reply
  24. Leah says

    June 3, 2019 at 11:24 am

    Your kitchen looks beautiful!! I was wondering if you drilled the new holes for the hardware before of after you painted them?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      June 26, 2019 at 3:55 pm

      We patched the old holes and then drilled new ones after we painted 🙂

      Reply
  25. Cecilia says

    April 15, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    You mentioned you did three coats of paint on the cabinet door but how many coats did you apply on the frame?

    Reply
    • Lauren McBride says

      April 18, 2020 at 7:33 am

      Hi! Yes, frame as well.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Home // Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover - Lauren McBride says:
    June 1, 2016 at 11:44 am

    […] The cabinets were quite the undertaking, but they were in great shape and had good “bones” if you will. You can read all about how we painted them here. I’m still SO happy with the turn out, and I feel like they don’t even look painted. I really attribute that to the type of paint we used, so if you’re in the market to paint your cabinets be sure to check out the post! […]

    Reply
  2. The BEST Paint for Kitchen Cabinets: 8 Cabinet Transformations | Designer Trapped says:
    January 5, 2018 at 2:31 pm

    […] Lauren McBride Blog […]

    Reply
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