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So today I thought I would share about how to paint kitchen cabinets without going totally crazy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 😉
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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!
It definitely will! Let us know if you need any tips! 😉
Your cabinets looks amazing – I am so impressed yall painted them yourselves!
Thank you so much!
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
Haha! I’ve waited many, many years! If you do ever do it, you will love it!
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.
We just sprayed the front! 🙂
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?
It’s from Home Depot!
Did you do three coats on the frame as well as the doors?
We did! I liked how it looked better.
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. 🙂
We painted the frames with a brush by hand. Good luck!!!
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?
We did not! The paint we used does not require that and it’s held up AMAZING! 🙂
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
Hi!
What is your backsplash made of? Beautiful cabinets I will be redoing mine shortly.
Thanks!!
Hi! Our backsplash is plywood that we did a faux shiplap with. 🙂
Hi. Looks lovely and thinking about doing the same. I was just wondering if you painted inside the cabinets? Thanks
We didn’t because we were lazy. LOL
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!
Hi! I honestly can’t recall at this point, but I think you can add water if needed! The sprayer instructions are very thorough!
Excellent blog post! The information you have shared is very informative. thank you
Beautiful kitchen.the page they have very well constructed,and the kitchen is amazing 🙂 from u i can still learn something.
Awesome Job! Very eye appealing!
No lacquer coats for finishing? Is that because of the paint you used?
Yes!
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!
Super easy! I JUST noticed some chipping down below but I’m blaming my crazy daughter on that one!
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?
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
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.
Very professionally done. This is a much appreciated post. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Looking to tackle this project this spring. Do you mind sharing how your cabinets have held up?
They’re started to chip a bit, but I didn’t expect them to last as long as they have!
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!
Your kitchen looks beautiful!! I was wondering if you drilled the new holes for the hardware before of after you painted them?
We patched the old holes and then drilled new ones after we painted 🙂
You mentioned you did three coats of paint on the cabinet door but how many coats did you apply on the frame?
Hi! Yes, frame as well.