Kitchen Cabinet Painting

Hi Guys,

This was my very first blog post. To get started I just wanted to let you know a little bit about what I have been up to. We moved into our new farmhouse just two short weeks ago. It was the perfect location for us, but the house needed a little updating. The previous owners had just done an entire re-model, which was nice, just not my taste. I knew with a little hard work and some paint, I could quickly transform the entire house. Starting with the kitchen, I wanted to paint these brand new pine cabinets a bright white, and the green walls a neutral gray.

Update 2023 photos: We painted these in 2017, not added crown moulding, new island new floors and hardware. Wall color Alabaster cabinets Pearly white.

Before and After

electric sander

paint sprayer

Wall Paint Color is Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter.

So here is how I did it.

1. Remove Doors: First I removed all of the cabinet doors and hardware. My initial plan was to paint the inside of the doors too, but I quickly decided that was going to take way longer than I planned and then I couldn’t properly label the cabinets to go back into their original spot. This is very important step, let me add. Once you re paint the cabinets they all look the same. Same size, same color, you can’t tell where they came from, so be sure not to skip this step.
2. Label the doors: I used blue painters tape and labeled them 1,2,3 and so on and then labeled the cabinet base 1,2,3 and so on to match. Easy and no mix ups. lay
3. Take Cabinets Outside or In Garage: I painted in the Garage with a sprayer.
4. Sand: Since these were brand new they did not need to be cleaned (recommended if you are painting older cabinets). But they did have a heavy lacquer on them that needed to be sanded so that the paint would stick. I used this RYOBI mouse Sander
5. Picking a Paint Color: This was probably the hardest part! I bought 3 samples from Sherwin Williams, Alabaster, Snowbound, and Pearly White. I wanted a creamy white, but also a clean modern look. I have so much natural light coming in that I went with the warmest white, Pearly White. I cannot stress how important it is to test paint color in each room that you are wanting to use the color, because depending on the lighting it will look completely different. Someone might use a color that you love, but in your home it will look completely different. I bought my paint at LOWES and used their kitchen cabinet paint that the sales guy recommended. (I ended up having to seal it, so I wish I would have gone with a gloss paint from the beginning.
6. Spray: Paint sprayer I put my cabinets on top of old pallets and cardboard on my garage floor, with the garage door always open, and wear a mask. I used this  Sprayer and also added 2 tablespoons of water to each paint batch to thin the paint, to make it easier.Watch Paint Dry: Haha, seriously though, who paints cabinets in November? Luckily I live in CA so it wasn’t that bad, but I let my cabinets dry a good 6 hours in between coats (3 coats in all) and let them dry overnight before putting them back up.
7. Paint Base Cabinets: While you are waiting for the doors to dry, that’s when you can paint the bases. I used a foam roller and brush. This is where I ran into tons of problems. I realized that my nice new cabinets that were solid wood, were a laminate veneer on the sides of the bases. Needless to say, this required a lot of patience and waiting for more paint to dry. I brushed on about 6 thin coats within 24 hours and finally saw some solid coverage. Maybe if I would have sanded them better this wouldn’t have happened. The base fronts only requires that same 2 coats that the doors required and I used the foam small roller for that.
8. Once everything is dry, put the doors back on and enjoy.

Before, During (yes it’s a complete mess), and Multiple After

The island that I added is from RC Willey. It was a lovely antique color, but it just didn’t match the bright white of the kitchen, so I painted the whole thing Pearly White. If you read any of my follow up posts, you will find out how much I love RC Willey furniture. If you are lucky like me, you might find some great buys in the clearance center. I shop the Rocklin, CA location and found this island in the clearance center because it was missing the shelves behind the glass cabinet doors. It is currently on sale for $999.99 which is already a good deal, considering my inspiration came from this William Sonoma Island for $4000. But I got this one for $460, and the barstools from overstock for $25 each!!

Before & After ( I love the before, but I wanted it to match my cabinets, so I painted it the same color and even painted the top) See my $4000 inspiration below.

Inspiration

William Sonoma Island is great and has a marble top. I was going to actually get this one here, but they do not keep them in stock and it was 2 months out for delivery. Maybe someday, but it is quite large and I’m not sure how it would fit. They do have some similar smaller ones though. Personally the open shelving is useless for me because of my toddler, he would get into anything I put there.