Why would I paint such lovely cabinets??
A few of you have wondered about that, so I thought I'd answer that question in a post.
First off, I'm not really a huge fan of the color of the cabinets...the pinkish-tan thing doesn't exactly blow my hair back. But the real problem is this:
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And this:
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The cabinets are old enough that the finish on the frequently-used ones is totally worn out. We're down to bare wood in spots, and in that sort of situation, you really have to refinish the cabinets somehow to make them look decent.
And as you can sort of see in the above photo, the bottoms of the cabinets are pretty chipped and dinged up.
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Fortunately, the cabinets are made of wood, not plastic laminate, and so I can sand them, prime them, and paint them, and they should look significantly more fabulous.
So, there you go. Please don't waste any tears over these cabinets even if you adore wood...they're really not all that lovely, and I am totally confident that this project will be a net improvement.
Thus endeth my defense of this painting project.
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Joshua's 365 post: Happy (late) 4th!
Kristen,
I am patiently waiting for the big reveal of the cabinets. You have inspired me to paint furniture (2 nightstands). Thank you for this blog.
Kim S
Gadsden AL
That would be 1990's "pickled" wood phase. Agree, it's time to refinish them. Do you know what color paint?
You go, Painter Girl! I love painted wood myself. We have a kind of Prussian blue (a la Crayola) paint on some cabinets that I have enjoyed for 5 years. The wood grain shows through, and the blue is not over-bearing. Anything blue would work for me, but this sort of translucent and not very saturated blue is just right for cabinets. (Old beach towel was a dropcloth on this project. {:o)
I would paint them, too. No questions, let alone complaints, from me.
Our cabinets need painting in the worst way, but it's because the lead paint is peeling, not because the wood is damaged. I'm too busy and a little to chicken to start the project just yet.
*too
Okay, I see now why you want to paint. I think it's interesting that your base cabinets sit over the wood floors. In other words, the floor came to the room first and then the cabinets. Otherwise, there would have been quarter-trim at the bottom of the cabinets.
Yes, when we moved in, there were horrible old jade green and black linoleum floors. So, we took up the cabinets and put wood flooring down.
Oh, I totally get why you want to paint them--personally, I love white cabinets. I have old magazines that span a couple of decades and here's the thing ... in these old magazines, even cabinetry from 20 years ago still looks "right" when it's white. You don't get into the latest "trend". It's a classic. I'm big on classics for big, expensive items. It has more staying power.
I too love my white cabinets, circa 1890 with new doors my father built, but in the old style to match. The down side is they show every speck and splash of food, dirt, dust. I am constantly cleaning them because they get filthy.
This kind of thing is a labor of love, esp with cabinets that have that kind of beveled edges and detail. You really need to sand those by hand. But when done right totally worth it. At least doors can be taken off and done outside, the bigger challenge we found was living without cabinets at all while sanding and priming and painting the cabinets themselves, which took several weeks. Plus the sanding alone left the kitchen filthy. If its at all possible, sand it all in one day, because you will need to wipe down the entire kitchen afterwards. That was my least fav part of our kitchen project.
My sister and I repainted her kitchen cabinets last year, and it made such a difference in her very dark kitchen. We had some good music going, a lot of iced tea and home-flavored water, and knocked it out in three days. Plus a lot of good talk between sisters!
We have painted cabinets all throughout our house and I really wish they were wood. My FIL says the wood is actually quite nice and we could get them stripped and refinished but that's going to be a very large project and expensive (particularly the stripping). He suggested just repainting. Which is a bummer. But that's what the previous owners wanted to do.
The biggest and most annoying decorating advice I hear from people is "Why would you paint wood?" The same reason I am planning on ripping down my wood paneling from my basement walls: It's ugly!
Are you doing anything with the hardware? That can run into some money but changing up the hardware now and then is always a nice thing to do.
Are you doing anything with the countertops or just leaving them as-is? We're talking about getting some new countertops from Ikea or trying that Rustoleum countertop paint. Our old 70s Formica is pretty bad.
New laminate isn't all that expensive. If your counters have square edges you can easily put new laminate on them. Total replacement with ready made counters is pretty cheap too. The problem with paint is that it doesn't stand up to abuse very well.
Over the years, I've painted the wood of bed frames, book shelves and night stands in my apartment. Each time, it breathed new life into the furniture and gave the room a new look.
I totally understand why you want to paint your kitchen cabinets. I wish you luck & look forward to the reveal!
I hope you are going to give us a step-by-step version. I am contemplating redoing my painted-wood cabinets. I am especially interested in seeing how you deal with the chips and digs in the wood. I plan to paint my cabinets a dark gray or black.
Oh yes, when I'm all finished and have this figured out, I'll do a how-to post.
Our plan was to redo our kitchen before my husband lost his job. We literally have everything bought, but the paint and drywall. It has to be a total gut job because the ceiling in the kitchen leaks. Now we have everything, including the kitchen sink, hanging out in a spare room until my husband finds a job.
I couldn't wait to paint the cabinets. A dark brown on the bottom and white on the top. I was going to take the doors off the top ones and paint the insides blue to match the walls with my copper backsplash and blue paint.
Now he just has to find a job. In a small rural Iowa town. Then we can finish.
I, too, totally get why you're painting the cabinets. After I bought my first home, I wanted to paint the very dark brown, ugly kitchen cabinets. My parents discouraged this - "why paint over the pretty wood, that's a lot of work...") etc. 15 years later, hubby and I finally painted them a light beigey-yellow when we were putting the house on the market - and it made the room look so much lighter and airier. Lesson learned; when our current cabinets need to be refreshed, I won't hesitate to paint them.
I have seen a lot of kitchen's and what seems to be real big is painting one in blue or green and roughing it up a bit. Looks really cool. With either dark wood or maybe even black. Just a thought
I think it's a great idea! That stain is very 80s/90s and I personally can't stand it! My dining set is the same stuff!! I'm planning to paint also...well as soon as I decide on either black or white. Currently leaning towards white because I love the beach-y cottage-y sort of look, and I want to use drop cloth to reupholster the seats. I think your kitchen will look absolutely fabulous when you're done and finally match up to the rest of your house! You have great taste and it's super impressive to me how you've done it so smartly-saving money where it should be saved and spending where it makes sense to do so. You have been a huge inspiration to me! I've been trying to de-clutter and work with the stuff I already own to create a simple yet stylish home for my family as well.
Kristen,
With more than 20 years painting under my belt, I can offer one great tip for painting those cabinet doors that will make them look professional ... if you have a garage you can empty and wet down the floor ... spray the doors one at a time outside and quickly carry the door into the garage. Set each door on a can or something and let dry in the garage.
The wet garage floor pulls all of the dust out of the air that would normally fall on your wet painted doors.
Paint the back side first ... let dry ... then paint the front. A little extra leg work, but SO well worth the smooth, dust-free finish!
Have any painting questions, I can make your next painting project much easier and save you money as well.
Warmly,
Dave Drew
Love the painting tips!
Dave, please post any tips you can -- I'm about to do my entire kitchen, too! And since I have a garage, I'm going to try this! 😀 My thing is... the inside of my cabinets look horrible, too. And the undersides. But part of the underside is a rough edge and I'm not sure WHAT to do with that...
Please supply more details including images using my website contact link. I need to see what you mean and know what you want.
I have a bookcase that's the same colour - but it is plastic laminate so I'm stuck with it! I think it's a very common colour in mass-produced office furniture - I'm not a fan of it either.
I would paint my circa 1970s cabinets in a heartbeat if expense weren't an issue. The cabinet doors have a lot of grooves, so I think I would have to hire a professional to get the results I want. They are seriously sturdy real wood so I'd be foolish to replace them, but they are definitely dated. As it is, we are saving to build a house someday so I'll live with it until I can design my dream kitchen.
Have you checked into cabinet refacing? Most stores such as Lowes/Menards/Home Depot offer this. Basically it involves replacing your doors and either painting the cabinet box or covering it with an adhesive-backed covering.
Your finished cabinets look great. Have you ever refinished cabinets that are finished in formica? Mine look sort of like your before photos but of a yellowish-colored formica. I want to paint them but don't know if the paint will "stick" and not peel off.
Kristen,
Thank you for your simple step by step directions for painting furniture. I have a desk that was my Mom's that I inherited and a seperate chair that I really don't have a use for so I thought why not repaint the desk and chair to match. Not really sure how to go about it until I found your site and got your how to instructions and now am excited about starting the project.
Wish me luck!