Painting Kitchen Cabinets

I cannot believe I am finally typing this blog post out! I have been waiting to paint these bad boys since the day we bought our home and thanks to quarantine, I finally took on this HUGE project!

If I am being honest, I was very nervous to start this project. We have done quite a bit of work to this house since buying it almost three years ago, but nothing this big. Our kitchen is the heart of our home and I was pretty anxious about starting the cabinets and ruining them.

I did A LOT of research, I talked to a lot of people at Sherwin Williams, and picked my dad’s brain, who had just finished painting his kitchen cabinets. I knew that if I was going to do it, I needed to do it right and not take any shortcuts.

I decided on purchasing Sherwin Williams paint (for the first time) and I can now say I am obsessed. The quality is amazing and you truly get what you pay for. I will never paint with anything other than Sherwin Willams. I am a huge fan over here!

Before I get into the how, I want to show you the before.

Okay, lets get down to the nitty gritty of how I painted my kitchen cabinets.

Supplies

Sandpaper (120 grit)

Tack cloth

Sherwin William Pro Block Oil Based Primer

Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel Paint – Pure White

Purdy Nylox Mode Paint Brush

Purdy Jumbo Mini Roller Frame

Purdy Jumbo Ultra Finish Roller brush

Painters tape

Paint tray

Caulk

Mineral Spirits

• 

Step I

I started by taking a piece of tape and labeling the inside of each door/drawer and then taking another piece (with the same number) and labeling the inside of the cabinet. This is very important! I wanted to be sure that each door/cabinet made it’s way back to where it belonged after I was finished painting. I then took a ziplock bag and labeled it with the same number and stored any hardware that came from the door/drawer. This step made things WAY easier when it was time to put the kitchen back together.

Step II

Remove all the doors/drawers from the cabinets. I used a mixture of dawn dish soap and water to very quickly wipe off any dirt and grim.

Step III

Now we are getting into the fun part! Next, I took all the doors/drawers out to the garage and sanded them down with 120 grit sandpaper. I used actual sandpaper and not an electric sander. I was not trying to sand off the stain, I only wanted to remove the top coat and rough them up. I then went inside and did the same to the cabinets.

Step IV

After sanding it is VERY important to make sure all the sanding dust is off the door/drawers and cabinets. I used a blower to blow the majority off and then tack cloth to get the remaining.

Step V

Now it is time to tape off anywhere that needs it. I taped off the ceiling, courter round and any walls that my cabinets butted up against.

Step VI

After all the prep work is finished, it is time to prime. I used the brush to cut in and paint any small areas. Otherwise, I used a roller for the majority! I did two coats of primer on every door/drawer and cabinet. I allowed at least two hours in between each coat to dry.

Since the primer is oil-based, the clean up is a bit of a pain. I used mineral spirits to clean off my brush after each coat. Then, I followed that with a drop of dawn dish soap to really make sure it was clean. The brush was a bit expensive, so I wanted to make sure I took good care of it!

Step VII

After the primer had dried, I went right in with the paint. I again used a combination of brush and roller.

I did two coats of paint on all door/drawers and cabinets and allowed a minimum of four hours in-between each coat of paint.

VIII

After primer and before paint, I used caulk to give the cabinets a seamless finish.

IX

After the paint dries completely, I let it sit a full 24 hours, it was time to add the hardware and put the door/drawer back on the cabinets!

And voilà, you are done!

Helpful Tip

I decided to break my kitchen into four different sections, and do steps I – IX to each section. I liked the idea of working in sections so that my entire kitchen was not out of commission for an extended period of time. It helped so much and I am glad I decided to do this!

Overall Thoughts

Looking back I am so happy I decided to paint my cabinets. At times, I found myself losing interest, particularly during sanding and caulking, but in the end I could not be happier. It took me right at a month from start to finish. I worked the majority of the weekends and 3-4 nights a week.

Our kitchen is slowly, but surly, becoming just how we want it. Now that the cabinets are done, we really want to update the countertops and flooring. Hopefully we can make that happen in the next few months.

Update – We have new countertops!! We decided on a Quartz countertop in the color Crystal Diamond and we love them!

I was a little worried with them being so light and things staining, but we have had zero issues.

New wall color is Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams

Have any questions?! I would love to help if I can. Drop them below!

xoxo