Painting Kitchen Cabinets

KatAych
by KatAych
Kitchen needs updating? Wondering if you can safely paint over your kitchen cabinets? The answer is YES, YOU CAN!!! :-)
Here's the BEFORE...our cabinets either needed to be refinished or painted. You can see how the fronts of the drawers and cabinets had faded over the decades. And those dated handles - ugh! I actually struggled for a bit with painting our cabinets because they are real, solid wood...it felt like such a crime to paint them, but I really wanted to go light and paint them white.
So I used Nuvo cabinet paint in Coconut Espresso, which is basically white. After some minor cleaning prep, the cabinets just soaked up the first couple coats. This stuff is great - because it's MADE to cover cabinets, the brush strokes go away by the time the paint dries, it doesn't chip like regular paint, and it's easy to keep clean.
Here's a shot that shows the new hardware we chose - same finish, an oil-rubbed bronze - but a simpler, cleaner style. (We also painted over the green Formica countertops - I've got another article on how we did that so check it out if you're interested!)
Frequently asked questions
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3 of 10 questions
  • Brenda Hendrick Brenda Hendrick on Aug 15, 2017

    i have kitchen cupboards that aren't real wood dk colored imitation a manufactured home, can I paint over this material ??

  • Bee10285905 Bee10285905 on Aug 20, 2017

    I love the new look. Could you list all the supplies you used? I couldn't find a link to the counter top redo. Could you post it please.

  • Patricia Amos Denney Patricia Amos Denney on Oct 24, 2017

    If you do not remove the doors, how do you keep paint off of the hinges? Mine are on the outside of the doors.

Comments
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  • thanks for your idea I love the idea of the shelfs.

    • KatAych KatAych on Jul 31, 2017
      You'll find something that works for you -- check Pinterest for inspiration!
  • Ben Torres Ben Torres on Aug 10, 2017

    Our cabinet is from CRAFTMAID and they are thermal covered...what is the best way to paint them. They came white and after a decade they seem to have turned off-white.

    • KatAych KatAych on Aug 10, 2017
      I'd suggest using a really good primer first, to ensure that the paint sticks. You might need a specialty one for thermal covered cabinets, not sure.
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