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 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

Phew, I did it again.  And much sooner than I was hoping to. I painted another kitchen. There is something about white kitchen cabinets that are just so classy and clean (and bright).  I don’t really love painting them, but I do love the difference some white paint will make! 

I get asked all the time if I paint kitchens for people, and the answer is NO, I find it to be quite a chore to be honest.  But it makes a HUGE difference, and that makes it worth it!!  In fact, I’d say if you want to instantly change the look of your house, paint your kitchen cabinets!!  

Here’s the before (#reallifehere).  Sorry, I didn’t clean before snapping these photos.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

This kitchen was in a word, BROWN (and ugly).

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

I hurried up to get this project done while the weather here was still decent enough to work outside (more on that in a minute).  From start to finish, it was a 3 day process.

This post contains affiliate links to help you find the products I mention.  If you use one of the links I make a small commission, but it doesn’t cost you a penny.  Proceeds go to support more fun blog posts 😉

First things first, a friend and I removed all the old hardware and cleaned the cabinets with Krud Kutter.  I just sprayed it on and wiped it off with paper towels.  Then we removed all the doors and got them out of the way.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

For the primer I used Zinnzer BIN primer.  It’s a shellac based primer.  The reason I chose this one was because it’s the best way to prevent bleed-through.  These were oak cabinets that had never been painted before, so I wanted to give them a good starting point with this primer and I didn’t want to risk them turning yellow over time.  If you are hoping to get a truly white kitchen, you really need to use a good primer! 

I used two coats of primer.  On the bases, I used a combo of a brush and a roller.  The primer dries SO QUICK, so work quickly, avoiding drips. 

Note, you will be throwing away whichever brush you use, so don’t use anything too fancy!

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

Once the primer was dry, I applied Behr Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel in Glacial Mist.  I applied that the same way with a combo of a brush and a roller.  I did go over the roller marks with my brush to smooth it out a bit. I used a Purdy XL Cub which does a great job at helping to give a smooth finish.  

While the primer is QUICK to dry, the paint dries SLOWLY.  This long “open time” as we call it means it levels really nicely without showing brush strokes!!  But, watch out for little fingers, and puppy tails (I speak from experience).  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

The next day I set up this spray shelter in the driveway and got to work spraying the doors. I used my HomeRight sprayer, which I love, but it’s not such a great idea to put shellac through it – it made a mess (#liveandlearn)!! So if I were to do this again, I’d just use a roller and brush for the primer, then a sprayer for the coat of paint.  

Spraying is much faster, but does leave a bit of a mess to clean up.  

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover  https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

Once the primer coat was dry, I moved to a heated room where I painted them with a brush and a roller. In a few hours they were ready to hang back up! My white kitchen cabinets are almost done! 

I chose brushed nickel hardware in this kitchen, and bought new hinges to match. Hardware is like the jewelry of an outfit, so it just makes it all come to life!! 

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover  https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover  kitchen+cabinet+hardware

Here’s the link for these pretty pulls… aren’t they lovely?!? I love the classic satin nickel against the white cabinets.  It’s so clean and bright. 

 https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/kitchencabinetmakeover

That’s it, no sanding, just priming and painting!!  And it already looks like a whole new kitchen don’t you think??  I have a few more projects to do in here, including painting the walls.  We are making progress on making this house feel like a home!!

If you’ve been wanting to paint your cabinets, I’d say DO IT!!  This was the best result in kitchen cabinet painting so far, it gave the smoothest finish for the least amount of work.  You can see another kitchen makeover here. 

UPDATE: Want to see how the cabinets are holding up?  I did a review post here! 

Until next time, happy painting!

Jenni