Painting Kitchen Cabinets

If you need a change, but you can't figure out what it should be, painting your kitchen cabinets can bring about a great change and give your kitchen a facelift without breaking the bank. Follow this guide to find out how to do it, and do it right, the first time.

What You Need
First, you should make sure you have everything you need for the project before beginning. You'll need a sander, electric or not, primer and paint. You'll need an area, inside or outside, where you can do some painting and leave cabinets to dry. Also, make sure you've got a dropcloth, some sawhorses and paintbrushes. A small paint roller is also recommended. Foam rollers give the smoothest finish. A toolbox with standard screwdrivers will also be helpful.
Depending on how much money you want to spend, new drawer pulls and fixtures can add a "renovated kitchen" feel.

Color Scheme Ideas
Think long and hard about the color you'll want to pick for your kitchen cabinets. You'll have to live with them for awhile, and you see kitchen cabinets every day. Give thought to issues like how large your kitchen is, how tall the ceilings are and what color your appliances are. For small kitchen spaces, you'll want to pick light colors to give the illusion of openness. Same goes for low ceilings. If you've got a palatial kitchen you'd like to make feel more intimate, a bolder color could be just the ticket.

Most newer appliances are either white or stainless steel, and those work alongside almost any color, but be sure to hold up a paint sample to the appliance to make sure the combination doesn't clash.

Neutral colors like light yellows, blues and greens work well in kitchens. White is a good option, too, but will show stains over the years. In the end, the choice is yours but make sure you're considering the whole picture in your kitchen and your home and not just picking a color that looks fun.

The Elbow Grease
Now's when the work comes in, but don't worry - it'll all be worth it in the end. First, you'll need to remove the cabinet doors from their hinges. Think about the timing here and make sure you're not planning a dinner party later in the week or having relatives in town because the contents of your cupboards will be exposed for all to see for a week or more, potentially. You may also find yourself eating take-out for a couple of days, so just be prepared.

You'll want to drape your countertops and floors with dropcloths, to protect them from drips of paint, and then start sanding the cabinet bases. Don't sand too long, but make sure you do it consistently on all the previously painted portions so that there's some texture to them.

Next comes the doors. You'll want to remove the fixtures (handles, knobs etc.) and follow the same sanding process.

Now it's on to priming. You'll want to paint on a thin layer of primer. This will mask any stains and previous paint jobs, plus give you a smooth surface for your new paint. Paint it on with a brush and allow plenty of time to dry.

The paint should be applied to the doors and frames with a foam roller. A smaller roller will probably be better because of the size of cabinets. For your paint, you may want up to two gallons of satin finish interior paint. How much you need depends on how many cabinet doors there are and how big your kitchen is.

After completing two coats of your new paint, hold one door up under the kitchen lights and under natural light to make sure you're happy with the finish and the color. After they're completely dry, you're ready to install your new hardware. They are usually easy to install with a simple screwdriver. Then you can re-install the doors on their hinges.

Voila! You're done and your newly painted cabinets will give your kitchen a totally renovated feeling.