Anyone paint their kitchen cabinets??

[KarenB]

You may tell by my recent threads that DH and I are thinking about "sprucing" up our kitchen this spring. We have been looking for info about Armstrong's Swiftlock flooring, and also about painting our kitchen cabinets.

For the cabinets, I know they will have to be sanded, but can we use regular kitchen wall paint or is there a specail paint to use? I would love to have a "distressed" look in a creamy color to brighten up our kitchen. Our counter tops are dark green and appliances in almond which has to stay........anything else can be changed.

Thanks for any info....
Karen

 

[Kallison]

Hi Karen, When we redid our kitchen we saved the old cabinets and repainted them for our mud room. DH sanded them and left the outside natural color with a coat of something? He then painted the doors a matching darker color then the walls. He just used regular paint, but sanded the doors very well. It was a high gloss paint, so we could wipe off the kid dirt. Your decorating ideas sound pretty, if I get more info from DH I'll let you know, but he thinks my internet friends are weird so we don't discuss it too much -lol!!

 

[BWVDenise]

We painted ours last year and did NOT sand them. We used this primer from home depot (I'll have to see if I can find the name of it for you) and then painted with an oil based paint (the guy at the paint store recommended that). They turned out nice enough to hold us over for a few more years. The only thing I wish I had done differently was I should have done a texture over the paint or something like that. But the kitchen is SO much brighter now!
Good luck!

 

[d.kurz]

Originally posted by Kallison
Your decorating ideas sound pretty, if I get more info from DH I'll let you know, but he thinks my internet friends are weird so we don't discuss it too much -lol!!

I think what your DH AND mine finds "weird" is that you actually converse with , and take the advice of, those internet people!!

"And WHERE did you hear that.....OOOHHHH The INTERNET!!"

 

[ByTheSea]

We are planning to re-vamp the Kitchen in a few months (after the living room/dining room)

I am considering doing a white wash pickling stain (I have a brochure I picked up from minwax, you might look at www.minwax.com) if not, then we will probably paint. The cabinets are in good shape, just stained a very dark antique cherry and I want to lighten up that room quite a bit.

Good luck

there are a lot of good home improvement websites

www.diynet.com is one we check often.

 

[Pam]

*lol* - Mine answer is always, "My friends from the DIS."

I watch Trading Spaces a lot and would love to paint the cabinets - theirs always turn out so nice - especially the French Country one a couple of weeks ago!

 

[WillyJ]

Hey Karen!!

I've painted many sets of kitchen cabinets, and I can tell you a few basic things. .


While like Denise did, you might be able to get away with not doing it, more often then not it's probably better to go ahead and sand them. Although you don't need to strip them all the way down to raw wood, the more of the finish you can knock if the better chance you have of the paint sticking and holding up. .


After you sand them, wipe them down with a "Deglosser" (you can by a pint of it for a couple bucks at any paint store. . .) and then put a coat of oil base primer on them, and use wood putty to fill any nail holes or rough spots

Let the primer dry overnight, then give them a another light sanding . . . then put a couple coats of the finish color you want in an oil-based semi-gloss or gloss material.

It's kind of a long process and a pain, but it definitely can brighten up a kitchen!!

Good luck with it Karen, and feel free to PM me if you run into anything you need adive with. .

 

[KarenB]

Thanks all for the info! Too bad I don't have the materials to get it started now, since we will most likely be snowed in. Guess I'll have to check out the recommended websites instead.

We plan on doing this in the spring...maybe I'll get brave and post a before and after photo!!!

Willy..yup..I think we will have to do some sanding. These cabinets are in good shape, but blah and have a solid thick coat of wax and dirt ground into them from over the years. They are the originals from the 60's and need a change.

Karen

 

[Luv2Roam]

Agree with WillyJ -- We painted our kitchen cabinets in our first home and did the same.
That being said -- I have had painted cabinets and natural (regular? ) wood cabinets.
Painted cabinets show dirt, grime and smudges like crazy, from my experience. Seems like I was non-stop scrubbing, cleaning and wiping those. And it's only DH and I. Hate to think if the had kids thrown in the mix too.
Same with base boards (trim/molding).
I could never tell if dirt just stuck to them more, or if all my cabinets are always that dirty now and just don't know it!
Plus be prepared for lots of paint touch-ups.
I agree though on Trading Spaces. They always looks so nice when they are done.