How we painted our kitchen cabinets – An inexpensive change that makes a huge difference
When all was said and done, we ended up buying an older home built in the 20’s right near our cute little downtown.
We love being near downtown and that the house has a lot of character, but there is a TON of work to be done. Tons of wallpaper to peel, lots of dark (not the pretty kind) wood, brown paneling and avocado green walls.
One of the very first things we did after moving in, was paint the kitchen cabinets. I was 8 months pregnant and knew that I had to get it done before baby if it was ever going to get done, lol! I love a clean, white kitchen. I knew we wouldn’t have the budget to knock down walls or install a fancy gourmet kitchen. I also knew that painting the cabinets would make a world of difference to our modest little kitchen.
Prior to getting started, we did a lot of research. I think all of the blog posts and pins out there about painting cabinets are so intimidating! Yes, you want to do a good job. Yes, you want the paint to hold up and last, but painting cabinets does not need to be scary! We did it very quickly and inexpensively and are happy with the results two years later!
Here are a few before pics of the kitchen when we purchased the house. We loved that window and could see potential there, but the dark wood and green walls made the room feel very dark even with the big window.
First things first.
Get rid of that outdated, avocado green! Because the window would let in so much light, I thought going for a darker shade of grey to allow for some contrast between the cabinets and walls would look great. We chose Sherwin Williams Ovation Egshell in Peppercorn.
I forgot to mention that we did update a few of the appliances right when we moved in. This house has the tiniest oven and we debated taking it out, but so far it hasn’t been a problem at all! Granted, I’ve never had to cook a Thanksgiving turkey in there or anything. 😁 We also had to settle for a pretty tiny, standard fridge because it was the only one that would fit through the door into the kitchen!
Now on to the cabinets.
We removed all of the drawers, pulls and cabinet doors and gave them a good sanding with a sanding block. We didn’t go too crazy. Just enough to scuff them up a bit. We were also sure to thoroughly wipe everything down. I know some people use a special cleaner for this…but that just takes too much time, lol! We just used a vinegar, essential oil, and water mixture that I use every day.
Sherwin Williams paint has never disappointed us! The majority of paint for this house was purchased there. On our cabinets we used Sherwin Williams ProClassic Semi-gloss in Pearly White. After sanding we brushed on a coat of primer, then got started with our first coat of paint.
Because our cabinets have some detail, we used a brush to paint all of that and then went over the smooth parts with a roller. It took about three coats to get the coverage we wanted.
I’m sure the experts, and some of you, might think we did it all wrong, lol. I’ve heard the best bet for painting cabinets is to use a sprayer. For our home, we’re pretty satisfied with how the cabinets turned out and how they’re holding up two years later!
Take a look.
I just love the results! A little bit of paint sure goes a long way! For this family on an extremely tight budget, we were able to give our kitchen a major refresh without spending a whole lot!
One of these days I’ll get my husband to knock out the wall to open up the kitchen to the dining room and update that flooring…but for now, we’re happy. 🙂
