New life for old cabinets

When we purchased our new house, we knew the kitchen would need work! We discussed all the options: complete remodel, resurface the cabinets or just paint them. The cabinets looked like they were custom built and were in excellent shape. A call to a Home Depot Refinishing contractor about painting resulted in an extraordinary quote….seemed like they were not interested in the job and gave an outrageous price to deter us! (This happened once with a painter too).

After hours of internet searching, we decided to go with painting the cabinets ourselves. There was so much information about prepping the cabinets that I was very nervous. There seemed to be an overwhelming amount of recommendations for Benjamin Moore Paint. A very helpful employee at a store explained our options and wrote down the paint types he suggested. Of course, when we finally decided to begin painting I had misplaced the information. When we were ready to buy, we were at a different location and went with their suggestion. I was still nervous because everything we read online made the process seem very complicated to make the cabinets look professional.

Preparing the Upper Cabinets

We removed the doors and stored them in the basement. I numbered and labeled all the cabinet doors with tape and then we used a wood stamper to make a more permanent mark. We also had to remove all the hardware and store that too.

The interior of the cabinets were not that bad and did not need as much prepping as we anticipated

The Primer

First, we bought primer: Stix® Waterborne Bonding Primer

This was recommended by everyone we talked to and the hubby agreed this was a great product and said it had really nice coverage. On some of the shelves, there were dark stains and it took a few extra coats, but covered nicely!

A few good coats of primer and we were all set. With good primer, painting kitchen cabinets is really not that difficult. Good prepping is the key.

The Paint

For the actual paint, we used Benjamin Moore Advanced.

When I first saw the color we had chosen, I was having second thoughts. I loved it….but was it too much? Of course the hubby loved it too and did not think it was too much. (he is also the one who painted our bedroom the equivalent of sweet pea green). Also, I have to say making the cabinets smooth was nowhere near as hard as some internet videos made it seem. I think we were lucky because the majority of cabinets were very clean and not greasy. The hubby also wants you to know “he was a bodyman for 7 years….” (This man can fit that into any conversation on any subject)

Benjamin Moore – Mermaid’s Tale

Painting Kitchen Cabinets with patience

By mid January, the upper cabinets were done and we ordered appliances. As it often happens, the hubby started a new job with crazy hours and the painting project was put on hold. I didn’t mind because the cabinets were beautiful and functional! Plus I was distracted by Spring, chickens and gardening.