Cory Cook
These little touches and decorative embellishments can help you create a spectacular looking kitchen for very little out of pocket costs. Some background: As many of you know, we chose to repaint our kitchen cabinets after our original paint job began to yellow and chip.
We plan on selling this home in a few years, so ripping and replacing the cabinets really made no sense for us.
Be sure to read my post about how to prep your cabinets — especially if you have a very visible, deep wood grain and want to achieve a smooth finish. I determined that I wanted my cabinets to look smooth after repainting them, so my prepping process helps you create the best possible surface for the paint to stick. Remember, kitchen cabinets are considered a “high use” area of your house (think grimy hands, spills, pots banging on the surface).
As you prep + prime your cabinets, you need to create some “tooth” on the surface (in other words, they need to be slightly roughed up). This was especially important on white cabinets since water based paint doesn’t yellow over time. I’ve read many articles about using latex or chalk paint, but the lazy side of me wanted to avoid using a top coat.
Luckily I was able to find a new paint that does NOT require a top coat so this was such a huge bonus and saved us a big step. I had to acclimate myself to my new sprayer so I practiced on my kitchen table before I tackled my cabinets with the Homeright Finish Max! And I’m a big believer in adding multiple, thin coats – this method offers the most durable finish possible.
Prior to painting, you may want to consider a few embellishments, like trim, to upgrade your cabinets. In order to improve the visual appeal of our kitchen (but still remain on a conservative budget), we had to get pretty creative to make our cabinets prettier (without ripping and replacing them). I was asked to test out DecoArt’s new line of Americana Satin Enamel Paints.
