Kitchen Cabinet & Furniture Makeovers

We spend a lot of time in our kitchens. If your cabinets are getting tired and you want a new look, why not consider painting them? Paint is an inexpensive way to really update the look of your kitchen, and it’s easier than you might think!

The key to success is in the preparation. Kitchens are greasy. It doesn’t matter how often you clean your kitchen (no judgement here!). Your first step will be washing the cupboards with a degreaser. We sell one ready to go in a spray bottle. When you spray the surface it turns the grease into a soapy film which you scrub and rinse off. It’s like magic! And it works great at cleaning your stove top and barbeque…

The next step is to scuff sand the cabinets. It really isn’t necessary to use an electric sander. A sanding block or sanding sponge will be sufficient. This step just roughs the surface up enough that it gives the paint a little extra to adhere to. Just pretend you are washing the cabinets but with a sanding block in your hand!

If your cupboards were very shiny originally, you may need to use a primer coat before your cabinet paint. We have a great bonding primer called Stix which is available in both quart and gallon sizes. It cleans up with water and dries quickly.

In most cases, you can skip the priming step when using Advance, our furniture and cabinet paint from Benjamin Moore. Advance is a waterborne alkyd (an oil based paint which has been modified to clean up with water). It replaces the former melamine paints that we used to use for this purpose. As an alkyd, it does have a slower dry and recoat time (16 hours) but this allows for it to level into a beautiful smooth finish when applied with a flocked foam roller.

The Advance is available in gallons or quarts in three finishes; matte, pearl and semi-gloss. The matte is a nice choice for decorative pieces such as shelves. The pearl is the most popular choice for kitchen cabinets and other furniture pieces, though some prefer the shinier lustre of the semi-gloss.

We have all of the things you need to update your kitchen and it will cost about $200 for everything you need!

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