Ok, so we completed the door-painting process a few days ago (picture us doing the droopiest super-tired happy dance that you’ve ever seen) and we’re now into the “waiting game” portion of the cabinet painting process. But we couldn’t wait to share all the photos of everything both during the painting-process and now that they’re all glossy and finished, so here ya go:
We used Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint in Cloud Cover in a satin finish (it’s a soft tonal taupey-gray color, so it’s not quite as bright as our glacier white counters for a subtle layered look). Benjamin Moore Advance paint (in the satin finish) actually came recommended by a few pro cabinet painters that we know. We used it on our office cabinets a few months back (which still look mint after Clara has beat on them relentlessly with wooden toys) so it’s safe to say that we’ve been extremely happy with it. The fact that it’s low-VOC, self-leveling, and amazingly durable is pretty much the cabinet paint trifecta.
Just like we did for the office cabinets, we applied it with a high quality 2″ angled brush to get into all the cracks and a small foam roller to smooth everything out and ensure that we were applying super thin and even coats. As for applying any sealer or topcoat, the general pro recommendation for cabinet painting is to use high quality stain blocking primer and 2-3 thin and even coats of super high quality paint with ample drying time between coats (Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint is meant for cabinets without any top coat, since sealers can drip, yellow, and even cause things to stick/crack since they thicken the application). We’ll be back with a video on Wednesday to share more actual application details/tips along with the big full monty reveal (we thought it would be helpful to share one exhaustive how-to-paint-cabinets-post with a detailed tutorial, application video, and the after pics all in one spot).
Using high quality primer and good self-leveling paint helps hide a lot although it doesn’t guarantee 100% invisible grain (we don’t see any evidence of grain on the oak cabinets in the office but do see a hint of it on the kitchen cabinets, so it probably just depends how much grain your cabinets have to begin with). We don’t mind painted wood that looks like painted wood though, so a little grain is ok with us, as long as the paint is nice and even and glossy.
For those wondering how those few retrofitted doors that we whipped up are doing with primer and paint (more on that process here), some of them are completely seamless (the two corner cabinet doors might even stump a detective) while a few others are a tad less than perfect. By this I mean if you look at them from an inch away for five minutes (bobbing your head back and forth to catch the light bouncing off of them) two out of ten people might notice a tiny seam. See the über light horizontal seam on the door with the arrow in this pic below?
Yeah, me either. Haha. It’s nearly invisible and impossible to photograph. But once we hang them all we’ll take some close up pics for ya. Even in person it’s so subtle that we can’t decide if it’s worth doing anything about (thankfully at least two of the five doors are seamless, so we’re leaving those for sure). We’ll keep you posted if we decide to sand the other three one more time and use some sort of buildable primer and a few more coats of paint to hopefully make them as perfect as the two corner cabinet ones).
We’re psyched to have two perfect ones among the group because it gives us faith that if we want to be super type-A about things, we can probably get all of them to look that good with a little more work (if none of them worked out we’d bag it and go with Plan B). All in all I’d say we’re really happy about being able to work with our existing cabinets to save some major loot (thereby making other upgrades like new appliances, cork floors, new counters, new backsplash tile, and a big opening into the dining room possible).
So for $40 in paint (ya know we used a $10 off coupon, haha) and $22 in primer, we’re beyond overjoyed at the new layout and the lighter look! Painting cabinets is right up there with painting wood paneling or dark brick – we think it’s one of the biggest bangs for your buck. It’s amazing what 60 bucks can get ya. Well, 60 bucks and a week of puttying, sanding, deglossing, priming, painting, and waiting not-so-patiently to put everything back together.
Oh and we primed and painted the outside of the frames and the front and back of the doors while leaving the inside of the cabinets oak. This way we can toss things in there and pull them out without worrying about scratching or peeling paint. We also like the two-toned effect of clean paint with wood interiors (we did that in our old kitchen and in our office built-in cabinets and really love the surprise of natural wood when you open the door).
Of course the room’s still pretty white-washed since the rich cork floors aren’t in yet, but we’ll get there eventually. And now for a bunch more random doorless pics. This is fun because you can spy on all of our kitchen items like my pretty blue cassarole dish:
This shot makes me long for our backsplash tile to go up (after we hang our cabinet doors and add hardware it’s next on the agenda!).
Yes, our tree is still up. I always hate taking down my glowy happy friend.
It’s so light and airy in here now… except for that terrible bisque dishwasher. Egads. Can’t wait to install the new one (after we lay the new flooring so it can run under it).
These two views (the one above and below) are a lesser seen angle (taken from the office doorway). I still do that “ahh!” thing when I walk in that way because I keep picturing the dark old kitchen that used to be there.
You know, the one that looked like this (although John didn’t always stand on the counter like that).
I like it a lot better now.
And once we add the 12″ deep floating shelves and a range hood over the stove, things like the sink window will look a lot more balanced (there will be 14″ of space on either side of it):
We’ll be back with an entire cabinet-painting tutorial complete with a detailed video and lots after photos on Wednesday when things are finally cured enough to hang the doors and add hardware. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, even typing that is more thrilling than I should admit. I’m off to watch paint dry. Literally. Ok, and write more book stuff. There’s nothing like an entire-manuscript deadline of the 4th to get the year off to a ca-razy start! But just like fiiiinally finishing our painted cabinets, handing in our huge 260+ page beast of a book should feel pretty darn good! Then we just have to shoot 100 secret photos/projects in our house over the next two months. Ah chaos, come on in and get comfortable. I hope you don’t mind an in-progress kitchen…
Psst- In case you were off caroling and cavorting, here’s a roundup of all the posts that you may have missed over the “holiday break”:
- Our ribbon-rific holiday card (here)
- A whole lotta cabinet puttying and sanding (here)
- Making some 2012 resolutions (here)
- Priming our pants off (here)
- A superlative-riddled December recap (here)
Glad to have ya back!
rohitha says
hi Sherry,
My kitchen cabinets are in dire need of a makeover.They are made of plywood and are the same color as your cabinets(before)the glossy yellowish wood color showing the wood grain and I’ve always wanted to resurface them.But after seeing what you have done with your kitchen cabinets,I want to go in the same direction i.e painting them white which is less expensive then actaully getting them resurfaced.I have 10 cabinets(doors) +2 drawers to work with.I have to tackle the project myself and I have a day job and a 18m old.I was thinking I will breakdown the whole project into two phases spanning two weekends one for the lower cabinetry and one for the upper cabinetry.Do you think it would work out fine or is it a good idea to finish all the cabinetry at once?Any suggestions/precautions that need attention?It will help me immensely to take up this project that has been long overdue.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah that should totally work! Just break everything down into manageable chunks! We did all of our cabinets over nights and weekend naps, so it was just little chunks of 2-3 hours at a time. We actually have a timeline in the reveal post (the one after this one called “how to paint your cabinets”) if that helps. Just go slow and steady. Good luck!
xo,
s
Kathryn Griffin says
I painted our builder’s grade oak cabinets white last year and have not regretted it. Pain in the rear job, but best wow factor from a project. Love it. Here’s a link to the kitchen makeover post if you want to take a look. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/07/kitchen-cabinet-transformation.html
Hope you’re having a grand evening. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- so pretty!
xo,
s
Sherry Williams says
Hey…I just tried using a foam roller on a vanity that I’m redoing and when it dried it left little “bubble” marks on the surface. What kind of roller did you use?
Thanks…your cabinets look absolutely GREAT!
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t have the brand name handy, but it’s just the generic ones you can get at Home Depot or Lowe’s. I think sometimes the bubbling is actually more a result of the paint than the roller. For instance, we found with the Benjamin Moore Advance we used on the cabinets that there might be a bit of bubbling initially but the paint kind of leveled itself out a moment or two later. Hope that helps!
-John
Mikayla says
Hi guys- have a question for you about your paint. I tried to look through all the comments to see if anyone else asked but couldn’t find anything (cause I know how many questions you have to answer).
I spoke to BM about the Advance paint as I am about to start painting our cabinets. The person there told me that the paint could yellow over time b/c it is an alkyd emulsion. Did you hear about this at all?
YoungHouseLove says
We talked to two cabinet pros who have been using it (in white) for years and haven’t had that issue- we also used it to paint our desk cabinets 6 months ago and no yellowing! Yay.
xo,
s
Steph says
Hi, I stumbled upon your site and love the kitchen transformation! I’m in the beginning stages of research for painting my builder’s grade cabinets–so thank you for the tutorials and detailed information! What I’m really curious about is the cork flooring. I love it! Where did you get it and what is its name (if you don’t mind me asking/still recall)?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s from Lumber Liquidators from a line called Lisbon Cork (it’s the Porto color).
xo,
s
Susan Lange says
Getting ready to paint my kitchen cabinets. Are you still happy with the Advance paint?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, love it. Still looking great!
xo,
s
Crystal says
Just wondering how the paint on the cabinets is holding up. I desperately want to paint my oak cabinets and have even bought the paint. I got SW pro enameld alkd water based but now that I bought it I’m reading you should use oil based paint. Please help! Even a quick response like they are holding up great or they have chipped/peeled in a couple places would be GREAT! Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
Still mint! Don’t want to jinx ourselves but we have been so happy with it!
xo,
s
Kate says
What is the recommended cure time between coats of paint? Do you have to wait 24 hours, or can you start on a second coat sooner?
YoungHouseLove says
It depends what products you use, so just read the can and it’ll say how long to let it cure.
xo
s
Amanda says
Hi! So I’m going to be painting our cabinets soon and am finding your tutorials very helpful! This might be a silly question: but did you guys end up painting the inside of your cabinets too?
YoungHouseLove says
We didn’t because we actually had wood interiors in our new cabinets in our first house, so we just taped them off so it would be a clean line and just did the door fronts and backs along with the drawer fronts and backs and the frames. Here’s a post with a lot more info (and some pics of the insides being wood while the paint goes on/dries, etc. Good luck Amanda!
xo
s
Tiffany says
Did you guys pull out the stove and paint the sides of those cabinets as well or just leave them unpainted?
YoungHouseLove says
We left them unpaired I think (since you couldn’t see them).
xo
s
Ashley says
Hi! I love your blog… You have been such an inspiration as we spruce up our new home. We are painting our trim white and I was wondering how the advance paint has held up for you. Have you noticed any yellowing? Would love to hear how it’s doing after 2 years! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
So far it has been awesome! We have used it on cabinetry and furniture and it hasn’t appeared to yellow at all, even after a year or two.
xo
s
Lyn says
Sorry if this was already asked….how much paint did you need for the whole kitchen? I’m inspired to paint my ugly oak cabs now! Thanks for a reply.
YoungHouseLove says
Less than a gallon!
xo
s