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Jan 07, 2024

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An easy-to-follow guide to repainting your kitchen units

Painting your kitchen cabinets might strike you as a mammoth DIY project, but it is in fact relatively simple. If you are happy with the look and layout of your kitchen, and your cabinets are still robust, then refreshing the stain or colour can provide impact without the need for costly renovations.

The change needn't be dramatic – you can simply lighten your wood stain by a few shades, or turn a medium wood into something deeper and warmer. Alternatively, it's not difficult to introduce totally new colour scheme. We recently reported on the most popular kitchen colours forecast for 2023, and amongst them is blush pink and sage green.

Here, Michael Rolland, DIY expert and MD of The Paint Shed shares four simple steps to painting your kitchen cabinets.

What you'll need to paint your kitchen cabinets:

Remember that your kitchen cupboards will need to be wiped down regularly, and so a paint with a semi-gloss finish is recommended. Using high-gloss paint will highlight every single brush stroke or roll mark – so unless you’re a particularly gifted painter then semi-gloss is preferable. The Modern Eggshell collection from Farrow and Ball is a great choice. For those who are tied to matt finishes in the home – and they certainly lend themselves to a country kitchen – try the Country Living Matt Emulsion at Homebase.

Preparation is always the biggest part of any painting project. Clean out your kitchen cabinets and tape plastic sheeting to worktops and floors to help protect finishes and avoid paint spills. Clean your kitchen cabinets using a degreasing agent like Trisodium phosphate (TSP) to remove any grease from the cabinet surfaces. Pay particular attention to areas around the handles and underneath the cabinets doors – this will ensure that the paint adheres to the surface properly.

Give the cabinets a light sand with 220 or 400 grit sandpaper, depending on the finish – cabinets with an open grain like oak require a heavier grit sandpaper.

After sanding, remove the cupboard doors, lay them flat and brush on a primer coat such as Farrow & Ball Interior Wood Primer & Undercoat. When they are dry, flip the cupboards over to prime the other side. Once the primer is completely dry, give the cupboards a light sanding to smooth out brush strokes.

For a really smooth finish repeat the process and use a finer sandpaper the second time. Then vacuum and wipe your cabinets with a tack cloth to clean away any debris.

Use a good-quality brush or smooth roller to apply your paint to the cupboards. Apply a thin coat and let your kitchen cabinets dry flat to avoid drip marks. Once dry to the touch, turn them over and paint the other side. Wait a few hours before applying a second coat.

Applying the paint in several thin coats is better than just two thick ones – not only will this give an even finish, but it also makes the paint more hard wearing.

Make sure your cabinet doors are completely dry before refitting to ensure any dust won't stick to the surface.

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