DIY. Do It Yourself.
Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure, there will NOT be many DIY posts on this blog. Why, you might ask? Well, the simple answer is I usually prefer to NOT Do It Myself. I am a fairly busy stay-at-home/work-at-home mama to three active little guys, and quite frankly I usually feel that my time is better spent not diving head first into a lengthy project {that I may or may not do correctly anyway, ha}.
However, my kitchen cabinets were exempt from this thought process. As I'm sure most of you are well aware of ... cabinet replacement is EXPENSIVE. Like waaay out of the ballpark of what we wanted to spend. And cabinet painters really aren't that much better in terms of materials + time. So to get the most bang for our buck in whitening up our kitchen cabinets, we decided to paint them ourselves.
Yes, it can feel daunting. Yes, it takes a good amount of time. Yes, it's a bit of a strain on the 'ol back if done incorrectly {been there, and ouchie}. But having completed this feat twice in two different homes, I can say with absolute certainty that it is WORTH IT! I promise that if you want to take on a project like this, it's all about doing the research, knowing the best methods, and choosing your style. And since I've got a handy little how-to compressing both the research and methods for you today, all you need to do when you're finished reading is go choose that paint color! 🙂
For starters, my husband Richard and I tag-teamed this and felt that it really streamlined the process and made it quicker. We started on the 4th of July, and finished on the 8th {with the exception of the hardware that he installed on the 12th}.
He started by taking all of the doors off and drawers out, and sanding them down completely {with an electric sander ... highly recommend this for a much easier and quicker finish than hand sanding}, along with the cabinet shells left inside the house. I emptied the drawers, but to minimize taking items in and out of all of those cabinets, I simply covered the ones left on the shelves with a thin layer of plastic {from a large roll we had left over from when we painted the interior of our home} to make sure that they did not get sawdust on them.
After the sanding was complete, I wiped down all of the surfaces that were going to be painted. I applied a layer of primer, and allowed that to dry until the next day. I then applied two coats of paint over the next two days, as it needed 16 hours between coats to fully dry. After the final coat of paint was completely dry, Richard started putting the doors back on and the drawers back in. This was a bit more time consuming that one might imagine as there is a good amount of tweaking that needs to be done to the hinges to ensure that the doors align properly. We had a few prior engagements that prohibited us from putting the hardware on until later that week, so once that was added our cabinets were complete!
We did a good bit of research prior to painting the cabinets in our previous home, so we knew exactly what to do this time around. I will link all of the products we used {primer, paint, rollers, hardware} at the bottom of this article if you'd like to grab that information!
A few tips that I think will come in handy:
- Ensure that you are using the BEST primer, paint, and rollers that you can find. You are already saving a ton of money by doing this yourself, do not scrimp on these items or you might come to regret it later. High quality primer bonds well with the wood, and higher quality paint made for cabinets ensures that once the curing phase is over {about 60 days}, you will have a rock-solid paint job that doesn't need to be touched up with every little bump or scratch.
- Cut your rollers to fit your cabinets little nook and crannies. This one scared me a little, because I was afraid that the roller would shed and I would end up with fuzz in my paint! It didn't happen once, and I credit the good roller I chose plus trimming the edges where I cut them. I was able to roll all of the fronts, sides, and backs of each door and drawer {with the exception of using a paint brush to hit the corners; more on technique below} which gave it a very smooth and finished overall look. Brush strokes are something I avoided as much as possible, and they are only mildly noticeable on our trim at the top. One more coat of paint should erase them completely.
- Technique! This is by far where I saw the greatest improvement from my first attempt to my second. I was much more confident the second time around, and took my time to ensure each stroke was exactly as I wanted it. I worked in my garage after the boys were in bed, so light was not ideal, but I still managed to keep a concise finish with all of the doors and drawers. As far as actual technique, try and keep your brush strokes to a minimum by using a good quality brush to get paint in all of the corners, and then roll over the middle as far over towards the corners as possible. This might seem like a no-brainer, but the more surfaces you can roll, the more smooth your paint job will look. I started with the backs and sides of each door, and then when those were dry I flipped them all over and rolled all of the fronts. This allowed me to know that the final coats would be on the front side, so any little parts that might stick / need to be sanded down would be on the back of the doors.
- Do not RUSH. I wanted to get this done as soon as possible, since we were having guests over on Monday evening, but I ensured that I let the proper amount of time pass between primer and both coats of paint. This is important for the bonding process and allows your cabinets to be as strong as they can be one fully dried.
- Truly one of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is be kind to your body! I pushed myself a bit too hard one evening and felt my lower back pay for it dearly that night and into the next day. I didn't have a viable table-height work surface to paint on, so they were all laid out on cardboard on the ground and I bent over each one of them while painting. NOT A GOOD IDEA, trust me. The next night I used one of my kids chairs to sit on and gently lean forward in, and it made a world of difference.
Links to the products we used:
Benjamin Moore INSL-X STIX Waterborne Bonding Primer
Benjamin Moore Advance Waterborne Interior Alkyd Paint, Semi-Gloss {color: Chantilly Lace}
Euro Bar Cabinet Handles {in Brushed Nickel}
Designer Living Paige Chandelier
simplehuman Dual Compartment 58 Lt Step Trash Can {in Brushed Stainless Steel}
I've linked the Benjamin Moore products to online retailers, but if you're local to Southern Oregon, I highly recommend that you go down and see the amazing people at Drakes Paint on Highway 99. To my knowledge they are the only local retailers who carry this brand, and they were hands down the most helpful when I walked in there ready to paint my cabinets for the first time. The gentleman walked me through the primer and paint I'd be using, and explained the timing needed between coats and the curing process. I truly appreciated the time he took to personally ensure that I was comfortable with both the how-to's of my project and the materials I'd selected.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to message me! I'd be happy to help you get started with this, as I am so so happy that we DIY'd it!
We are onto the bathroom cabinets and lighting next week, which will bring our current list of move-in home projects to completion. I am thrilled that we are almost done, and our home is exactly what I'd envisioned in my mind. Seeing it all come together has been so incredible!
I'll follow up with a short post on the bathrooms and relink the products in the next couple of weeks {and add the vanity lighting fixtures, because they are so pretty as well!}, so be on the lookout for that while wishing me a bit more luck and a bunch more energy in the meantime! 😉
XO~ Heather
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