Savvy homeowners are wise to consider kitchen remodeling categories where they can save a little here, to spend more over there. If you love your kitchen layout, cabinet boxes are in good shape and all you want is a little cabinet paint or refinishing touch-up - you may decide to avoid hiring a team of pros to perform cabinet refacing for you and get excited about all the money you can "save" with a DIY cabinet painting project.
However, before you get too excited, carefully weigh the pros and cons of such an endeavor.
What are the risks & benefits of painting kitchen
cabinets?
Cabinets typically comprise the most visual square-footage in the kitchen, so the last thing you want is an unprofessional paint job that - at best, doesn't look good and - at worst, causes you to forgo all the time and energy you just spent to have them professionally repainted or refaced anyway.
Really take the time to weigh the pros and cons before diving into a DIY paint job and - truly - if you're a stickler for details and/or you don't have a tremendous amount of time and patience - you're not a candidate for this project!
Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages you can expect from painting your kitchen cabinets on your own and see if it’s worth it:
Pros of DIY Kitchen Cabinet Painting
The biggest advantages are:
Pros of DIY Kitchen Cabinet Painting
The biggest advantages are:
You save a ton of money
The costs go way down when you paint your own cabinets because guess where the bulk of the money goes when you get them painted professionally? That's right—labor charges!
It's incredibly time consuming to repaint kitchen cabinets because of the removal/replacement of the cabinet doors, drawers and hardware, taping, hinge removal, etc. etc. So while those cans of paint only cost professional painters double- or triple-digits, labor costs will typically add up to quadruple-digits.
You can update something else
Of course, if you save money by repainting cabinets, you get to spend more money elsewhere thanks to your well-thought-out kitchen remodeling budget - and that's always a plus.
Bonus Tip: Is budget an issue for you? Read, Kitchen Design on a Budget: Take the Phased Approach. Useful and informative articles about the kitchen remodeling process can sometimes really help you make the right decision.
It's a quick fix with big impact
As mentioned above, the simple act of repainting cabinets gives your kitchen a major visual boost instantly.
Cons of DIY Kitchen Cabinet Painting
Some of the downsides include:
Not all cabinets can be repainted
Before you even think about repainting your own cabinets, make sure they can be repainted in the first-place.
If cabinet/doors are at all warped, chipped or damaged - a fresh coat of paint will look better but flaws may become even more evident. Also, rustic and contemporary kitchen solutions for cabinets with dramatic grain patterns can be impossible to paint if you want to hide grain detail completely.
It's time and energy consuming
It takes a long time to paint kitchen cabinets in a way that looks professional, streak-free and solid. You must remove everything, label everything, sand everything, prime everything, tape everything, paint everything, allow it all to dry completely, paint everything more - and then you reverse the process to put it all back again.
Are you truly committed to that? It's worth pondering before leaping.
You need a spray gun
Unless you like the look of brush strokes (and inevitably stuck-on brush hairs), you'll need a spray gun - which is what the pros use. Unfortunately, it requires some know-how and finesse to achieve a lasting, professional, and distressed cabinet look.
It's going to chip, crack & scuff
The reality is that no matter how careful you are (here are some useful DIY Cabinet Paint Instructions), DIY cabinet paint is never as durable as its professional counterpart. Your newly-painted cabinet doors will chip, crack and scuff again faster than they would have otherwise.
Have you considered looking for cabinet refacing
pros near you?
Actual Kitchen Refaced by Kitchen Magic
Did you know you can reface cabinetry for half the cost of replacing it? Refacing may cost more than DIY repainting, but it's only half the cost of replacing your cabinets and provides long-lasting, durable results that should be backed by a warranty. Cabinet refacing, also known as cabinet resurfacing offers many of the benefits of cabinet painting, with far less of the downsides.
Who provides detail-oriented cabinet refacing?
If you want minor changes to your cabinetry, our dependable and trained pros will gladly bring their cabinet refacing kit to your doorstep and make sure the end result brings a refreshing look not only to these appliances but to the whole kitchen, too. We have years of experience and dedication toward completing our projects in a detail-oriented and client-centered manner. You can rest assured we’ll listen to your needs and requests every step of the way.
Call us or schedule your cabinet refacing online with ease!
