Painting Kitchen Cabinets | Kitchen Cabinet Paints, Stains and Finishes

So you love your kitchen layout, you have purchased all the right kitchen appliances and the wallpaper has been hung in a seamless flow of pure genius. The problem is, you hate the color of your cabinets. Every time you walk into the room your heart sinks because the color is so terrible.

You have two choices that should remedy your dilemma: either grab a sledge hammer and smash those ugly cupboards right out of your kitchen, or choose the less neurotic solution of calmly going to a shop and buying a can of paint.

If you re so fed up with your kitchen cabinets that you ve chosen the sledge hammer, you may need the help of a designer - or another professional. But if you re ready to paint your world a different shade, read on.

Finding the right color for your kitchen cupboards doesn t have to be complicated - choose a simple tone that will allow the beauty of your design to shine through over a trendy color that you will likely get sick of in a few weeks. If you re not sure which type of paint will cover your wood or melamine cupboards, ask a professional at the paint shop for assistance, then let your imagination run wild!

Pick a few different color samples to bring home, so you can see what your room would look like with cupboards painted in the different shades. Keep your mind open - you may realize that the color in the store you were melting over looks down right hideous in your space, or something you weren t particularly thrilled with might turn out to be amazing!

If you re looking for a place to start, try working with colors that are already in your kitchen. Complement the tones of your wallpaper or your countertop and keep the rest of the house in mind. You don t want a flashy devil red kitchen if the rest of your house has been painted in pastels.

If your wooden cupboards have a nice grain, you might want to highlight it with a tinted stain. First you must remove the previous stain using a stain remover. Make sure your area is well ventilated and be sure to follow the manufacturer s instructions. Next you must sand down the cupboards and remove any dust that may have accumulated. Finally, apply several coats of stain to allow the color to sink in and the grains to stand out.

If you have chosen paint over stain for your cupboards, you can paint directly over the old color so long as your new color is dark enough to cover. If you re painting lighter, you will need to purchase a primer and apply it before your first coat of color.