Painting Kitchen Cabinets

A few weeks ago, I tackled painting the lower cabinets in my kitchen!!  It wasn't a difficult task, but boy was it time consuming.  I learned some things along the way that may help the next DIYer tackle a similar project. 

After lots of googling and researching, my questions came up unanswered.  It wasn't until a trip to Lowe's and actually talking to a warm body that I finally got some answers.  Good ole face to face!!!

I took home several paint testers before I landed on the chosen color: Valspar Oregon Dunes.

Fortunately, my cabinets have hidden hinges so there was absolutely no unscrewing involved!  That was a huge time saver and made my task a little bit easier.

I learned that it is possible to paint over oil-based paint if you are wanting to use a latex instead.  The paint guru at Lowe's let me in on a few tricks:  Oil-based paint isn't your friend (smelly and hard to clean-up) and primer bridges the gap!  So, I put one coat of primer on everything before I used my semi-gloss latex paint.  

In order for the latex to stick to oil-based paint, I had to prime first.  The paint will chip and peel if the primer is skipped.

I painted around my hindges since they aren't seen.  I also gave the backs of my doors a single coat primer and paint.

All in all, I gave one coat of primer and two coats of latex paint.

 I waited 24 hours before adding the knobs.

 In the meantime, I cleaned out my cabinets--perfect timing if you ask me!

 Junk drawer!

 I'm loving the new finish!

The contrast is more noticeable in person than in the photos.

For the complete kitchen makeover, click HERE.