How to paint kitchen cabinets

Painting your kitchen cabinets is a small job that can have a big impact on your kitchen.

It’s an easy way to give your kitchen a subtle makeover without having to completely redecorate. It’s simple enough to do on a rainy Saturday and when you’re finished you’ll have a refreshed kitchen.

1. Decide what you want to paint

If you have glass fronted cupboards, painting the inside is eye catching and lets you be creative with your colour choices. It’s your opportunity to add pops of colour to your kitchen and brighten up a dark place.

If you choose to paint the outside of your cabinet, traditional white will add a clean fresh feel to your kitchen. Or for an injection of colour, try a light dusky blue or grey for brighter kitchens.

2. Prepare the cupboard

Regardless of whether you’re choosing to paint the inside or out, you’ll need to remove all the handles and, of course the contents too! Protect the surrounding surfaces with a dust sheet and cover any bits of the cabinet you don’t want to paint with masking tape.

Mix together a detergent solution or use sugar soap to clean them. This will help to remove the years of grease and food stains your cupboards have been bombarded with during your cooking experiments!

3. Smooth the surface

If you don’t have a high-gloss surface cabinet, you’ll need to sand it and fill any imperfections with filler. Smoothing down your cabinets will help the paint to stick and will ensure that you get a lush, consistent colour.

4. Choose your colour

Our wood and metal paint is extra scrubbable to endure everything your kitchen can throw at it. They’re available in 2.2 million colours, so you can make your cupboard colours as contrasting or complementary as you like.

If you want a complementary colour, our pre-selected colour charts have loads of choice for you. Or if you’ve found a colour you really like but can’t find the right shade, our match and mix technology can produce exactly the colour you want.

5. Start painting

Applying a primer or undercoat will help the paint stick to your cupboard. Our primer and undercoat can be tinted to help with dramatic colour transformations and ensure the paint grips, so you have the perfect finish. It only takes an hour to dry, so you’ll be able to apply colour after you’ve had your lunch and a cup of tea.

Using a paintbrush or small roller, paint your cabinets. If you’re choosing to paint the exterior door, make sure you take it off its hinges first! You’ll need roughly two coats for a good colour and professional finish.

6. Admire your handywork!

Once the paint has dried you can restock the cupboards and admire your skills. You could maybe even host a dinner party and show off your hard work!