Should I paint or refinish my kitchen cabinets?
Photo By alenka2194
Both painting and finishing cabinets will provide a fresh makeover, however, each option has pros and cons.
Painting your cabinets will allow you to cover up imperfections and add a sleek style to your space. Restoring cabinets (sanding and stripping them to their most natural state) can have similar results, but there are some important distinctions. Paint may look modern and intense, but it doesn’t fix blemishes. Refinishing will certainly get to the root of any problem, however, the procedure can be painstaking.
Cabinet Painting
Pros:
– Can refresh the look of cabinets.
– Looks modern.
– Maintains original cabinet structure.
Repainting your cabinets is a great way to improve the look of your kitchen without buying all new products, which can be expensive: new cabinets cost more than $10,000.
Paint makes cabinets look much more contemporary than stain and other coatings. Plus, you can choose any color you like, and some companies even offer custom shade options. If you go for the crisp, clean, and very small look, go for a bright white. For a splash of color, consider a wash of blue or yellow. With a couple of coats of paint, you’ll have solid-colored cabinets with no wood grain showing.
Cons
– Can be more laborious
– May leave marks
– It requires more time than painting
Unfortunately, painting cabinets is time-consuming and requires painstaking work. You will need to remove all the closet doors as well as the cabinets, identify them all to keep track of where they fit and paint them all independently.
You’ll also need to thoroughly paint around decorative details and edges, as well as repaint multiple layers to avoid brush strokes and touch-ups. Work with a professional custom cabinet painter if you’re not detail-oriented or just don’t have time to focus on careful art. Experts are experienced, so they can usually get the job done much faster than DIYers.
Painted cabinets also need to be preserved sometimes. Clean them regularly to maintain the color: the longer the debris remains on the paint, the more likely it is to damage it.
Cabinet Refinishing
Cabinet refinishing involves sanding or chemically stripping the existing surface to refinish it (or bare it). With refinishing, you keep every part of your existing kitchen cabinets and just change the finish.
Advantages
– Looks completely natural
– Correct imperfections
– Maintains the structure of the cabinets.
If you have wood cabinets, refinishing them will bring out the wood grain and also make your kitchen look more standard. Instead of just covering up marks like dents and scratches, cabinet refinishing gets to the root of the problem to fix it. Cabinet finishes are a great option if your cabinets are made of high-quality materials, such as solid wood.
If your cabinets have signs that make them look dated, you may need to completely refinish them instead of redecorating or repainting them.
Cons
– Can be unpleasant
– May take longer than painting
When you refinish kitchen cabinets, expect a layer of grime to cover everything from the stove to the tile floor. Painting cabinets can take a couple of days, depending on whether you do it yourself or work with a professional painter. It takes the same amount of time to redecorate the cabinets as you will need to uninstall all the cabinet doors and also the cabinets before going live.
