How to Paint your Own Cabinets

Instead of paying a thousand or more dollars to have our cabinets painted, we decided to paint them ourselves. Here is the process we used along with how we did it!

Here is a before photo. The previous homeowners renovated a lot of the house. They did not update the cabinets though and I hated them brown!

Step 1: Remove cabinets & hardware
We made this step fool proof (we had a little experience after doing the kitchen). You’ll need Ziploc bags and sticky notes. Write out numbers (two of each) on the sticky notes. Put one number inside the bag with the hardware off of the cabinet. Put the other number on the spot where the cabinet went. We then wrote in pen on the cabinet itself. That way, you don’t loose track of which cabinet went where and which hardware goes with it.

Step 2: Lay out the cabinets on top of a drop cloth
We laid ours out in the garage. You’ll want to put them on a drop cloth so you don’t get paint everywhere.

Step 3: Sand
Travis’ prefers the sanding block sponges. You can use them wet or dry. A two pack is only around $3-5.

Step 4: Paint the cabinets
We used Sherwin Williams paint for the bathroom cabinets. On the kitchen we went with Valspar. I honestly couldn’t tell a difference and we chose the paint based on the colors. Travis did two coats on each side of the cabinet.

Step 5: Paint the counter itself
You’ll need another drop cloth (they’re only like $1) to put down underneath the counter. We also slightly sanded before painting. It needed two coats.

Step 6: Re-attach the cabinets
Get out your drill and re-attach your cabinets! Then admire all your (or in my case all my husband’s) hard work.

Finding the fun everywhere life takes us!
Love, Olivia Michelle