How to Refinish Cabinet Doors and Make Sure They Complement Your Kitchen
The condition and aesthetic of your kitchen cabinets can really make or break the entire room. More than merely storage units for dishes, glassware, and other kitchen staples, cabinets make a strong visual statement, protruding from your kitchen walls and taking up plenty of real estate. If your cabinets look out of place or past their prime, refinishing them with fresh paint or stain can bring your entire kitchen back to life. Of course, you want to make sure that such an update doesn’t clash with or diminish your kitchen’s appeal. With that in mind, let’s go over how to refinish cabinet doors and make sure they complement your kitchen’s current appearance.
How to Refinish Cabinet Doors for Your Kitchen
Breaking Down the Cabinet Refinishing Process
There are multiple ways to approach a cabinet refinishing project, but some methods are more efficient and thorough than others. A simple breakdown of the cabinet refinishing process is as follows:
Remove cabinet doors, drawers, and hinges to allow for easier access during surface prep and coating
Thoroughly clean all surfaces to eliminate dust, dirt, and stubborn grime
Repair/fill all holes and cracks
Sand, vacuum, and tack surfaces to provide an optimal surface for stain absorption or paint adhesion.
Apply a durable, high-quality primer before painting
Carefully apply paint to detached doors and drawers as well as affixed cabinet boxes.
Allow sufficient drying time for all components before re-attaching them
Following these basic steps will mitigate messes and mistakes while ensuring the best-looking, longest-lasting results.
Decide Whether to Paint or Stain Your Kitchen Cabinets
The steps listed above apply to virtually any kitchen refinishing project. That said, there are some differences between cabinet painting and staining. For starters, stain is thinner than paint and is meant to penetrate the wood to enhance durability and embellish the wood’s natural beauty. Paint is thicker and rests on top of the wood. There are pros and cons to both coating options, practically and aesthetically. If you’re looking for more color options for your kitchen cabinets, you’ll want to go with paint rather than stain – conversely, choosing stain will allow you to achieve a more rustic, natural look for your cabinets. Complementing your kitchen is all about knowing which colors and textures work well together. Stained cabinets usually work well in kitchens with a neutral palette (e.g., whites, grays, browns), whereas painted cabinets provide a wider array of options for more dynamic spaces.
The Importance of Color Matching and Testing
If you decide to paint your cabinets, you’ll have many colors to choose from. Like any interior painting project, it’s imperative to consider how different colors play off one another and how they look under different lighting scenarios. Figuring this out depends on gathering color swatches and testing them until you find the perfect palette. You can also see how kitchen cabinet and wall colors interact with virtual painting apps offered by the likes of BEHR, The Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams, and more. In some cases, you might decide that you want your cabinets to blend in with the rest of your kitchen. In this case, you’ll want to achieve a precise color match. If you have leftover paint from a previous kitchen painting project, use this information to gather the exact color for cabinet painting purposes. Otherwise, seek color matching services from your local paint and hardware store.
Consult a Color Expert
When in doubt, a professional color consultant can save you a lot of time and frustration. These experts will assess your kitchen interior, ask you questions to get a sense of your tastes and preferences, and help you make the final decision regarding cabinet paint color selection. If possible, look for a cabinet painting company that offers color consultations in-house so you don’t have to reach out to multiple contractors for this important project. Nash Painting is more than just a painting company – we also provide color consultations for our clients across Nashville, Franklin, and Brentwood, TN to guarantee the best outcomes.
To learn more about us, our services, and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!