New Cupboards Out of Old
Give Your Old Cupboards a Facelift
It’s almost time to refresh my old kitchen cabinets. I’ve decided to take on so many redecorating projects in such a short time that my funds are more limited than usual. One of my early decisions was to pass on the brand new kitchen cupboards and opt to paint them instead.
Initially, I shopped for brand new cupboards and found that I could replace mine for a few thousand dollars but the project seemed like a lot of renovation to me and, although ugly, my cabinets were actually in pretty good shape. So, for the time being, brand new cupboards weren’t a good idea.
I looked into refacing the cupboards. Most home improvement stores have this option available for people with standard door and drawer sizes. You can order entirely new doors and drawer fronts and then have someone from the store come and apply a veneer to the remaining cupboard frame. I was leaning toward this solution until I shopped around. I didn’t find any of the doors and drawers appealing and it was still quite pricey.
So, the solution…paint them. Being a faux finisher, I’m familiar with painting cupboards and have done it in the past. So, it’s nothing new to me but if you’re about to attempt this for the first time I have some tips that might help you through the process.
First, take out the drawers and take off all the doors. In most cases you’ll want to replace your hardware, drawer pulls, knobs and hinges. This finishes your look and adds another layer of “fresh” to your project. So take off all of the hardware right away.
Then prepare the cupboards for paint by washing them and/or sanding them. I recommend both. Cupboards collect a lot of greasy little fingerprints and those oils sink into the wood. Wash the surfaces to remove as much grime as possible. You can just use Windex or some other commercial cleaner, no need for soap and water because you don’t want to get the wood too wet. Then, lightly sand the surfaces.
Next, you’ll need to apply a primer. This is key and it’s important to select a good primer. Look for one that says you don’t need to sand your project. This means this primer is going to really hold, and if you have cheap cupboards (as I do) part of them is already a laminate so sanding won’t help. And even if you do lightly sand, there is a chance that a cheap primer will not adhere as well as you’d like. Remember, cupboards see a lot of traffic and you don’t want them to chip or flake.
Finally, paint away. I recommend a foam sponge “brush” and foam roller. Traditional brushes can leave brush marks and the foam tends to provide a more uniform coverage.
And stay away from flat paint. It collects fingerprints and body oils and when you wash it you risk taking off paint. A bit of “shine” will help keep your cupboards looking nice for years to come. The final tip is to give your cupboards ample time to cure. Paint can take up to a week to fully cure and if you can stand to have the kitchen torn apart for this long then leave the doors and drawers out for a full week.
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