How to paint kitchen cabinets

If you want to give your kitchen a makeover or modernise a dated kitchen, painting kitchen cabinets is an affordable and easy way to revamp a kitchen without going to the expense of ripping out and replacing kitchen cabinets.

 

If you do it properly, painted kitchen cabinets should last a couple of years before requiring a bit of touch up here and there.

 

My kitchen is currently as per the pic above, which I feel is outdated.  I think the cupboards are supawood / melawood.  Can one paint over this? Could you suggest any ideas for colour to revamp the kitchen.  The rest of the house is painted in 'Husks of Wheat' by Plascon, which is a warm-grey / greyish-cream.

Depending on the style that you prefer, there are quite a few options to consider in our Kitchen Craft section for updating or revamping kitchen cabinets. You need to decide whether or not to paint kitchen cabinets or replace the doors. You will find plenty of ideas and inspiration in our Kitchen Design section.

Add moulding or trim to melamine or melawood doors and trim that will give kitchen cabinets a new look.

Have 16mm supawood cut to the size of the existing doors and finish these doors with glass panels, chicken wire or wire mesh, or solid panel doors painted in your choice of colour.

For painting the cabinets, I would suggest that you:

• Look at colours from the same swatch card or,

• Use complementary or adjacent colours if you want to add a splash of bold colour

Once you find the swatch code for the colour used in your home, enter this into the Plascon Inspired Colour System to see the colour options. Take home a selection of colour swatches to try these out in the kitchen before having paint mixed.

Preparation

Scrub the cabinets clean and then sand with 180-grit sandpaper to de-gloss the finish.

Paint with Plascon Velvaglo with a paintbrush and foam roller, or use one of the Rust-Oleum colours in Protective Enamel Spray. You will find both products at your local Builders Warehouse.