All Forum Posts by: Kristen Buckley

@Jessica Franco For the wood counters....they require upkeep if you leave them natural.  Cuz then they'll need to be oiled with mineral oil.  If you use polyurethane or polycrylic (water based poly), then there's no upkeep.  

@Jill F. We paint 80s and 90s cabinets all the time. Especially the builder-grade oak cabinets. They definitely take a bit more prep, to seal the oak, but they can still be beautiful in the end.  When you say melamine, do you mean the melamine cabinets with the oak pull/edge?  Or do you mean thermofoil cabinets?  We've actually done both.  I've had excellent luck painting both.  One thing to note is that i always add handles when I'm painting cabinets.  i find that the less the customers actually have to touch the painted surfaces the less chance they'll have of banging them up accidentally.  Less dirty/greasy finger prints too!

@Jessica Franco My suggestion, to boost the look of that kitchen, would be to 

(1) paint the cabinets, 

(2) add some inexpensive pulls. Maybe something like these:  https://www.amazon.com/10-Pack-Cabinet-Hardware-Centers/dp/B00892A6R8/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=cosmas+pulls&qid=1590070272&sr=8-16. They come in lots of colors so think about doing matte black or even brushed gold, which are both really popular right now.

(3) install some shiplap as a backsplash. If you rip the boards yourself, you can just get 1/4" ply and it's a really cheap upgrade.

(4) Get some Ikea butcherblock counters (like this: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/karlby-countertop-walnut-veneer-50335208/ ).  Just add some polyurethane for added protection.  Yes, wood counters can be damaged by hot pans etc, but so can laminate, which is what you currently have.  And these counters are so cheap that you can rip them out in a few years if you're ready for an upgrade.

(5) If you're handy, I'd rip down the bar height counters. Those are going out of style cuz no one uses them for anything but junk these days. They're a catch-all space.  If you lower the height to counter height, you've instantly doubled your countertop surface and made it much more usable.

@Jessica Franco I think that would depend what price bracket your rental is in.  In my experience, the lower cost rentals tend to take a bit more abuse than the higher end homes.  With that being said, having more attractive cabinets (and home in general) will definitely help to attract better renters.  If you get a renter that tends to beat things up, they'll probably do that to unpainted cabinets as well.  And at least with painted cabinets any damage is fixable.  

I agree with both of those.  Sherwin Williams Pro Classic and Benjamin Moore Advance are the 2 readily available high quality cabinet paints.  Not cheap, but you don't want cheap paint if you're going to go to all this trouble.  Adding handles will keep you from having to touch the cabinets all the time.  The less you touch them, the longer the finish will last.

Here's a link to someone that painted the same type of cabinets, and added hardware, so you can visualize how it will look. The only thing I'd caution is don't be tempted to put a clear topcoat on top of the cabinet paint.  1. it's not necessary because the paint will harden/cure, and 2. it will yellow over time.

https://www.thehandymansdaughter.com/tips-for-updating-80s-kitchen-cabinets/

Step 1-clean thorough. remove any grease/grime.

Step 2: sand, to scuff up the surface

Step 3: remove all sanding dust

Step 4: use a bonding primer that works on glossy surfaces. Valspar (at Lowes) makes a great one.

I paint cabinets like this all the time so if you follow the steps you should be good to go.

Painted cabinets will only turn yellow if oil based paint is used. And not a lot of cabinet painters these days are still using oil based paints thankfully. Mostly since the advances in water based paints gives you the same leveling, durability and adhesion without any of the fumes, toxins or horrible cleanup.

With that being said, the paint I use (currently using McCormick Interlock) can last indefinitely if treated right. If someone's a slob and they're constantly banging into things of course it won't last. But if you're in the habit of wiping food off, and using your handles to open the doors, it can last forever. And the beauty of painted cabinets (unlike stained cabinets) is that if someone does bang it up, it's fixable.  Stained cabinets would require refinishing.

Here's some links to some of our recent higher-end jobs. 

https://www.2cabinetgirls.com/portfolio/color-matc...

 https://www.2cabinetgirls.com/portfolio/creamy-kit...

https://www.2cabinetgirls.com/portfolio/snowbound-...

https://www.2cabinetgirls.com/portfolio/dover-whit...

https://www.2cabinetgirls.com/portfolio/zurich-whi...

https://www.2cabinetgirls.com/portfolio/bone-white...

I just found you guys, what a great community!

I've been running a successful cabinet painting business in Raleigh, NC for the past 5 years or so and have seen varied advice and suggestions about how, when and when not to paint kitchen or even bathroom cabinets. I'd like to add my 2 cents in here and see what everyone else thinks as well.

I've done work in inexpensive homes and very-expensive homes, and sometimes I wonder what the person who picked the cabinets was thinking! Especially in homes built between 1990 - 2010 there was apparently a bunch of designers who thought they should spec out dark wood floors and dark wood cabinets. The problems with that are 1. It makes a kitchen feel dark and heavy unless it's flooded with light. 2. There is no defining line between the cabinets and the floor and it can look muddled.

I would say 95% of the cabinets we paint are dark-ish and the homeowner wants them to be some shade of white. We're usually in the $2K to $3K range for medium to medium-large kitchens and we're in and out in 7 days. All we've ever used is water-based products, the lower the voc rating the better. We spray the doors and drawer fronts at our shop, and our crew of talented ladies paints the face frames by hand. That means the homeowner never loses the use of the kitchen! They like that.

I'd love to hear what you think of when you hear someone say "painted cabinets", what your feeling is on the ROI of painted cabinets and if you've ever done it, recommended it or warned against it (and why).

Thanks!