My husband and I recently purchased our first home. We're excited to be out of the city and closer to our family. There are several things on our new homeowners to-do list, and painting the kitchen was at the top.
We both wanted white cabinets to brighten up the kitchen but we didn't have the budget to hire someone. Luckily I like a good DIY project, so I enlisted by brother's help and tackled the kitchen paint job.
The thought of taking cabinets apart, sanding, painting, and replacing them seemed like a nightmare. I've used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on smaller projects but never something this big. I researched things and decided it would work. Annie Sloan is more expensive than traditional paint but you make up the cost by avoiding sanding and priming.
I went with Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I painted the whole kitchen with only four quarts of paint. The only prep work I did was wipe down the cabinets! I learned that painting kitchen cabinets isn't easy but the final product was worth the effort.
Here is the kitchen before:
My brother, Carson, helping me paint the kitchen. He made the job a lot easier on me!
I put three coats on the cabinets. The chalk paint gives the textured and imperfect finish that I like. I worried about waxing the cabinets because I thought it would wear off in a high-use area like the kitchen. I didn't want to have to re-wax them every few years so I decided to finish the cabinets with Annie Sloan Floor Lacquer instead of wax. I'm very pleased with the results and believe it will prove to be a more durable finish that can be wiped off time and again. If you choose to lacquer your cabinets, make sure you use a water-based sealer so you don't experience any yellowing.
The project took three days from start to finish and cost less than $300.00. I also highly recommend using the Annie Sloan Paint Brush. Annie is proud of her brushes but they're worth the price.
and after:
