No Need For Major Surgery

Just because your kitchen has a case of the blahs at the same time as your checkbook doesn't mean you can't fight back. For a face lift on the cheap, coat your cabinets in color - white to open up the space or bright hues for a conversation piece

By Beth Kujawski
CTW Features

For a quick and painless kitchen update (that you can do yourself!), swap your bland cupboard color for one with more personality. Image courtesy iStockphoto

Kitchen renovations generally cost tens of thousands of dollars and turn your culinary life upside down for months. However, if you’re fond of the layout and your cabinets remain in good condition, you can achieve dramatic results in just a few days for only a couple hundred dollars – and without a life-altering overhaul. How? Paint your cabinets and replace the outdated hardware.

Of course, saving lots of cash does require an investment of a different sort – your time. And we’re not talking about sitting around watching the paint dry. There are numerous steps in transforming your kitchen from shabby to chic, and all of them are necessary to achieve great results. Thankfully, none of them are difficult. So put on your painting clothes (this might get a little messy) and get started on that beautiful new kitchen where the greatest satisfaction will be a job well done.

First, decide how much you want to paint. You can get away with painting just the outside of the cabinets and the door and drawer fronts, but you may want to paint the insides of the doors to create a clean look when cabinets are opened. When deciding whether or not to paint the insides of the cabinets, consider that you’ll have to take everything out of the cabinets (and therefore will need somewhere to put all the contents) and that it becomes necessary to line the painted shelves with shelf paper.

Once you’ve decided what you’re painting, take off the doors, take out the drawers and take off the hinges. If you’ll be replacing handles with knobs, now is the time to determine the placement of the new hardware and fill in any holes with wood filler. If your kitchen features many similarly sized doors, number them with Post-It notes and make a quick sketch of the kitchen to remind yourself where to replace the doors later. Tape off walls and appliances. If you’re not painting the insides of the cabinets, tape off the inside of the face frame. It takes a few extra minutes, but when you can roll on primer and paint without worrying about slopping paint inside the cabinets, you’ll be glad you took the time.

Next, protect your hands with some rubber gloves and wash down the cabinets with TSP (trisodium phosphate; dilute in water according to package directions) and rinse with clean water. Once the cabinets, doors and drawers are dry, scuff sand with a 150-grit sanding block. Sand lightly – you’re not trying to sand off the existing finish, you’re just giving the primer a surface to hold on to. Vacuum the dust off of all surfaces, then go over everything with a tack cloth to pick up remaining dust, paying extra attention to crevices if you have paneled doors and drawer fronts.

With rubber gloves again, it’s time to prime. When in doubt, take a cabinet door to your local paint store and ask the staff what they recommend for your application. Apply primer with a small roller or brush, smoothing out any stippling with a brush using long strokes so the primer levels itself. Pick a less-expensive brush for this job.

After all these steps, you might be wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into, but prepping your cabinets is more than half the work. Once the primer has dried for at least two hours, you can apply your first coat of paint. An oil-based paint will yield a durable finish with a bit of sheen. High-quality latex paint can be used as well. Aesthetics should play a part in the finish you choose, but keep in mind that higher-gloss paints are more durable than satin or semi-gloss finishes. Now is the time to haul out the good brushes – quality counts for these final coats. For oil-based paints, china-bristle brushes are the only choice. For latex paints, use synthetic-bristle brushes. Buy a variety of sizes! A one-inch brush will get into small spaces and apply paint to recessed panel areas of doors, while a two- or two-and-a-half inch brush will smooth out rolled-on paint in fewer strokes. It never hurts to err on the side of buying more paint supplies than you think you’ll need. You don’t want to run out for a different sized brush in the middle of painting. Besides, you can always return any extras later or save for another project.

When painting the frames of the cabinets, roll on the paint, then smooth the lines by lightly dragging a brush through the paint in long, continuous strokes. For doors and drawers, paint flat surfaces first, then fill in paneled areas. Be on the lookout for pooling paint, and collect immediately with your brush. You should let paint dry for at least 24 hours before applying a second coat, but a second coat may or not be necessary. If you’ve done a careful job of applying the first coat and you’re happy with the coverage, skip the second coat. If you’re planning on a second coat, you can store your brushes and rollers overnight in sealable sandwich bags. Close the zipper as tightly around the handle as possible, then wrap tape around the bag and handle to seal tightly. A paint-tray liner can be reused the next day. Be sure to pour any excess paint from the tray back into the can and seal it tightly.

Once the paint is dry and the cabinets are reassembled, you can switch out the hardware. Try not to skimp on knobs or handles. Cabinet hardware is like jewelry, and you’ll want to install pieces that will be the perfect finishing touches to your new room. Because you’ll have to match up two holes, handles are harder to replace than knobs. You may need to drill one new hole and fill the old hole with wood putty and sand down any excess before priming and painting. Measure from the middle of one hole to the middle of the second hole and match that measurement up against new hardware to determine if it will fit. Or, buy one piece of each style you’re considering and bring it home to try, comparing both size and style. Once the hardware is in place, it all results in a thoroughly modern kitchen without a lot of hassle. Consider it an economical facelift that takes 20 years off of your aging kitchen.

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