Compared to full replacement or resurfacing, painting cabinets that show some wear or need an updated look gives your kitchen a like-new feel at a fraction of the price. If a full remodel doesn’t fit into your schedule or budget, having your cabinets painted is a quicker and cost-effective alternative to achieve a dramatic kitchen transformation. While variability is involved in each unique project, this post will give you an idea of what to expect and highlights factors that can affect how much it may cost to paint kitchen cabinets.
Should I hire someone to paint kitchen cabinets?
Even for advanced DIYers, it’s highly recommended to trust kitchen cabinet painting to professionals. Cabinets represent a much more difficult, intricate, and tedious project than typical painting jobs, making it well worth it to get kitchen cabinets painted by professionals.
Professional painters have the skills, tools, and experience to efficiently deliver high-quality results that will last for many years, providing peace of mind and eliminating any hassle of repaint after only a year or two. A new cabinet paint job can last a decade or longer, but only if surfaces are sufficiently prepared, primer and paint are properly applied, and trained and knowledgeable professionals use the right products and materials.
Requiring heavy prep work and multiple coats, plus door, drawer, and hardware reassembly, kitchen cabinets can keep DIY painters busy for weeks without full use of an important room of the house. A dedicated team of painting professionals can complete nearly any size of kitchen in just a few days, letting you avoid lengthy disruption and enjoy your new-look space sooner.
Professional painters will also be better prepared to protect the rest of your kitchen and home from dust, fumes, or paint throughout the project. You can rely on the expertise of color consultants to help you choose suitable paint types and styles for the look you want to achieve.
How much does it cost to have your kitchen cabinets painted?
Homeowners should expect to spend at least $2,500 for a comprehensive kitchen cabinet painting experience by a professional crew. From there, the following factors can heavily influence an estimate and the final project costs:
Kitchen Size, Layout, and Square Footage
The more surface area that needs painting, the higher your project’s cost will be. Larger kitchens tend to have more cabinets, which means more time, labor, and materials.
Labor will make up the bulk of your kitchen cabinet painting project’s expenses, and larger kitchens with more cabinetry surface area will call for a larger crew, more days of work, or both.
In addition to any needed repairs and preparing every surface for primer and paint coats, each cabinet door and drawer has to be removed with hardware tediously disassembled. Replacing hardware with new handles, hinges, or drawer tracks will incur additional costs, and reassembly after painting is another time-consuming process.
Layouts including tighter angles, double-hinged doors, or constricted spaces could also affect costs. While glass-fronted designs eliminate some paintable square footage for cabinet doors and are great for displaying what’s inside, they also require at least one coat of paint on the entire cabinet box interior.
Surface Conditions and Complexities
Properly preparing cabinet doors, drawers, and frame surfaces is the largest challenge—and labor expense—of any kitchen cabinet painting project. Cabinets dinged up, dented, or otherwise damaged and in rough shape will require additional effort to mend.
Patching holes and dents and repairing worn-out surfaces ensures the paint finish can be applied evenly. Some wood and laminate cabinets also require stripping. And all will need sanding and scuffing to abrade the surface for better paint adherence.
Certain cabinet styles or designs can incur additional costs based on their details and complexities. Flat-panel cabinets can be painted much quicker—saving time and, therefore, money—than cabinet surfaces with ornate edges, decorative grooves, or other recesses.
Paint and Primer Selection
Gloss, semi-gloss, or satin finishes are recommended for kitchen cabinets, which will experience plenty of use and cleaning over the life of the paint. High-quality, glossy paints are typically more expensive than satin, matte or flat finishes.
In addition to paint type, color selection can impact your project’s cost. For example, if beginning from a darker tone, the cost to paint kitchen cabinets white or a lighter color will be higher because it requires additional coats of paint or a higher-end, premium primer.
Higher-quality paints are more expensive but more durable, stain-resistant, and longer-lasting, with better penetration and adhesion. Using more than one color can also increase expenses, as additional primer layers may be needed for better color saturation and adhesion. Primers are essential for paint to appear its true color by providing a smoother surface to stick to and hiding any imperfections.
Affordable Kitchen Cabinet Painting with ONiT Painting
The best way to know how much it costs to paint your kitchen cabinets is to get an estimate. ONiT Painting’s customer-centric approach to freshly covered kitchen cabinets begins with an accurate and reliable estimate. ONiT representatives consult with homeowners on every detail from estimate to the end walkthrough, staying on time and on budget with no mess leftover for you. Schedule a free, no-obligation appointment with ONiT Painting today.
