Painted Oak Cabinets

When we moved into our 1950’s home, the kitchen wasn’t really pretty, bit very usable.  It was probably updated sometime in the 1980’s. Over time, the one thing we noticed was how light sucking oak kitchens can be, not to mention that this was an eastern exposure. While the morning sun was amazing, by 11 am, the kitchen was really dark. The old, grainy oak cabinets just made it even drabber and darker. Not to mention the floor that just matched right in. Our painted oak cabinets changed the entire look of our kitchen! Check out the tips below for painting oak cabinets!

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Painted oak cabinets completely transformed our kitchen

We had contemplating painting our kitchen cabinets but were worried that once it was done, it couldn’t’ be undone. And, what if we hated it? Would the oak cabinets actually look better painted? Could we actually do this DIY project? We had so many worries about painting our kitchen cabinets that we waited far too long to do it!

When we finally took the plunge, we wished we had done it sooner. Since the day we initially painted them, we’ve never regretted it once! I have a list of a few of the supplies for painting cabinets here. In fact, we’ve actually painted our kitchen cabinets a few times already for a color change!

It’s a brand new kitchen with the painted cabinets, new tile backsplash and updated fixtures and hardware.

Removing the cabinets really opened up the beautiful window that seemed swallowed before! Sometimes less is more in a kitchen if you have enough storage! You can see the total transformation here.

The steps to painting kitchen cabinets, especially with an oak wood grain are a lot like the preparation for painting any piece of furniture

First, always take proper safety precautions with eye protections, gloves and a dust mask, and always follow the directions of the products and tools being used for a safe DIY experience.

When painting you can use a high density foam roller to minimize orange peel or other paint brush textures, or you can use  a paint sprayer for a smooth finish just as you would on a piece of furniture.

When painting the boxes, clean up will be much easier if you use painter’s tape and a tarp to protect the  tile backsplash, appliances and the countertop. If you are creating  sanding dust, you may want to tape off the kitchen. Even a little sanding can make a lot of dust.