New kitchens with brand new cabinets, counters, and appliances cost a pretty penny. If your current kitchen works well, but looks outdated, consider updating it for a lot less with paint.
Why Use Paint Instead of Remodeling
A full kitchen remodel including new cabinets, counters, appliances, and floors can cost upwards of $30,000. It can also take up to 12 weeks to complete once all of the components have been ordered and have arrived.
Some kitchens do benefit from being rebuilt, particularly those that need new layouts or where the cabinetry is rotten. If your kitchen is in good shape, but looks like it’s stuck in the 1980s, giving it a cosmetic facelift with paint can prolong its life for a lot less.
Five Ways to Transform Your Kitchen with Paint
Painting the interior with a new colour can give it a completely new look as well. Use any of these five ways to update your kitchen to give it a new look and style.
Walls and Ceiling
Don’t underestimate what a fresh coat of paint can do for your kitchen walls. Grease, smoke, and day to day living dull or stain even the cleanest walls. Begin by giving your kitchen walls a fresh new coat of paint. Consider using a colour you might not have otherwise, like a light sunny yellow or a cool gray to update the room. Here are some ideas on how to choose your kitchen colour.
While you’re painting the walls, give some thought to the ceiling as well. Ceilings don’t have to be flat white; a soft wash of colour up there can also brighten the space.
Cabinets
If your cabinets are structurally alright, just outdated, you may have considered refacing them. Why not save the money on refacing for when you do decide to remodel and paint them instead.
Putting a coat of white, ivory, or cream paint on dark oak cabinets will instantly update your kitchen and make it look bigger and brighter. Add in some new cabinet hardware and it will look like you’ve gotten new cabinets.
The key to a successful kitchen cabinet painting job is spray paint. Using a sprayer to apply the paint means nice even coats with no drips. Make sure you remove all the doors before you paint so you can get the frames as well.
Countertops
You may not realize it but your old Formica or solid surface countertop can be painted to resemble granite or stone. Granite painting kits are available that mix several shades of colour you sponge onto the counter in layers to create dramatic results. Once the paint is dry, you protect it with a urethane-based top coat that seals it in and helps you counter resist stains better than before.
Appliances
Are your appliances running well but have outdated white or black finishes? If so, they’re the perfect candidates for a coat of appliance paint. Appliance paint is specially formulated to go right onto the surface of your appliances and bond with the current finish. It covers scuffs and scrapes, and is nearly bombproof once dry. The paint comes in typical appliance shades like white, black, tan, and stainless steel so you can match any kitchen colour scheme.
Flooring
Do you have an old tile floor with dirty and stained grout? Consider painting it to give it a new life. Floor paint bonds well to porcelain and ceramic tiles, covering old screen printed images and out of date colours. Topped with a coat of polyurethane, it will hold up well underfoot for years.
Once the tiles are painted, give your grout a facelift with a coat of grout paint. Applied with an artist’s paintbrush, grout paint covers and seals you grout, protecting it from further stains. With just a couple of coats, your entire floor can look brand new.
Update Your Kitchen
Getting a fresh look in your kitchen doesn’t have to break the bank. Consider using a fresh coat of paint on nearly any surface to get a fresh look instead.
Contributed by Sarabeth Asaff.