How-To Paint Kitchen Cabinets and How-to Install No-Miter Molding without fear.
I wanted them to look as professionally done as possible so I took a trip to Home Depot to investigate how I could add some detail to the cabinets themselves and found No-Miter molding. The sign said – professional results, eliminating the need for miter cuts. Specifically designed to highlight corners and turns, which was perfect as I wanted to highlight my center island. The possibility of having decorative molding in my kitchen was becoming a reality. I had a simple table saw and this was something I knew I could handle by myself without the help of my husband or a contractor.
So I bought myself some decorative baseboard, decorative corners, bead board panels in two different styles, wide (Pickwick Pattern) and the narrow (traditional). I didn’t stop there – I had seen in many magazines, cabinets that had feet like a piece of furniture. I wanted that look. I can be quite resourceful when I really want something and found that pine shelf brackets sold in craft stores very inexpensively would work perfectly if I cut them to the correct height to fit under the cabinets at each corner to resemble feet.
I was thrilled with all my efforts. The photo below was taken recently, but I painted the cabinets 8 years ago and they still look good. I had to touch up the cabinets under the sink, as they get the most wear. If you decide to do this the best advice I can give to you is – take your time and do it right. It took me 3 weeks. I worked a section at a time so we could still use the kitchen. I took the doors off and painted them on sawhorses set up in my basement. All the other work I did right in the kitchen. Get a really good 1” angled brush; it is worth it to buy the best one. When you are finished you can really be proud and say:
I did it ALL by myself!
This photo shows the original cabinet, the new side with molding and paint, and attached shelf bracket
.
Same cabinet After
Before
After
I did not paint the inside of the cabinets, but I did paint both sides of the doors and a half inch strip inside – along the cabinet opening as you can see in this photo.
I bought all of my supplies at The Home Depot except for the shelf brackets which I got at AC Moore.
Gather:
Ornamental Moldings Rope Acordonada Baseboard 3/8” x 4 Decorative Outside Corner Molding Decorative Inside Corner Molding Pine Planking Bead board Pine Shelf Brackets, one for each foot Glidden Gripping Primer Sherwin Williams Semi-gloss latex in Antique White Saw/Electric Saw/or a Table Saw Electric Sander and med grit sandpaper Tack cloth Screwdriver Fine nap paint roller 1” angle brush Paint-able silicone caulk
How to Add No-Miter Molding
1. Cut bead board to height of section you want to cover. Starting at one end of each section – glue each tongue and groove piece on with Liquid Nails. The last piece you may have to cut width-wise in order to fit the space. Make sure as you place each section in that they are straight. You may need to add a finishing nail in some areas. I needed only a few.
2. Measure length of cabinet base for baseboard. Make sure to leave enough room for the corner pieces to fit. (Each corner piece has a notch cut into it so that it fits right at the corner. Cut baseboard to size and attach with liquid nails, then attach the corner pieces.
3. Apply a bead of caulk along all seams and junctions between bead board and the baseboard. This will make the pieces look like they are one. Lightly go over the caulk with a wet finger tip to smooth. Let dry.
Aisle in Home Depot
Moldings and Shelf Bracket
Bead board Planking
Bead board Planking, Primed
How to Paint The Cabinets
1. Remove doors and all hardware. Lightly sand doors and cabinet fronts. Clean off thoroughly with a tack cloth.
2. Apply a light coat of gripping primer with roller, let dry, add one more coat, let dry. If you have recessed framed cabinets use an angled brush to paint the framed section.
3. Apply two coats of latex paint. Let dry between each coat. If you need more coverage, paint another coat, but keep each coat light.
4. When dry – hang the doors back on.
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{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful work it looks like a professional did the work…hurrah for you!
That looks SOOOOOO great! You should be so proud, I am very impressed! Thanks for sharing!
This is absolutely stunning! You did a really beautiful job. Kudos to you for taking the time to do this the right way. Gorgeous.
It looks amazing! I am itching to paint my plain oak cabinets. I’ve heard that oil based primer is the best to use, but I really don’t want to mess with it! I also want to put beadboard on the ends of the cabinets. I’m thinking of using the wallpaper kind. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Are you kidding me?!?! That looks Fantastic!!! Great job!!!
I soooo wish I had wood cabinets to paint pretty like this- mine are 50s metal!
WOW! Love it… You encourage me to paint my cabinets. I’ve got a Power of Paint Party on Wednesdays. I’d love for you to link up your kitchen
I am pretty much speechless! That totally looks like the pros came in and took over! The stencil on the floor is such a sweet touch. The basket shelf! The beadboard…OK so I am not speechless! Awesome, amazing job!
It looks fantastic. I love the basket shelf and the stenciling around the island is awesome. Well done.
Hi Everyone- Thanks for all the wonderful comments. I had stenciled the floor a few years before I painted the cabinets. The kitchen floor is in dire need of refinishing and when that happens the stencil will be gone. I found the baskets for the shelves at TJ Maxx. They fit perfectly into the shelves, but it took me 9 months of going around to many TJ Maxx stores to accumulate 6. It was worth the time and effort. When I move from this house, those baskets are coming with me.
Wow! Great transformation….good for you!
That’s a wonderful makeover, great job, I have white cabinets but they are laminates so I will probably have to replace them, urgh! Found you via SITS, Happy SITS Saturday!
Wow, that looks so much better! Congrats on a GREAT job! Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!
This looks fabulous! You did an awesome job! I am gearing up to paint my OAK cabinets too! You have inspired me to GO FORTH!!
Just found your blog and I LOVE it! I am a follower and I will be back!
Lou Cinda :)
I now have kitchen envy! Stopping by from SITS!
Great job! I love the Antique White.
Great job, Hubby and I did ours together this summer and it was killer work. I know you worked hard. It looks great, I love the painting on the floor.
Cha Cha
Love the white, bright, clean look… Your floors are great… Lezlee
Outstanding. Really. The smallest of touches always seem to make the biggest impact. Gorgeous kitchen!
Thanks for linking up to SNS!
FJ Donna
Love what you did. I have the same oak cabinets and would LOVE to paint them but can’t (I’m renting) but I dream nonetheless!
That looks gorgeous! You did a fantastic job!! :)
Great cabinets makeover and great directions and pics on sharing with others how to do this. i would of never thought of the shelf bracket idea.
I adore the beadboard! Okay you’ve talked me into it– I thought my island needed a face lift so I’ll do it (as soon as I finish all 100 other projects) ;)
Wow! You did an amazing job. Love the beadboard, just put it my kitchen update too- you can’t mess with classic cottage elements. Thanks for all the directions.
What an AWESOME job you did all by yourself on your kitchen…looks outstanding!
Blessings,
Linda
GO YOU! You did an amazing job! Your kitchen inspires me to do my kitchen… sooner than later! Thanks for joining the Power of Paint Party!
I love the basket shelves. Your kitchen is beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
The kitchen looks amazing. But what impressed me most (besides that you did it yourself) the description and the blog post was fantastic. So detailed and perfect! You deserve an award!
Great job!
Oh WOW that looks awesome. I especially love the one with the baskets, so very cute!
I lOVE your stenciled floors! And thanks for the comment about the candlesticks :) You are a true talent indeed! LOTS of good ideas
Past amazing!! Pat yourself on the back girlfriend. What a feeling of accomplishment!
Blessings
Roxanne
You are brilliant!!! Great job. You should be very proud of yourself.
I’m so impressed by your diy skills! Thanks for the major dose of inspiration :).
I’m drooling over your stove! It really makes me want to take the plunge on my refrigerator!! Browsing for good deals never hurts, right?
OMG! I’m in love. GREAT JOB. It is beautiful. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Your kitchen looks wonderful! You are really talented. Did you seal, poly, or anything over the painted cabinets?
Wow! looking at your kitchen, I would swear you were a contractor. It turned out amazing! My sister is redoing her kitchen and I am going to send her your link.
You are so talented and I love your blog!
Thanks for visiting my blog too and leaving a nice comment about my Paris apt. accessories :)
I am so excited! I really can not stand my kitchen cabinets…i also painted my top kitchen cabinets white but they are really missing detailing or something. My house was really dark when we moved in…dark wood panel and dark kitchen cabinets…it felt like a dungeon. I painted the walls a light grey and some of the kitchen- but it is those little details that make a room look completed. What a wonderful job you did! I would really like to cut squares and put plexiglass in the doors – but that is a daunting task at this point. Nonetheless, i have been inspired…thank you!
I also painted all of my cabinet doors in the kitchen with the help of my husband . (No arguements either for the duration of the one month project!) We painted both sides of each door. The one step we did that wasn’t mentioned here is we washed them all down with a powerful degreaser (fingerprints and cooking grease, etc.)
It took us one month. We used the top of the line benejamin moore paint and I think that made a difference.
Tip: As we took the door and drawer fronts off, we labeled the hinges that went with each piece. These hinges allowed us to make all sorts of minor adjustments to keep the doors straight, etc. and we didn’t want to re adjust all of the doors. Putting the smae hinges back on eliminated that step.
Hi Lois -
Thanks so much for mentioning the tip about marking the hinges. I do mark mine, too. I learned to to this the hard way – took the doors off of a piece I was re-doing all excited to get it done, only to find none of my door hung straight when I put them back on. Ya live, ya learn. It takes a bit of time in the begining of the re-do, but pays big time in the end. I recently posted about a a hutch I re-did and showed how I mark the hinges.
****just remembered: the powerful cleaning agent was TSP. Amazing cleaning job!****
Hi Lois-
TSP is the best for prep work. I haven’t used it in a while, but remember using it to clean walls before we wallpapered them. It is one of those no frills “classic” products that is inexpensive and works super well. Thanks for sharing the info.
Love it, I will be painting my cabinets very soon and i’ve been looking for different tips. Thanks, Did you use a paint sprayer at all ?
I have 70′s dark wood cabinets. They’re sturdy but really, really ugly. I’d love to paint them as well but would LOVE to hear your tips for making them look as good as yours – they look as thought they were professionally painted or entirely new cabinets.
I have 70′s dark wood cabinets. They’re sturdy but really, really ugly. I’d love to paint them as well but would LOVE to hear your tips for making them look as good as yours – they look as thought they were professionally painted or entirely new cabinets.
Such a great post. Thanks for sharing all the info! We painted our kitchen cabinets white, too. They look SO much better! I think we had similar cabinets; ours had laminate on the sides (!?!?), we put up beadboard, too.
Hi Laurie-
Painting my kitchen cabinets was one of the best things I ever did to make my house look and feel more to my style. I am sure you feel the same way about doing it to yours, too.
I now want to take on two big corner cabinets in my family room that I want to paint white so they look built in. It has been 17 years – I think I need to just do it. I may use Chalk paint as you don’t have to sand or prime first. I will keep you posted. Thanks for leaving me the comment.
I cannot believe you did all this yourself! congratulations! And I love everything. I have to design a kitchen for our old Victorian house and think this would be perfect. Love the floor stenciling. Your use of the shelf brackets is so creative. Thank you!
Hi Linda-
Thanks. Redoing the kitchen was one of those projects that I wished I had done sooner. It has held up great and I would do it all over again. I wanted to have the built in furniture look for the cabinets and knew I could not afford new ones – so I improvised with the shelf brackets. No one ever knows until I tell them. I hope you enjoy designing the kitchen.
This is so inspiring! I’ve been dying to paint my cabinets for 5 years, but I’ve hesitated because I wasn’t sure it would come out well. Looking at your results, I know it can be done!
This seems like a silly question, but I have to ask…did you paint the inside of the cabinets as well? I kind of assume a person would, but I don’t want to make it harder on myself than I have to! :)
Hi Jen-
Good question. I did not paint the inside of the cabinets, but I did paint both sides of the doors. I will post a photo on the post later today so you can see how it looks. I do have one corner cabinet with a glass door. That cabinet got painted inside as you can see inside.
Hi Again Jen-
I just added the photos on the DIY Kitchen post so you can get a visual. :)
Your kitchen is beautiful! Would you mind sharing the name of the wall color?
Hi Sarah
The walls are Sherwin Williams Natural Choice. The cabinets are Antique White.
I can’t remember if I’ve already commented…but wow! You’re a DYI-er after my own heart! Just my style :) I, too, painted my kitchen cabinets…glorious white :)
Hi Jill – I am so glad to hear I am not the only one who sometimes can’t remember if I left a comment on a blog or not. Very funny, but so true when blog hopping. Yes, you did, but you can leave me as many as you like. :)
OMW! I am so glad I found your web-site. I am going to copy so many of your ideas! We are redoing our oak kitchen cabinets and purchased a new Rustoleum product that is as easy to use as paint but has the look of stain. I think I’m going to redo our carpeted stairs with the Rustoleum product (copying the stair project you did) and paint my cabinets white. I can’t believe the before and afters pictures of your house. I kind of dismissed your blog as a ‘rich girl-already has a super nice house-blog’ until I saw your before pictures. I have your ‘before’ house and am looking forward to using some of your ideas to get my house looking ‘super nice’!! Thanks!!
PS: I love how you put product names and pictures!! It is so frustrating to find all kinds of good ideas but no idea on how to find the products mentioned. Thanks again!!
WOW! God has truly gifted you with amazing abilities. I love your ideas they are AWESOME!
I have been wanting to paint my cabinets for some time but was worried about a white refrigerator with antique white cabinets. I just couldn’t visualize it but you have done it and it looks great! Thanks for the inspiration. Now…..how to talk the hubby into helping!!
Wow! What a transformation!!! Absolutely beautiful!!! Visiting from DIY Showoff. Toodles, Kathryn http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/07/kitchen-cabinet-transformation.html
It’s gorgeous! What a beautiful transformation. It doesn’t look like the same kitchen! Thanks for the tip and info on the non mitered trim. I’ve never seen it before – what a great idea (I have a kitchen island to build)!
Thanks so much for sharing your hard work and amazing results in the Roomspiration Kitchen party! :)
Roeshel
a-maze-balls! i love love love the all white kitchen! you have my dream kitchen! great job too!
Hi – I love what you did to your kitchen!!! I have oak cabinets, but they are “pickled” or frosted some call them. Anyway it made them almost a pink color and I hate them. We’ve lived here 10 years and I’ve been chicken to change. Because… I also have white appliances. And I kept wondering what “white” would look like with white appliances. Your cabinets look a little bit off white, but it still looks good with the appliances! What color and brand paint did you use? Oh – and I LOVE the custom look you gave with the extra details! Fabulous work!
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