White and Bright: the beginnings of our kitchen remodel
Well, since this fall proved to be the most awesome fall of all, I decided to finally bite the bullet and paint my kitchen cabinets. I knew that I wanted them to be white, and I had researched all my cabinet painting options (read: justified my Pinterest addiction). So after seeing that the forecast was going to be near 60 for the next week (in Michigan, in November!), I decided it was now or spring, and I went to Menards, aka my happy place.
I decided to go with the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation Kit and had it tinted to pure white (no, I am not being paid to say this).
Other options included milk paint, chalk paint, sand-prime-paint, etc. All of those options had good results, but all of them also had many steps- particularly the step I wanted to avoid most- sanding. As you can see from my cabinets below, I have a lot of them and so sanding just wasn’t an option for this busy mama. With the Rustoleum kit, you use a deglosser to wipe down the cabinets, then start painting, then do an optional glaze, then seal with a topcoat.
So, here are the questions I was asked the most:
1. Was there a lot of prep? Yes, the prep is what takes some time. You need to remove the cabinets and hardware and drawers ( which means you need to empty those drawers- I put mine into bins and kept them in the hallway so that I could still access what I needed). I left my cupboard items inside but pushed them back. Be sure to label your cupboards with numbers when removing. Just write the number on the backside of the cabinet where the hardware was removed and cover with a small piece of painter’s tape. Also label the cupboard it goes with. I taped off a line inside my cupboards and wrote the corresponding number in there. Next, set up a large work space in your garage where you can spread out the cabinet fronts and drawers. 2x4’s on the floor work great. Now, before you start, you need to tape off all appropriate areas and say goodbye to your kitchen for a while. Light a candle and have a moment ;)
2. Was it difficult? No, super easy, but super time consuming. Once your work space is prepped, you begin by deglossing your cabinets. The kit comes with a scouring pad and cloths, but you have to provide your own gloves. This part was easy, but like I said, time consuming. Next you can start painting! The kit says to use a synthetic brush, so that’s what we did. It. Took. For. Ever. To. Brush. On. Also, it looked streaky and uneven. I had high hopes that it would even out with the 2nd coat. It did not. So, I cried. Then, my awesome mother in law offered to go to the store to buy foam rollers. Those worked the best. Good coverage, and MUCH faster. Oh, did I mention you should have a mother in law on your supply list? Oh, and if you have a couple of kids doing nothing at all, hand them a small paint brush and put them to work on the areas that don’t matter as much (that lasted 10 minutes tops).
3. Did it take a long time? Yes, this process is time consuming. The first coat we brushed on (mistake), then we rolled on the 2nd coat which was so much faster and nicer. Then I rolled on a 3rd coat. The box says 2 coats are needed, but I think my dark cabinets needed more. I bought 2 kits for my cabinets since I have so many. It was just enough paint. Then we skipped the glaze option and went straight to the protective coat. All in all, following the dry times, and painting during nap times, the process took 4 days. But remember, I did it a little each day. You could easily do this project (especially if you don’t have kids and you have all the time in the world), in 2 days.
The final product before hardware:
Next: Put the hardware on.
Down the road: new counter tops and back splash, some open shelving, new floors, new sink and appliances, new pendant lighting over peninsula. Unless Chip and JoAnna show up at my house, this list is going to be tackled slowly over the next year or two, but honestly, I can’t wait to get moving on those counter tops and backsplash!!