Our cabinets are officially done! Well, I might add pulls but that’s for another day 😉 We transformed our kitchen cabinets from an warm-colored wood to a gorgeous grey. The specific paint color we used was Agreeable Grey by Sherwin Williams. Scroll down to shop the materials we used, learn what we did step-by-step, see progress pictures, shop our kitchen decor and see the after pictures!
MATERIALS
The only product I couldn’t link was the paint itself. We used Valspar Cabinet Enamel as the paint base and chose the color Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams.
DAY 1
First, Bryan took off all of the cabinets with his drill. The most important part for this was keeping track of the cabinets AND the corresponding hardware. We did this by taking a Sharpie to discretely number each cabinet and then numbered Ziploc baggies with the corresponding hardware. The number on the cabinets was written where the hardware would be when the cabinets were put back up. While he finished that, I removed some of the items on the cabinet shelves that were too full along with the drawers.
The next thing we did was take a hand sander or piece of sanding paper to remove the top glossy finish. This helped the primer and paint bond to the cabinets and is a MUST.
After we sanded everything, we wiped the dust off, removed the microwave and began putting blue painter’s tape on anything that could get bumped by a paintbrush. This included cabinet shelving, walls, the dishwasher and counters. Once everything was taped off, we put plastic over all of the counter tops and brown paper on the floor below the cabinets.
Next up was PRIMING everything! My mom and I took care of the frame while my dad and Bryan did the cabinet doors in the garage. The doors were propped up by Emmett’s huge Legos and put on white tables. Also! The primer will look splotchy but that’s normal. Make sure there aren’t primer drips though!
The primer dried in less than an hour so we got started on the first paint coat after lunch. For both the priming and paint, we used sponge brushes for edges and corners that were hard to get and a roller for big surfaces. We tried to roll over as much of the cabinets as possible because the roller gives a more even finish.
The last thing for day one was adding caulk to any spaces showing. When we had wooden cabinets these spaces are hidden but could really be seen once the paint was on.
DAY 2
We applied a second coat of paint during the second day.
While we were painting the second coat, we realized that the caulk was applied too thick to some of the cabinet doors so we had to remove it, sand them, reapply the caulk and repaint them. This setback only took an hour to fix so it wasn’t too bad!
After all of the paint was on, we left everything to dry all day and ended up putting the cabinets on and taking off the blue painter’s tape the next day. The reason for this was to make sure the paint was completely dry before doing anything.
Pin this graphic for reference! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
LESSONS LEARNED
- Don’t swatch too big! They’re harder to cover up. We ended up having to put 3 layers of paint where I was comparing paint colors.
- Go light on the paint and build as you go! Paint drips can be a pain in the booty to keep track of.
- Go light on the caulk AND do this during daylight! We tried to get ahead for the next day and ended up screwing ourselves because we couldn’t see what we were actually doing.
- It’s completely okay to sand and repaint after! While the doors were drying in the garage, we had a few specks of dirt dry to them. We were able to take a piece of fine sand paper, sand off the specks and paint over if needed.
That’s all I have for you today! Drop your experiences or questions in the comments below or DM me on Instagram.
Want to help my blog? The best way is by SHARING! Pin, share on Instagram, email or share on Facebook! I love sharing with you and so happy you’re here. Have a great day ❤️
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
