Painted Kitchen Cabinets: 2 Years Later

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Painted kitchen cabinets are a hot trend in home decor, and one that’s been around for a while. (I don’t see it going anywhere soon, either!) I get questions about how my painted kitchen cabinets are holding up all the time. Everyone wants to know if I would make the same choices again after I’ve lived with them for a while.

How my Painted Kitchen Cabinets are holding up 2 years later!

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Yes, I’d paint them again in a heartbeat. But there’s more to it than that! Keep reading.

RELATED: How to Paint Kitchen Cabinet without professional equipment

I do want to point out that it hasn’t quite been 2 years since we painted them, but it’s close. I decided that it would sounds funny if I said 1 year and 3 quarters later, so I just rounded up to 2! I imagine they will be in the same shape at the exact 2-year mark as they are now.

If you are even considering painting your cabinets (in your kitchen or otherwise), this is a must read! And please feel free to ask me more questions in the comments and I’ll add to this post if there are more things that need to be addressed!

FAQ’s about my Painted Kitchen Cabinets

How are the Cabinets Holding Up?

The cabinets are holding up very, very well. While we do have some chipping, it’s very minimal and is not noticeable to anyone but me, I’m sure of it! It’s important to note, too, that almost all of the chipping happened within the first couple of weeks. It seems that the paint too a bit longer to dry than the suggested time on the paint can. I don’t know if I would have been able to go without using them for any longer, but it might have been worth it to avoid those dings.

These DIY Painted Kitchen cabinets are holding up so well, except for a couple little dings here and there!

Any other problem areas have been a result of content hitting or rubbing, like this spot where the other cabinet door hits when it’s opened. My girls play in this cabinet all the time and well, they are kids, so they don’t open it as gently as I’d like. It’s a small price to pay for their play time while I’m making dinner.

Cabinets painted in Benjamin Moore's Simply White are holding up extremely well after 2 years!

Here’s another spot that took some hits when we were putting up the plates that first week or so! I’m sure I’m the only one who notices them!

What Kind of Paint to Use On Kitchen Cabinets?

Ahhh, the big kahuna! This question is the most received question I’ve gotten since I painted my cabinets. I have used two different paints for painting cabinets in my home.

Ace Hardware’s Door, Trim and Cabinet Paint: It is a very thin paint that glides on and dries extremely smooth. You want to paint with multiple thin coats of paint, so I did. And after a few minutes I would go back to a door and check for drops or pooling in the low parts of the cabinet doors. I could lightly run my brush through the pools or drips and the paint would level out again and not show brush marks.

Bejamin Moore’s Advance Paint (this is what I used on the kitchen cabinets): It is not as thin and dries much faster that Ace’s paint. After two coats on the doors, you can still see some brush strokes in the beveled parts of the door. I had planned to try to paint a 3rd coat after thinning the paint with a little water, but decided they were good enough. (I’m too busy or lazy to take them down and paint another coat.)

Final thought: I think BM Advance is a fabulous paint, but if you use it, I would highly recommend thinning it, or painting quickly, while leaving the top on the paint to keep it from thickening. If you do thin it, follow Benjamin Moore’s directions on the can.

Is the Benjamin Moore Advance Paint Yellowing?

Nope! Not one bit. I’ve heard it said time and time again that the Benjamin Moore Advance Waterborne Alkyd Paint can yellow, especially if you use white, which we did. But we’ve had no problems in this department. By the way, the color we chose was Benjamin Moore’s Simply White.

Gorgeous painted kitchen cabinets are holding up well after 2 years of use! | Benjamin Moore's Advance Paint

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets without Sanding?

I get this question a lot in person, so I imagine people in the online world are wondering this too. I didn’t sand my cabinet bases, because I didn’t want to sand inside and have to cover everything to keep the sawdust at bay.

So, I chose to use a liquid deglosser instead. I was skeptical at first if the finish would hold up, but it has worked so well. Like I said, the chipping happened right after I painted, so I think it would be totally fine if you just allow the cabinets to cure for a couple of weeks, if you can!

Cabinets painted in Benjamin Moore's Simply White are holding up extremely well after 2 years!

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Would you recommend Spray Painting Kitchen Cabinets?

I think I would! When I painted my cabinets, I didn’t own a paint sprayer, so I did everything by hand. But since then I’ve used a paint sprayer to paint my fence and it was wonderful! I will definitely give it a try in the future on any large painting projects.

In conclusion, I would totally recommend painting your cabinets if you desire a different look and don’t want to hire a professional. The work is hard, but totally worth it! I hope you’ll share your painted cabinets with me if you ever decide to paint them!

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22 Comments

    1. Chelsea, did you ever find a white paint that didn’t yellow? I want to paint mine but I’m scared they will turn yellow.

  1. Hi! I painted my kitchen cabinets in the exact same way with the exact same color in June of 2012, and I absolutely LOVE THEM. My theory was to paint them straight white and then when they got banged up and chipped, to “distress” and glaze them. Instead, I’ve been touching them up and apparently bought a new gallon of the BM Advance Simply White in 2014 and the touch ups were really great, just made sure to sand down chips for a smoother appearance. However, I haven’t done it for a few years (hubby has MS and is in a wheelchair, so I constantly battle the urge to keep him out of the kitchen for the cabinets’ sake and knowing that being independent is way more important than paint all day, every day!). While the paint on the cabinets hasn’t yellowed, it seems that the paint in the can has, ugh! I’m afraid that the colorants/formula could have changed enough since 2012 and 2014 that I could have a real problem on my hands…suggestions???

    1. I’m using BM Advance Satin in Chantilly Lace too, and found when doing touch-ups that the paint in the cans has yellowed. Some googling suggests that this is due to a lack of light exposure inside the can, and that it will reverse over time once it’s actually on a wall. I’m going to give my touch-ups a few days/weeks before I worry / buy more paint.

  2. Thank you for posting this article on your experience with painting cabinets. I have been looking at several articles to redo my bathroom cabinets. Was there a specific finish you used or recommend? Did you seal them or clear coat finish of some sort? Curious if you suggest any of these things since these cabinets will be in our main bathroom that get kids foot traffic, and are not so gentle on the cabinets. I appreciate your thoughts on prolonging the wear and tear on painted cabinets.

    Sincerely,
    Monica

    1. Hi Monica, I didn’t seal them or anything because polyurethane can yellow over time and I don’t want yellow cabinets. 🙂 We have painted cabinets in our kids bathroom, which has held up beautifully. But we used the Ace Hardware Trim, Door and Cabinet paint, which I say is more durable than the Benjamin Moore Paint we used. So, if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick Ace’s paint. I wrote a whole post about it here —>>> https://theturquoisehome.com/guide-painting-cabinets/ I hope this helps! xo, Laura

  3. Laura, I agree that you don’t always have to sand cupboards before painting; providing you use a good-quality primary, that is. A wood or melamine primer, depending on the surface, always does the job. When painting, like you, I’d always recommend spraying. Of course, it takes a little more preparation as you don’t want to cover your appliances in paint; however, it makes for a much more even, professional finish. Although, some people forget that, typically, you still need to apply a couple of coats even when spraying. I don’t think you can avoid small dinks after painting, just be as careful as you can!
    ——
    Alex

  4. Thanks for this Laura! Painting my kitchen cabinets is on my “to do list”. I’ve been debating on using paint or chalk paint. This has me leaning towards the paint now! Love hearing updates from those that have already done the leg work! xo

    1. Yay! I’m so glad it was helpful, Kelly! Good luck with those cabinets! It’s hard work, but so worth the effort!! – Laura

    2. Hi! Did you seal your cabinets?
      I was originally going to the store for Bejamin Moore’s advanced paint however I ended up with the the Ace’s Door, Trim and Cabinet paint as the worker told me they were basically the the same, Benjamin just had a more prettier look to it.
      Would you prefer BM over Ace’s? I’m debating going back now.
      Also, did you seal your paint? I’ve read to seal the paint to prevent any dings and chips but haven’t read many others who also painted cabinets that sealed them!

      Thank you

      1. Hi Rebecca, you may have already painted by now, but I really loved the Ace’s Door, Time and Cabinet paint best, so I’d keep it! And I didn’t use anything to seal the paint. It dried pretty rock solid if you let it cure! I’d try to give it as long as possible to cure before heavy use – like a week or so! Hope this helps! xo, Laura

  5. Also, missed you at Haven. Think I saw you in the lobby by the elevators. We (actually our contractor as we were doing a major remodel of the entire house and the entire kitchen cabinets were brand new) painted our kitchen cabinets in Benjamin Moore Ice Cube and all our trim is in BM White Dove. There are only a few places that chip a little and it’s been 4 years ago. We just dap a little paint on if it starts to bother us. Still I love white cabinets for any style of decor. Yours look awesome.

    1. Awww, such a bummer that we missed one another! Please stop me if you see me again! 🙂 I’ve definitely thought that if one of the chips bothers me enough I’ll just put a dab of paint on it and call it a day. I should probably just go around and fix them all up now that I’ve blogged about it! Ha! Have a great evening, Carol! xo, Laura

  6. Love how you did your kitchen and it is good to hear how well the paint job is lasting.
    I went a totally different direction in painting my bathroom cabinet. First of all this is a manufactured home. Big mis-communication on the solid wood cabinets we ordered. We ended up with solid wood doors and drawers but the cabinet facings were that horrible fake wood. Later we had the kitchen cabinets and laundry room cabinets refaced in real wood. And I am not thrilled but it is better than that paper stuff.
    Fast forward several years. I forget how many. Had a sick hubby for 4 years so everything was put on hold to care for him. I always told him I would some day do my own refacing of the two bathroom cabinets. OH Lordy did I ever. YES I did paint the lovely wood doors. The cabinets got my mosaic treatment. LOL Some how after doing the cabinet the wood doors just did not cut it. I thought to just sand them and do a turquoise stain and fiddled around with a spare door that was badly flawed I held back to experiment on. I knew I would some day put it to good use. And YES Turquoise is one of my favorite colors too. It is a rather flat paint and seriously considering going one more coat with a higher gloss. but so far it has been holding up well. Of course this is just the guest bath and I do not have a lot of guests. LOL
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/50185661@N03/34119978021/in/dateposted/

    1. Wow, Chris! What an amazing space! I wouldn’t have have expected anything less than the mosaic treatment from you, Chris. 😉 I hope you’re doing well! Laura

  7. Great update and info! ‘m about to paint the bathroom cabinet in the guest bath. On another note. I love the picture of you and your Haven buddies! I was at Haven too. Since I’m super new (4 months), this was my first year and Sarah (L-O-V-S) was my mentor! So wish I could have met you in person. There’s always next year – I will definitely be back. Love your blog. I look forward to each post.

    1. Awww, so fun to hear that you loved Haven, too. Stop me next year, OK!? I’ll be there for sure! Haven’t missed a year since I attended the 2nd ever Haven 4 years ago. I really get so much out of each one. Congrats on starting the blogging journey. It’s a bumpy, yet fun ride!! (And Sarah’s one of the best. I just love her!) Thank you for reading!! xo, Laura

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