How To Paint Laminate Kitchen Cabinets

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When it comes to painting kitchen cabinets, I found all kinds of ways to do it on the internet. You can sand the cabinets down, clean them, then paint. You can use a paint sprayer. If they are wood, you can stain them. But in every tutorial I found, you absolutely had to sand them first. Now, I like finding the easiest, most cost effective way to do DIY projects and the thing is that my cabinet fronts are laminate. How to paint laminate kitchen cabinets was the question. You can’t really sand them, and I didn’t want to have to sand them but paint tends to not stick as well to laminate. The solution? Chalk paint. Or in my case, Amy Howard One Step Paint. It’s literally called one step. No sanding, no stripping, no hard cleaning.

For my kitchen cabinets, I went with Amy Howard One Step in Bauhaus Buff. It’s a perfect white tone, leaning a tad bit on the warm side but perfect against my Chantilly Lace wall and countertop color. (Yes, I painted my countertops!)

Let’s cut to how to do it now and my top tips for getting a smooth finish.

Here is what I was working with!

Here is what I turned it into!

DIY Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Prep It

• Amy Howard One Step Paint in Bauhaus Buff
• Amy Howard Matte Sealer
• Foam paint roller (important!)
• Paint tray
• Drill or screwdriver
• Drop cloth or a sheet to protect your work area
• Cups (at least 3-4 per cabinet front)
• Painters tape

Do It

Step One

The first step is to remove all of the cabinet fronts from the bases. I thought about leaving them on to save time but it would have looked silly when finished and I didn’t want to have to redo it all. So removing the doors was necessary. Use your electric drill to speed up the process. If you’ve never removed a door, all you have to do it unscrew the screws that are on the hinges and it should come right off. Also remove all the handles or knobs.

*Keep in mind which doors go where since cabinets are usually different sizes even if they might appear to look the same size.

Step Two

Prep your workspace. Lay out all your doors on a flat surface lined with a drop cloth or sheet to protect your floor or table. Prop up each door on 4 cups each placed under the door, not too close to the edges. You could use 3 cups but 4 makes it steadier. Then tape off the insides of the cabinets where you don’t want to get paint. I did the frame but not inside the cabinets as you can see by my photo below.

Step Three

Use a foam roller (the key is foam) and start painting with the One Step paint. You’ll most likely have to do at least two coats. The One Step paint adheres very well like chalk paint and you won’t have to do a ton of coats. The foam roller applies a great even coat and makes it smooth, unlike how a paintbrush would leave streaks.

Step Four

Using a clean foam roller, apply a top coat of the Amy Howard Matte Sealer. This makes the surface easy to wipe off and keep clean. It also makes it look finished. I used this same sealer on my DIY Wood Dresser Makeover. 

Step Five

Put the hardware on the doors and the doors back on the cabinets and marvel in your beautifully painted kitchen cabinets that you did on your own! I upgraded the handles to new gold ones from Home Depot. To keep the cabinets clean, a magic eraser works wonders.

Now let’s look at some before and after pictures. So much better, right? We also changed the floors, upgraded the sink, faucet, appliances, added shelves, and painted the countertops. 

Any questions? Leave them below! This whole project on painting laminate kitchen cabinets cost under $80. Much, much cheaper than replacing the cabinets and anyone can do it. It might look like a daunting task but it’s a pretty simple DIY project for your kitchen. 

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