Should I paint my cabinets?
Many of my customers ask if I paint kitchen cabinets and doors. They have seen home improvement shows where the kitchen is instantly transformed with wonderful results for a few bucks worth of paint. Unfortunately, the shows do not show the reality of painted cabinets. I frequently reface painted cabinets. My new customer invariably says they were not pleased with the initial finish of the paint and that it started to peel quickly.
I do not paint kitchen cabinets because the results are generally poor. To arrive at a factory level finish, extensive prep work must be done and the paint should be applied in a spray booth. That is quite impossible in a customer’s kitchen. What really happens is the surface is poorly prepped, the paint does not stick well and brush marks and the grain of the wood (especially oak!) is visible through the new paint.
Refacing offers a quality alternative to painting. It is more expensive than paint, but less expensive than replacing cabinets entirely. Price wise, it occupies a middle ground between painting and a full remodel but the results are wonderful. Refacing also allows more design flexibility because it is available in painted, glazed and stain finishes on every door style we offer. Our finished results are factory fresh!
The picture featured is from a kitchen in Whitehouse Station, NJ. We refaced their painted cabinets with a glazed finish called Macademia. The little room in the background has Chocolate stain and glass doors in the upper cabinet. 
