Restain kitchen cabinets or paint?

2 years ago

My cabinets are solid wood and in good condition. I think they are a pickled stain, which i like even though i know it’s dated. While many cabinets are in good shape, a lot are worn (probably 20 yrs old).

I’m debating restaining everything in the same stain or painting them a light yellow. I will be painting the island purple.

I’m worried that staining has a higher margin or error than painting. But i also feel it’s wrong to paint over quality wood cabinets.

I will be replacing the floors and backsplash. I’m doing all this myself. I also have a lot of cabinets and full size panel doors. I also do not have plans to move or have this done by a professional in 10 yrs. I’m it :)

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Comments (13)

Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
Here’s another pic
Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
Trying again
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i think you should paint/restain/ or reface! any is a good option. if you restain, i would only go darker because there are products out there where you will not have to strip the old finish. just a quick rough up of the surface with sandpaper. then it's almost as easy as painting. celticmoon did this with her oak cabinets and it looks fantastic. painting is also an option if you are careful. I don't believe painting would decrease the value of your house. if it looks great, that's what counts. also a dark choice, girlwithasprin is a great example, but i know it can be done with lighter colors too. my ugly cabinets are extremely well made wood mode that i can't justify throwing out. I hired a cabinet maker to make a new section for me (to replace a desk area that we never used), picked a stain, and he has built the new section and also refaced the old cabs i'm keeping to match. thought i could do this myself but thru much experimenting, decided to leave it to a pro and i'm so glad i did. i think they look great. not cheap, but not as expensive as new cabs. at the beginning of this endeavor, i hoped to paint...easy and cheap... but just couldn't do it because my door style was so awful, it would not have looked good. they were euro flat with the little oak strip along the bottom for handles. good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
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My mother had just a few of her oak cabinets refinished at a reasonable cost. She lives in the Midwest, and sometimes prices for that type of work are lower here. I cannot tell the older cabinets from the refinished - he matched the stain that well. I refinished my own cabinets because of wear around the handles and worn finish on the sink base cabinet. Fortunately there are not that many cabinets in my kitchen - and I did not do the island. When I refinished my cabinets, I also added a few new unfinished oak pieces - a wood hood, spice boxes and a plate rail. I had to play around with some stain combinations to get the new oak pieces to match the older ones. Also I have to admit, I did not refinish the two small cabinets over the fridge. They were in fine shape and for the most part, I finished the cabinets to look like they did before. If I were you I would first look into the cost of refinishing unless you feel comfortable trying it yourself. Be careful of wood stains that accentuate the grain. I am not fond of some Miniwax stains, but their "Pecan" would be a good place to start. Use the back of drawer boxes or cabinet doors to test out stains. If you can't sand out the darker areas, you may have to get new doors for those cabinets. Many home center stores sell unfinished oak replacement doors. Also, most of the kitchen styles / companies sold in Home Center stores can be ordered unfinished. If you can find a company with a similar door style with solid oak doors - you may be able to order the doors unfinished. I ordered my spice boxes from Shrock through Menards and they are solid oak. My kitchen: https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~93784356 https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~93784291
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vivien - dumb question, are the cabinet fronts just screwed in? I looked in the drawers and that's what it appears to be. The cabinet doors have inside hinges (thank goodness) so those should not be too hard if I want to replace them. The drawers are not tongue-in-groove so I'm not sure if they're considered good quality. I replaced the knobs several years ago and the brushed nickel looks much better than the cheap brass that was originally on them. Jhmarie - I don't think my friend used a water based finished. Her cabinet company recommended a different one that supposedly lasted longer. They said they had to stain the boxes so even though they did the doors at their shop, they still sanded the boxes at her house. I had the company that build the cabinets come out a few years ago to give me a quote on restaining. They unfortunately do not carry that particular stain any more so I was told the boxes would need to be done since it would look off just doing the doors. I was quoted something like $1,500 for the restaining vs I'm guessing at least 10x that for new cabinets. I'll look into just replacing the doors and drawer fronts.
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Need Advice on Kitchen Cabinets - Paint or Re-stain?
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forget staining them. as mentioned above, it's actually more work than painting. you have to get them down to raw wood again before applying a new stain. (if you want it to look good) If you were thinking about doing a darker stain, you could do what they've done here to resemble a dark stain. General Finishes Dark Chocolate paint, and 2 coats of their clear coat. (you still have to sand and prime prior to painting) this is from a poster here on Houzz who shared this. right now, your backsplash, tile flooring and countertop are at odds. It's very busy with those 3, and all the other stuff you have going on in there. you have a lot of knick-knacks, plaids, stripes, tile pattern on the floor, granite movement, mosaic tile movement, etc. they really compete with one another. I'd remove the backsplash and that 4" granite piece up the back. Remove everything on top of the cabinets. Pare down half of what you have everywhere else. Paint your cabinets and get new hardware. I'd paint out the trim and baseboards to white, but that's me. on these first few pics, notice how these owners dealt w/the small space above the cabinets by have boxes built to fill in above it. If you're painting, this is easily done. Before/After. paint color is Shoji White with glaze, and Annonymous on the island the one above, and this one, show how removing old tile and the 4" granite piece up the back, make a big difference in look. you could always do a nicer crown molding on the tops of your cabs. look how nice it looks w/the white cabinets, darker wall color, and no stuff collecting dust on top! Maria Kilim before/after. she painted all the oak trim/baseboards, windows, etc. If you want to paint, hire a pro Cabinet Painter, not house painter. ask them how they prep the cabs and how they plan on painting. It's a ton of work to do and cost is going to reflect that. If someone gives you an estimate of 2-3k to do yours, don't fall for it. Read this if you want to know just how much work it takes to get professional looking painted cabinets. https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like
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User
2 years ago
Restaining is stripping the finish off, and sanding the existing stain to below its penetration into the wood, and then restaining and clear coating. It’s 20x more work than the weeks of work involved in painting them. Which is why it’s hardly ever done. Join this group and learn how to do either right. https://www.facebook.com/groups/PaintingKitchenCabinetsforProfit/
kj s
2 years ago
The nice thing about diy is you can stretch it out as long as you like. Upgrade the other things and live with the cabinets as is before you decide. The other upgrades may be enough.
Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you both. That’s what I expected about restaining.
Interesting idea, to not paint and to do the other upgrades first… I wanted to figure out cabinet color first, paint, and then do the floors. Does that order make the most sense or can do floors first and then paint?
Most of the cabinets are in good shape except the ones that are used the most, like this. Any suggestions on what to do about these cabinets if I decide to just leave everything the way it is?
cat_ky
2 years ago
I would scrub those cabinets and get them all nice and clean, and then go on with your floors and other things. You can always come back to those cabinets. Either way, you decide, stripping and restain, or sanding, and painting, are both very time consuming projects, to do them properly, so yes, I agree, with the others, leave them until last.
daisychain Zn3b
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Even if you are doing things piecemeal (floors, cabs, etc.), make sure to have a whole project plan for a long term goal.

I'd start with the floors as the cabs look like they could be right on trend (with a little spruce up). The floors are dominating the space and not in a good way.

If you are in for a big commitment, change the floors. If you are just looking for a little update, try colouring the grout lighter and adding rugs.

ETA: I've stripped lots of furniture and I don't think stripping the doors would be that big a deal if you are not planning on a colour change.

I really can't support a purple island with those pinkish cabs (dark greige maybe?), but to each their own.
Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
First, thank you all so much! I have been asking friends, coworkers, friends of friends who are loosely affiliated with painting and general contracting for advice. None has paralleled the suggestions on here. I’ve decided to focus on the floor first and either keep the cabinets as is, or paint them a light/ pale yellow paint. I am keen on painting the island purple. I had a dark deep purple wall and purple in the curtain and I think it looks great. It’s a gray purple and, I think, corresponds nicely to the stainless. My favorite purple is a BM Faded Violet, but it’s only in Aura, and not in their Advance line. I’ll keep looking!
Today I got a few floor samples of LVT and backsplash. I’m not loving the LVT I got, but kind of like the backsplash.
I currently have tile and don’t like how hard it is on bare feet. I’m thinking LVT b/c I can diy it and because it’s softer. I’d welcome any suggestions though!
Thank you so much already!
Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
I like the left side LVT b/c I think it looks nice against the hardwood it backs up to. I do think it’s kind of busy and I’d prefer rectangular shapes, not square.
The flooring store I went to doesn’t carry a lot of backsplashes, but I found this, and actually kind of like it. I’ll keep looking though.
PRO
Rockin' Fine Finish
2 years ago
I would hire a pro either way to refinish or paint
Fori
2 years ago
The wear on your cabinets looks like they're painted, not stained. Or a sheer paint...or....well, it's not just stain. It's a neat look, and it shows the grain nicely. Looks like oak, and oak can be more challenging to remove color from due to the prominent grain.

But yellow? Yeah. I would like that very much. :) Purple island? I think one can have a purple island in a yellow kitchen but one must be careful.

You can do it!
Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
Okay, I’ve been wondering if they are painted all weekend as I stare at these cabinet doors and examine them. I wonder if they were originally a honey oak stain and painted over?
Meredith K
Original Author
2 years ago
This is the cabinet under the sink. I can scrape some paint off with my fingernail. I can’t believe it! I feel like I don’t know my own house!

Restain kitchen cabinets or paint?

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Restain kitchen cabinets or paint?

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