How Much To Paint Cabinets Professionally
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Today I’m sharing how much to paint cabinets professionally and all of the associated costs. If you’re looking for an affordable way to update your kitchen, painting your cabinets is a great option!
Many factors can affect the cost of painting kitchen cabinets, such as the size of your kitchen, the quality of paint and supplies you choose and whether you hire a professional or do it yourself. Let’s take a look at our recent kitchen remodel, our total cost and the national average to paint kitchen cabinets!
Many professional painters will charge by the linear foot, number of cabinets and square footage of kitchen. Be sure to ask questions and clarify if you do not understand.
Spraying Kitchen Cabinet Cost
Most professional cabinet painters, prefer using a paint sprayer. Spray painting with a specialized paint sprayer is it a quicker process, the end result is more of a factory finish. I highly recommend it!
The cost to have a professional paint kitchen cabinets can vary depending on the location and the cost of living in that area.
Certain areas of the country may have higher labor costs, which can increase the overall cost of the project. We live outside of Boston, Mass and the cost of living and labor rates are high so take that into consideration!
Other factors that may affect the cost of hiring a professional painter for kitchen cabinets include the complexity of the job, the type of cabinets, and the quality of paint and supplies used.
In our case, we were painting over a dark color with a lighter color which meant more sanding, more primer and more paint!
As a rough estimate, the cost to paint kitchen cabinets can range from a few hundred dollars for a small kitchen to $1000+ for a large kitchen if you paint the kitchen yourself.
If you hire a professional painter, the range depending on the size of the kitchen will vary from $1500 – $7500. It’s a good idea to get quotes from multiple painters or suppliers to compare costs and find the best option for your budget.
RELATED: See blog post, how to paint kitchen cabinets professionally for more details
How Do I Estimate Paint For Cabinets?
A gallon of paint will roughly cover about 300 square feet give or take. For comparison purposes, the cost of materials for our kitchen is below.
- 6 gallons Mindful Gray Benjamin Moore Advance Satin – $490
- 3 gallons Zinsser Bin Primer – $130 (first primer used to cover dark stain)
- 2 gallons INSL-X Stix Primer – $150 (second primer to help paint color adhere)
- Caulking and wood filler – $150
- Miscellaneous materials brushes ect. – $100
For larger kitchens, it is worth asking if there is a volume discount if you are purchasing several gallons of new paint.
Zinsser Cabinet Primer
INSL-X Cabinet Primer
Is It Cheaper To Paint Kitchen Cabinets or Replace Doors
Painting kitchen cabinets is much cheaper than replacing doors and a great way to update an outdated kitchen. Depending on how many cabinet doors you have, will determine the door cost.
As you can see below, our dark kitchen cabinets have a lot of detail, crown molding and a lot of cabinet space which increased the cost have them painted.
I had an estimate to have all new shaker style doors made and the cost was roughly $6500 just for new doors.
We then would still need to have the cabinet bases painted. Overall, we saved about $4000 by not replacing the doors.
I will say though that new cabinet doors do have the benefit of minimal scratching or paint chipping especially on a drawer face and cabinet surfaces that may get nicked or dinged frequently.
Our newly painted kitchen cabinets below in light gray look amazing and we couldn’t be happier with the finished look.
RELATED: See blog post, grey kitchen cabinets with white countertops (before and after)
For those of you wondering what the cost would have been to replace the entire kitchen layout with new cabinets, the cabinets alone would have been upwards of $40,000 and that does not include labor for installation and it would have taken about 3-4 weeks to complete the project
The overall kitchen renovation (including counters and backsplash) would have been close $92,000 had we purchased new cabinets.
However, for under $10,000 we hired a cabinet painter and updated our kitchen cabinets with paint, installed soft close hinges and new hardware. The painting process took 5 days total and that included allowing 12-24 hours of drying time in between paint coats.
Is Professional Cabinet Painting Worth It?
I would not recommend tackling this as a DIY project unless you have the time, proper equipment and painting skills to achieve a professional paint finish.
However, before hiring a professional painter to paint your kitchen cabinets, it’s a good idea to ask several questions to ensure that you’re hiring a qualified professional who can deliver the results you’re looking for.
Questions To Ask Professional Painter
For reference, click through our post, how to paint kitchen cabinets like a pro, for more details.
Experience and Portfolio
How long have you been painting cabinets and can you provide references or photos of previous painted cabinets you’ve completed?
Detailed Painting Process
What is your cabinet painting process? Do you remove the doors and hardware, clean and sand the surfaces, and use a primer before painting? The prep work is a key component to a smooth finish that will last so be sure to drill down the prep work entails.
Number of Coats
How many coats of primer and paint do you apply? Will you spray the cabinet doors if removing from hinges? You want to make sure the process is thorough.
Spraying or Brush Technique
Do you recommend spraying the cabinets or brush painting?
Materials
What type of paint and materials do you use for cabinet painting, and are they high-quality paint? There may be additional costs for a quality paint product so be sure to ask what brand they will be using. It’s very important to understand the differences between latex paints and oil-based paints and which one they will be using.
Insurance Coverage
Do you have liability insurance and workers compensation insurance to protect against accidents or damages that may occur during the project? Get a copy of insurance certificate!
Project Timeline
How long do you estimate the project will take, and what is your timeline for completing the job?
Preparation and Protection
A good painting contractor will take a lot of time prepping, preparing the area with drop cloths and plastic to protect counter surfaces and ensure the existing space is protected to prevent damage. Be very clear about your expectations when it comes to ensuring they protect your existing floors, appliances, countertops and lighting.
Pricing and Additional Costs
What is your pricing structure, and what will the final cost? What are potential additional costs? Do you offer a written estimate or contract? If your existing cabinets have old paint, a darker color or not in good condition, they may require additional coats of paint that will add to the total cost. Many times painters will not realize this until they are into the project. Be sure to ask how many coats of paint they will be adding.
Warranty or Guarantee
Can you provide a warranty or guarantee for your work, and what does it cover? Get it in writing!
Addressing Issues
What is your process for addressing any issues or concerns that may arise during or after the project?
Want all of these questions in a printout? I’ve got you covered! Grab printable by filling out your name and email below.
Painting your kitchen cabinets is an easy way breath new life into your kitchen but not all kitchen cabinet painters are equal!
By asking these questions, you can gain a better understanding of the painter’s experience, process, and pricing and ensure that you’re hiring a qualified professional painter who can deliver the best results.
If you are not in the market to paint your cabinets but looking for kitchen remodeling ideas while keeping your existing cabinets, check out our kitchen remodeling ideas on a budget (our lake house kitchen renovation for under $4000).
More Of Our Kitchen Renovation Posts You Will Love
- Modernizing our Mediterranean kitchen & entire house (and why)
- Updating a kitchen without removing cabinets (why we kept our existing cabinets and savings)
- How to paint kitchen cabinets (step by step process on how we painted the cabinets)
- How to remove granite countertop without breaking it
- Countertop Templating Process (how the counter company measures and fabricated our new countertop)
- How to choose kitchen hardware
- How to remove tile backsplash (before and after)
- Best kitchen cabinet paint (all the details on the paint we used for this project)
- Grey kitchen cabinets with white countertops (before and after)
- How to find a contractor for a kitchen remodel and hire with ease
- The best grey kitchen cabinet paint colors (in real spaces and homes)
Meet Jessica
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.
