How to Simply Transform Your Cabinets With Paint in a Day

Are you tired of looking at your outdated wood cabinets in every. single. room in your home? BOTH of my hands are raised!! We took on a kitchen update project last year and as part of it, we had our kitchen cabinets professionally painted. But since a pro paint job is not exactly in the budget for every room, I decided to take the challenge on myself. I updated our powder room vanity a couple years ago for the $100 Room Challenge and next on the cabinet project hit list was the Laundry Room. Since we’re working on that space now and am so close to the reveal, I thought I would share my tips for How to Simply Transform Your Cabinets with Paint in a Day!

Now, in a perfect world, I would love to replace all the old oak cabinets throughout house. But since this is real life with a real budget, we’re going to work with what we have. Painting the cabinets is the next best thing to buying and installing brand new!

Painting the Laundry Room cabinets was one of those projects I was dreading, but as soon as I started, I got a surge of energy, which is what usually happens once you simply get started with something.

After they were painted, I could not have been happier with the transformation!

I used my very favorite paint [the same paint I used to paint the Basement Guestroom dresser and our Entryway table you saw in my Spring Entryway post] and was able to tackle 7 cabinet doors and the upper cabinet base in a day! 

Here are a few before photos of the Laundry Room cabinets.

LAUNDRY ROOM CABINETS BEFORE

This was just after our laundry room flooded and below was after the new cabinet base, flooring, countertop  and sink were installed.

Like I said, this space, our kitchen and every bathroom had this dated 90’s oak cabinets when we moved in. I wanted a more fresh, updated look and decided gray was the color I was going with for with the Laundry Room cabinets. 

You can read all about how I chose our kitchen cabinet paint colors here. The cabinets were white, but see what I did with the kitchen island!!

HOW TO  SIMPLY TRANSFORM YOUR CABINETS WITH PAINT

I loved the gray I used on the dresser and entryway table, but wanted something slightly lighter for the laundry room cabinets. To get the look I was going for, I ended up mixing equal parts of DecoArt Satin Enamels Warm White and Smoke Grey. The combination of these two colors created a gorgeous light gray and am so in love with how it turned out!

This really was an easy project. If you want to update your cabinets, try not to be too intimidated!

SUPPLIES:

• 4″ foam roller
• paint brush
• 1 – 8 oz. container of DecoArt Satin Enamels Warm White 
• 1 – 8 oz. container of Smoke Grey. 
• container to mix paint in
• paint stick stirrer

DIRECTIONS:

To start out, I had to mix the 2 colors of paint. To do this, I poured one 8 ounce container of each of the 2 colors into an old washed out paint can.

Then I mixed it with a wooden paint stir stick until it was evenly combined.

I removed the hardware from the cabinet doors. Then took the doors off bases. Before I laid them down, I cut open large garbage bags to spread out and cover the garage floor. I would’ve liked to have been able to paint in the driveway or the yard, but it’s still pretty cold here in Chicago. 

Next, I got my paint supplies to begin.

I used a 4″ foam roller to paint the fronts, backs and edges and then a regular paint brush to get inside the grooves and indentations on the face of the cabinet. I’m sure there is a technical term for this area, but I’m referring to the area that dips down lower than the main part of the door.

I used 2-3 coats paint on the doors and let each coat dry about 2-3 hours in between. After the final coat of paint, I let them cure for 24 hours before we hung them back up in the Laundry Room.

PAINTED LAUNDRY ROOM CABINETS AFTER

The process was simple and the outcome was amazing! I’m so thrilled to not have to look at the old yellow oak cabinets every day I do laundry!!

Once we hung the doors back up, we added new hardware.

Look familiar?

They are the same black and gold knobs we used in the Basement Guest Bathroom. We installed this black and gold light in the laundry room last year and I thought the black and gold knobs would be complement the light perfectly!

I am a brand ambassador for DecoArt and have never been disappointed in their paint! I’ve worked with their line of Americana Decor Satin Enamels paint the most and am reminded of just how much I love it each and every time I use it.

It really is the best!

Reasons I love working with DecoArt Satin Enamels paint:

• goes on smoothly – like butter!
• dries fast
• absorbs into the surface
• rolls and brushes on well
• little to no prep-work needed – Assess your piece of furniture or cabinets to see how much of a glaze or gloss is on top. Also, take note of what type of material it’s made out of. I’ve never sanded any of my pieces before using this product.
• leaves a smooth, shiny finish – not matte and not glossy, right in between
• mixes easily
• washes off hands and brushes well
• the colors are great

Do you have any cabinets you’ve thought about updating with paint?

I’ve been putting the finishing touches on the Laundry Room this week, so hope to photograph it soon! In addition to the reveal, I also want to share the peel and stick tile we used as backsplash. Stay tuned for both!!

I’ll be sharing all the sources for the space in the Reveal post, but here are a few sources for the cabinet project.