This post has nothing to do with anything… I wrote in four years ago and I actually cannot even remember for whom I wrote it… someone asking about my advice for painting kitchens (which I hope to never do again). The cover photo show Kimberly helping me paint the light in our old kitchen. I am going through some old “drafts” and either saving them or deleting them… I am saving this one for my own reference… just in case…

Friends in Washington are in the middle of painting their kitchen.  I’ve told them everything that I do and as I am a complete amateur I am just hopeful that my advice helps them!

I have helped to paint a couple kitchens other than my own.  I don’t like to do it and I hope no one ever asks me for help.  I do, however, love the results.  The other day my sister said that she wished she like to paint as much as I do.  HA!  I don’t really like to paint anything – but I love to see the changes.   Speaking of my sister – one of these kitchens is hers. The other belongs to my parents… so that is the motivation to take on the terrible task of painting cabinets.  It has to be done out of love.

When painting kitchens I have used Farmhouse paint (like chalk paint but doesn’t need finishing), oil paint, alkyd paint, and Benjamin Moore Advance paint.  The latter is definitely my favorite.  The oil paint gave a beautiful finish but the Advance paint was every bit as nice and was so very much easier to use!!  I have also learned to use a combination of brush (high quality) and small rollers. (Microlon is a new material that I love – I found these rollers at Lowes, made by Whizz.)  I also use Krud Kutter to clean the cabinets before beginning.

The main thing I tell my friends is to not freak out about it.  It takes a lot of work but it isn’t rocket science and you save so much money doing it yourself!  If you make a mistake just clean it up, cover it up or live with it.

Have I mentioned that whenever I paint in white I use “Marshmallow” by Sherwin Williams.  Because I prefer Benjamin Moore paint I have had to learn how to use their computer to formulate the color.  I once watched the man in Texas do it – and I have now taught several hardware store employees how to do it.  On their computer screen it has a space for manufacturer which is automatically (duh) set to Benjamin Moore.  It is as simple as scrolling down to Sherwin Williams.  They have sooo many other manufacturer options which means you have an almost endless resource for color which can all be mixed in high quality paint!

The first kitchen is my sister’s.  I flew to Washington to help her paint – she has teenage kids who were also a big help.  We primed and painted while I was there but then I had to wait for the final pictures after the doors were rehung and hardware added.  She also replaced her floor and countertops.  I love the way it all turned out.

I painted my parents’ kitchen (and walls) during a visit a couple years ago.  This time I used a small sprayer because we were also painting all of their interior doors.  It went quickly but I forgot to thin the paint so it wasn’t quite as nice as I would like.  It is also too much work to take down and rehang all of the doors – but it is also a lot of work to paint them by hand… I’m not sure what I would do next time.  We also added wainscoting to the dining walls and along the bar.  Such a transformation!!  Hmmm – apparently I have never taken an “after” photo – but you get the idea…