Best Paint for Kitchen Cabinets: Thinking about painting your kitchen cabinets? It’s one of the most budget-friendly ways to improve your kitchen–and the best part is, it’s not that hard! The key is having the right materials and paint! Below, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite kitchen cabinet makeovers so you can get all the details, and I’ll share what we personally use to paint our cabinets.
BEST PAINT FOR KITCHEN CABINETS
I recommend using Benjamin Moore Advance Cabinet Paint (see why you should use it in this post) in a semi-gloss finish. We painted our Bathroom Cabinets four years ago and they are still in pristine shape!
We recommend using it with Benjamin Moore Advance Cabinet Paint for the best results.
We used brushes to apply the paint, but now recommend using a paint sprayer for a more uniform finish–and have since painted our pantry, and 15 interior doors. If you want to know the difference between the paints, This post goes in depth on my comparison of Sherwin-Williams alkyd paint and Benjamin Moore interior alkyd paint (the Advance line), and which one we ultimately prefer.
BEST BRAND OF PAINT FOR CABINETS:
Personally, we’ve had the best longterm success with Benjamin Moore Advance interior alkyd paint. It is very similar to Sherwin-Williams interior alkyd paint, but the Advance paint line smells less, has truer colors, and holds up better in our experience.
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The important thing to look for is that it is an alkyd paint–this will give you the hardest finish. Benjamin Moore Advance cabinet paint is self-leveling which helps the paint avoid pooling in corners or dripping.
I urge you not to use regular semi-gloss paint for your kitchen cabinets (or any type of cabinets, for that matter). Why? Because it won’t hold up half as well. The previous owners of our house use regular paint in an eggshell finish for our kitchen cabinets and four years later they look HORRIBLE. Regular paint doesn’t hold up well to the abuse a kitchen cabinet goes through. Investing a couple of extra dollars into the right type of interior alkyd paint will make your painted cabinets last for years without chipping!
KITCHEN CABINET PAINTS
Since I only have one kitchen (ha!) I asked my friends to share their amazing painted kitchen cabinet makeovers with you, so you can see different paint colors and paint combinations. My personal recommendations for the painting kitchen cabinets and methods are above, so to see the details of what type of paint they used, go to the source listed below the picture. Some of them have had great success with chalk paint, something I personally, have struggled with using.
Best Kitchen Cabinet Paints
Sustain my Craft Habit shares her gorgeous blue and white painted kitchen cabinets using DecoArt Pure White and Smoke Grey.
Create and Find shares her thrifty DIY makeover painting her kitchen cabinets white using SW Panda White.
Weekend Craft shares her DIY kitchen renovation with butcher block countertops and painted white cabinets.
The Handyman's Daughter shares how to paint outdated melamine oak cabinets.
Simply Darrling shares how she painted her kitchen cabinets white and her island blue.
Tale and Hearth used Sherwin-Williams’ ProClassic Waterborne Interior Acrylic Latex in “Repose Gray” for her kitchen makeover.
Refashionably Late used ProClassic Interior Waterbased Acrylic-Alkyd Enamel to paint her cabinets.
Petal and Ply used Nuvo Cabinet Paint - Titanium Infusion & Coconut Espresso to transform her kitchen.
Artsy Chicks Rule used Sherwin-Williams Oyster Bay.
Thrifty Decor Chick used Sherwin Williams Peppercorn and the uppers SW Pure White color-matched in Benjamin Moore Advance line.
Timeless Creations shared how she transformed her white painted kitchen cabinets!
Sawdust Sisters used SW Repose Gray to makeover her kitchen cabinets.
Sand Dollar Lane used Benjamin Moore White Dove for her painted white cabinets.
Cribbs Style used Behr Marquee satin finish in Whisper White to paint her kitchen cabinets.
Polished Habitat used SW Web Gray and the BM White Dove for her kitchen cabinets.
This Is Our Bliss used BM Simply White for cabinets and BM Hunter Green for the island.
Farmhouse Made used SW Alabaster color in BM Advanced paint.
FAQs About Painting Kitchen Cabinets
What is the best paint to use for kitchen cabinets?
I personally (along with professional painters) recommend using Benjamin Moore Advance paint–it is their version of cabinet paint and it holds up very well with daily use. Choosing the right type of paint is the key to a good finish!
G. S. says
Hello. Our new custom kitchen cabinets were just painted with BM Advance, color White Dove. The contractor wanted to use Flat paint – I said NO. Want a finish that will easily clean so he said to go with Satin. I am so unhappy with this finish – it does not have any sheen and even the slightest fingerprint will not wash off. They sprayed 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of the paint and they look dull, flat and barely look painted. Are the Advance sheens the same as other BM lines because this satin sheen does not look right and feels really flat and ‘toothy’ – nothing like the BM Regal Select Pearl we used on the walls, which has an elegant gloss and looks beautiful and Satin should be glossier than Pearl, right? We are just sick at how these turned out and feel like we are going to have to repaint them ourselves by hand. Even slight fingerprints from installation are not washing off. I don’t see any way this can be durable in it’s present state. Any suggestions?