I know I’ve painted quite a few cabinets since I’ve had this blog (see my kitchen island or my parents’ kitchen), however I feel I have finally perfected the application of paint to wood and veneer cabinets.

If you remember this past summer we painted our 2nd floor bathroom (you can see that project here), however it’s still a work in progress. A couple of projects I still have on my to-do list include refinishing the vanity top and finding a solution for the pink-beige tile and seashell floor we currently have. However, I successfully repainted the wood and veneer vanity cabinet this past week!

As you can see in the above picture, the floor and vanity kind of look dingy and outdated with the new bold paint color and crispy white trim. I was seriously debating whether or not to replace the vanity and top, or do some DIY. In the end, DIY won out and so far I’m happy with the way the vanity turned and the direction we are heading in!

I personally hate oak cabinets and they were even more gross in person. Just an FYI, prep work will always be well worth the effort. I’ve definitely learned this the hard way over the years. The first thing I did was clean the cabinets. I simply used Dawn dish soap and water to cut through all the grease that had built up on the cabinets over the years. Then I removed the doors and removed the drawers. I was originally going to replace the door fronts and drawers with shaker-style faces, similar to Bitter Root DIY’s vanity reno, but due to the cold weather I eventually decided I would just paint the vanity and replace the hardware. I then taped off everything.

Like I’ve said before, I totally have painted cabinets before, however I have learned a few lessons along the way. For my kitchen island and my parents’ kitchen cabinets one thing I failed to do was prime the cabinets. For my island, because they were basic cabinets, I didn’t think I needed to. If I ever repaint my island, I will totally prime them with a primer that fills in the wood grain. Primer that fills in the cracks gives the paint an even surface to adhere to and therefore gives the cabinet a smoother finish.

My parent’s kitchen cabinets were oak just like my vanity and unfortunately oak cabinets bleed through paint. We needed a lot more paint for the face fronts to cover up the bleed-through. In retrospect I would have primed them to fill in the wood grain and seal the wood to prevent bleed-through.

Before you prime (although the primer I used does not require you to sand), I lightly sanded the wood and veneer siding with 220 grit sandpaper to make it easier for the primer to adhere to.

Next, I primed all the cabinets, drawer fronts, and doors. I put about 2-3 coats on the whole thing. Because my paint was dark, I could have mixed some paint in with the primer, but two coats of paint was sufficient to cover and finish touchups.

The paint I used was Benjamin Moore Advance Line Satin. I have used this paint for every cabinet project I have done and it is amazing. It is self-leveling, so when you apply the paint you want to make sure you don’t slap it on thick or it will clump and run. Self-leveling paint is formulated to level out evenly over a surface as it dries, providing a smooth finish. If you over-apply the paint, when it self-levels it will cause drip marks that you will have to resand and paint.

I applied two coats of paint to the vanity itself and put the drawers back in to paint the first and second coat as it was easier to paint with the drawers suspended in the air rather than on the floor. After the first coat of paint had dried on the doors, I hung them back up and applied the second coat.

Finally, after the paint had dried I installed new hardware. The drawer bottoms were a little worn as well, so I opted to resurface them with some contact paper I found at the dollar store.

What a difference a little paint and hardware can make, especially for less than $100! I want to refinish the countertop so it’s a bright white, however the tub and tile refinishing kits tend to be quite potent, so I’m saving that one for summer when ventilation is better. When the vanity top is complete, I’ll have a new vanity look for ~$100!

In the meanttime, I’ll be searching for grey tile-looking vinyl planks and uploading posts as I finish projects!