Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets

Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets

Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets

Mandi was a guest post writer to share her experience of using Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets. This is her account of this transformation.

This is Mandi  coming at you with a public service announcement about a very serious condition that is prevalent in many homes. This condition is known as “brownout”. Brownout happens often, and is caused by builder grade kitchen cabinetry. The side effects of brownout are: lack of color, lack of interest, soul crushing disappointment, kitchen aversion, and without help can be perilous to the interior design value of your home.  Brownout is not your fault, even the most beautiful homes can suffer.

The cure? American Paint Company.

Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets

Now, wood is a beautiful thing, don’t get me wrong. However, our customer’s take on her cabinetry was, “It needs help”. Her home is gorgeous but the acute kitchen brownout was apparent upon first glance.

Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets

Gorgeous countertops and a fantastic backsplash just died with those cabinets surrounding them. It just didn’t GO. It wasn’t special, like the rest of her home. So, we went about curing her kitchen.

 

Step 1:

We removed all of the cabinet doors and drawers from the premises.  After removing old hardware and filling in the old holes, we drilled new ones.

 

Step 2:

A light cleaning and sanding on both sides of the doors was next.

 

Step 3:

Then we painted them front and back in APC Home Plate. (Home Plate is the most perfectly soft heirloom white.) 

APC paint dries quickly, so we were able to knock the doors out in no time, and with very little paint. 19 doors and 9 drawers were covered in less than 1 quart of APC. It’s true. From builder grade brown to full coverage white in two coats?

Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets
Yes! Drawers were also getting new hardware but did not need to be re-drilled. Extra awesome.  A half second clean and sand on the drawers and the paint was applied in no time flat.
Step 4:
A little antiquing glaze was applied to the doors and then everything was sealed with APC Topcoat, which dries fast and clear.
When we popped on that new hardware we knew it was time.
Time to paint out the stationary cabinetry.  I have to admit, this part of the process was weighing heavily on my mind.  Painting on site in somebody’s space is nerve wracking.  Right? Nope.  I painted the stationary cabinets in two coats of APC Plymouth Rock (a lovely soft grey) and sealed the whole business with clear wax.
The painting of all of that square footage was done in just a few hours and less than a quart of paint was used.  
Our lovely customer and I bonded while I worked.  She suffers from horrible allergies and the fact that there were no smells of any kind related to any of the products we used was a huge upside for her.  I mean, I may have (okay… I DID) start to smell after awhile (especially when balancing on a ladder while re-hanging those pesky cabinet doors), but American Paint Company’s goodies are all natural and completely stink-free.
Look at the difference!
Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets
Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets
No more brownout here!
Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets
The tile backsplash and beautiful countertops are reflected and enhanced by the American Paint Company colors we used and the new hardware, along with the new placement of it, helped to turn an acute case of drab brownout to elegant, high end awesomeness.
Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets
Remodeling a kitchen can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but the remedy for kitchen brownout can be had for the cost of a few quarts of American Paint Company paints, waxes, and topcoat.
For reals.
APC is the cure for the drab in your life, without any stinky side effects or funky hours of depressing sanding and priming.
And that, my friends, is awesome!
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Comments

  1. Awesome job! Love it! What a difference. 🙂

  2. Annette King says

    Hey, great job absolutely love the colour. was this a chalk paint you all used?

    • mm American Paint Company says

      Our paint is a chalk/clay/mineral paint that is all natural and eco-friendly. Our finishes contain no hazardous chemicals. Isn’t the finish beautiful?!

  3. Love this makeover. I repainted my kitchen cabinets in our FL house and used paint and glaze from Lowes “Valspar”. They turned out beautiful. I even re-used the 1950’s paint caked hardware; boilded it in a pot on the grill for a couple of hours and all the layers of pain brused right off and looked brand new. One thing I learned, if you attempt this be sure and mark with painters tape the position of all the doors and drawers in the cabinet alignment like upper door 1, 2, 3 etc; and drawer 1, 2, 3 etc. Will make reinstallment lots easier.

  4. Gloria Burton says

    Any good news for people who have cabinets with wood grained laminent? Some of the doors have damage, the whole cabinet system is fiber board and all of the base cabinets and doors are lalminated (30 years old). We live in a mobile and hate to think of what the cost would be to replace all these cabinets. I know I can fill cracks, roughen up the surfaces and paint, but am fearful of maintenance down the road, and them potentially looking worse with scratches and chips. Any advice is certainly appreciated! Thanks …

    • mm American Paint Company says

      The best way to handle that type of door is just what you said (fill cracks, roughen up surface with sanding and paint) and the beauty of an all natural paint is that it does not chip like a latex (synthetic) paint will. However, you do want to protect it. Our Top Coat (3 coats) will give you a water resistant finish but the ultimate question for small space living is: who is using it? This would need to be answered to determine the level of abuse they will receive, since in smaller spaces, everything tends to get used regularly. Are there small children in the home? Pets? Answering these questions can help you determine the best route to go for a final finish.

      • Gloria Burton says

        Three adults but also terrier doggies, one quite young and jumps on cabinets. Hopefully we’ll be able to train him not to, but is a concern for the bottom cabinets. Do you have a store in Olympia, WA area or other outlet who carries your paint products?

        I am so eager to also paint the insides of the cupboard doors which are terribly stained from years of use. There is no laminant, just the fiberboard. Will be painting inside of all cabinets also, does this paint work well in a sprayer? Please advise. Appreciate your feedback 🙂

        • Gloria Burton says

          I’ve worked with glazes and even created some of my own. Can you say more about your glazes? Are they waterbase? Is the chalk paint waterbase also?

          When we’re done talking about cabinets, I have a houseful of dark (walnut) laminant paneling to consider for painting also… I might be a customer for quite awhile!
          GB

  5. Has anyone also replaced hinges when painting cabinets? I’m thinking of painting our cabinets and getting new hardware as the hinges are ugly and gross. My concern is will they become loose if I try to hang new hinges where the old ones were?

  6. Did you brush or spray the doors and drawers?

    Thank you.

  7. Why did you choose to wax the cabinet boxes and topcoat the doors? I’m getting ready to tackle mine and see it done both ways. I’d love your input!

    • mm American Paint Company says

      Top coat would give extra protection for the surfaces that may be exposed to more wear and tear.

  8. I’d like to paint our builders oak bathroom vanities. Either a charcoal or off white. How many coats will I need? The sides are oak color laminate …do I treat that differently? What to use on topcoat? Can I get a smooth rather than an antique finish? if it comes out good I’ll tackle the kitchen!

    • mm American Paint Company says

      How many coats of paint you need will depend upon what color you are covering and what color you are painting. Two coats is a good rule of thumb. For the laminate sides, just lightly sand the surface to give a “bite” for the paint to grab onto. You can choose whether you want a smooth finish or lightly distress for that antique look. Either way, distress before adding your Top Coat finish.

  9. Diane Taylor says

    would like to have cabinets painted ASAP

    • mm American Paint Company says

      You can find an authorized retailer in your area to purchase our products by clicking on the the “Find a Retailer” tab. Thank you and we are glad you liked our cabinet transformation!

  10. There are so many projects I could use this for, but I think the first one would be the chair rail for my daughter’s bedroom.

  11. Hi ,
    Loved this post Eco Friendly Paints to Transform Your Kitchen Cabinets . Sharing it on my Facebook and Pinterest profile.
    Cheers

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