Transform the heart of your home with these simple kitchen painting tips-perfect for a weekend DIY project
“Can you paint kitchen cabinets?” We get asked this all the time and the answer is a big, resounding yes! With a bit of prep and the right tools, you can give your kitchen a whole new look in just one weekend. All it takes is your favourite Chalk Paint or Satin Paint colour, a Flat Brush or roller and you’re good to go.
Just don’t forget the final step: sealing your paint. Use Clear Chalk Paint Wax for a soft, matte look, or opt for Chalk Paint Lacquer for added durability and protection. If you’re using Satin Paint you don’t need to use Wax or Lacquer which makes it even quicker!
How to use Chalk Paint to transform your kitchen
Get inspired by Natalie’s Olive cupboards
Natalie, our Head of Sales, gave the kitchen in her Georgian stone cottage a stunning makeover using Chalk Paint in Olive. Her husband, a skilled cabinet maker, handcrafted the Shaker-style cabinets from solid wood to fit the room’s charming, quirky layout. Natalie wanted the space to feel airy and balanced, while also creating more worktop space. She chose Olive to work with the rest of the dark earthy palette in her pretty home.
To get started, Natalie removed the cabinet doors and laid them flat to paint, using a small roller and flat brush for a smooth, even finish. She made sure the surfaces were clean and dust-free before applying two thin coats of Olive Chalk Paint, working quickly and using the same batch of paint for a consistent colour. For a soft contrast, she painted the cabinet interiors in Old Ochre, then sealed everything with two coats of Chalk Paint Matt Lacquer.
“I love the beautiful earthiness of Olive. It’s the perfect colour for a kitchen. It gives it real character and depth,” says Natalie.
WATCH ANNIE PAINTING KITCHEN CABINETS
Paint just one piece
If you don’t have time to paint your whole kitchen why not paint a free-standing larder or table instead? Here Chalk Paint in Whistler Grey transforms an old wooden larder into a stylish piece with a utility vibe. This warm, versatile shade is a homage to the 19th century American-born artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s work, who painted incredibly atmospheric and impactful pictures using only neutrals.
How to use Satin Paint to transform a laminate kitchen
Lots of us have laminate kitchens which look a bit tired and dated — but the good news is, a few coats of Satin Paint can completely transform them. Updating your kitchen is the perfect project for painters of all abilities. “With help from a partner or friend and no interruptions, you could do your kitchen cabinets in a weekend,” explains Annie. “If the thought of a big job is overwhelming, break it down. Do your top cupboards one week and your bottom cupboards the next.”
Use Satin Paint for a simple update
There is no need to use Wax or Lacquer with Satin Paint. This makes it a quicker solution for painting your kitchen cabinets.
Here, Satin Paint in Knightsbridge Green has been used on the cabinets to contrast with Wall Paint in Terre Verte and a fabulous checkerboard floor in Scandinavian Pink and Original. “Every plain surface is an opportunity for decoration, from vases and bowls to furniture, floors and lighting. The harlequin pattern lends itself beautifully to decorative painting, whether precise and clean-lined or loose and painterly,” suggests Annie.
TOP TIP: Make your own bespoke kitchen colour
We spend a lot of time in our kitchens, perhaps even more than any other room in the home, so it’s important that you’re happy with how it looks and feels which means the colour needs to be right! We have 51 shades of Chalk Paint to choose from, but did you know that you can mix and match them to create your own custom shade too?
In this aubergine kitchen Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue was mixed with Emperor’s Silk to create the perfect purple to contrast with the pink walls painted in Wall Paint in Antoinette.
We’d love to see photos of your own kitchen paint projects, tag us on Instagram so we can see your transformations.
