You know the décor you want in your home and that includes the look and design you imagine for your kitchen cabinets. As one of the focal rooms in your home, your kitchen makes a large statement in the overall feeling of your interior design. Also as a focal area in your home, your kitchen cabinets get a lot of use and attention. With each wipe of polish or disinfectant, each open and close and each scrubbing after a particularly vigorous cooking session (think a nice Italian dinner with tomato sauce at its core), your kitchen cabinets begin to show their age and use.
When you start looking at the condition of your cabinets, and “D.I.Y.” starts to enter the discussion keep the following points in mind and avoid an expensive and laborious effort to paint your cabinets yourself.
There Really is a “Can’t”
We all remember hearing it when we were growing up. “There is no can’t. Just try harder.” In the case of cabinet refinishing, from the perspective of a homeowner looking to revitalize their kitchen cabinets to their original look, or better yet, into a new interior design focal point in your home, “can’t” absolutely exists.
Now, before I go on, I want to state that there is no intention to be argumentative, but having seen the effects of hundreds of failed D.I.Y. cabinet refinishing attempts, I find it crucial to make it very clear.
Despite the impression that they can take on a cabinet refinish project themselves, the average homeowner cannot manage this project on their own and achieve the desired result. Why? To get a professional cabinet refinish on your cabinets, you’ll need:
- You would need thousands of dollars in professional spray equipment.
- Hundreds of dollars in drying racks, power sanders and finishing equipment.
- Space to do the spray work and allow the layers of paint and glaze.
It is impossible for cabinet refinishing to be done and achieve a professional result without these elements. Yes, I said impossible.
Chances are, you’re still going to be tempted to try to refinish your cabinets on your own, or at least Google potential instructions. My advice would be to call a professional who focuses on this kind of work regularly. A qualified professional cabinet painter is well adapted answering all your questions confidantly and also has a strong portfolio, including hands-on samples and pictures of completed work. So, at least explore the potential answers a professional contractor can offer and see their portfolio of cabinet samples before you make a final decision to pursue the D.I.Y. route.
