Painting our oak cabinets white is one of the most worthwhile DIY projects I have ever tackled. Seriously, one of the very best. It certainly isn’t the flashiest project I have done and it wasn’t the fastest by a long shot. But the difference this one simple step has made in our home is unbelievable. Now I am more excited than ever to get the rest of our budget kitchen makeover underway!
When I was deciding what process to use to paint my kitchen cabinets, I was focused on two things:
- I wanted really beautiful, professional looking results.
- And I wanted it to be as quick and painless as possible. In that order.
I’ve seen lots of tutorials for painting your cabinets the absolute fastest, easiest way possible and while I am all for that, I am a total perfectionist at heart. I knew I wouldn’t be happy with anything less than a perfect paint job and I wasn’t willing to save time if it meant less than perfect results. And yes, that meant doing extra work to eliminate that oak wood grain. But even with my high expectations, I was able to eliminate a few steps by using the right paint and materials.
This post is sponsored by DecoArt. The opinions, methods, and hours of work are all my own. This post may also contain affiliate links. See my full disclosure here.
Okay, before I get into all the how-to stuff, let me take a moment to talk about oak cabinets and the wood grain debate. Oak cabinets have the special distinction of having a very prominent wood grain. Most pine, maple, cherry etc. wood cabinets don’t have this extra issue. I am not just talking about the fact the cabinets look like wood, this grain is etched into the face of the cabinets. When you paint oak cabinets white, the grain texture remains very apparent.
This doesn’t bother some people one bit. But as I said, I’m a total perfectionist and it bothers me. Instead of fresh, classic white cabinets, to me, they look like dated oak cabinets that are trying to hide behind white paint. So there was no question I had to take care of the wood grain before I could really start painting. This was by far the most time-intensive part of the whole project, but the final finish on my cabinets is flawless so it was totally worth it.
Materials for Painting Kitchen Cabinets White
Dawn dish soap and rag
DecoArt Satin Enamels paint in Pure White
foam roller for smooth surfaces
DecoArt Americana Decor paintbrushes
Painting Oak Cabinets White
Step one: Remove the doors
Before you can really get started at all, you have to remove all of the cabinet doors and drawers. Be sure to label each door as you remove it so you will know exactly where it goes. If you are reusing your hinges, be sure to label them as well. I simply labeled a small baggie and stuck all of my hinges and screws in the baggie. This is important because even though cabinet doors may look the same, if they are put back in the wrong spot, they will not fit correctly. (Trust me. I have a friend that did this and their cabinets that they worked so hard to paint looked awful because the doors were all misaligned.)
Step two: Clean the cabinets
As with most painting projects, preparing the surface for paint takes the majority of the work. But if you want your paint to last, it is vital. Before doing anything else, your cabinets need to be very, very clean. Even though they look clean, cooking grease builds up over the years and paint most definitely does not like to stick to grease. A lot of people use TSP to degrease their cabinets, but I read a tip that Dawn dish soap works just as well. And since I swear by Dawn for cleaning just about anything, that is what I went with. I wiped my cabinets down with soapy water and then wiped them down with a clean rag to remove any soapy residue.
I followed this up with DecoArt stain blocker. This also helps with making sure any lingering grease and grime is sealed away, but more importantly, it keeps wood tanins from ruining your paint job. Have you ever painted a piece of wood furniture white only to find the wood color seeping through your fresh white paint? These are wood tanins seeping through. The first time I was painting a piece of furniture and this happened, I tried to cover it up with more and more layers of paint without success. Certain dark woods and red-toned woods have to be sealed or the tanins will continue to leak through your paint no matter how many coats you add.
Step three: Deal with the wood grain
I did a lot of research and a bit of experimentation on the best way to deal with the oak wood grain. The clear consensus was that spackle is the best way to eliminate wood grain. Yep, I’m talking about the same spackle you use to patch nail holes in drywall. Use a flexible putty knife to apply a very, very thin layer of spackling over the surface of your cabinets. Give it a few minutes to dry and then sand all of the excess off using a very high grit sandpaper. (I got the best results from 320 grit.)
Once it is sanded, the spackle will only be left in the little crevices of the wood grain, leaving them smooth with the surface of the wood. Once everything is sanded smooth, use a microfiber cloth to remove the sanding dust. Do not use a wet cloth, as the water will pull the spackle out of the wood!
Personally, while I did paint the inside of my cabinet doors, I did not spackle them. I only did this step on the most prominent areas – the drawer fronts, cabinet doors, and cabinet boxes. Because of this, it is really easy to see the difference between filling the wood grain and skipping it. Here are a few pictures that show how the wood grain looks painted to help you decide if it is something you want to worry about or not.
Step four: Paint
And finally, the last step is to actually paint. I used a foam roller meant for painting smooth surfaces to pain the flat areas and I used these paintbrushes for getting into smaller areas. After hundreds of painting projects, I’ve learned that the paintbrush you use matters. A lot. I’ve turned into a bit of a paintbrush snob, so when I saw these DecoArt paintbrushes I wasn’t even planning to use them at first. But I decided to give them a try, and I am so glad I did. The bristles are extra soft and are perfect for getting a very smooth finish. I will definitely be using these again in the future.
Okay, so here is the secret to getting an incredibly smooth finish on your cabinets without using a paint sprayer.
Foam rollers are great at giving a pretty smooth surface, but in my experience they tend to leave a bit of a speckled surface. The color is uniform, but the texture is similar to the surface of a football with tiny raised bubbles from the roller. This isn’t always a big deal, but I was going for perfection. I wanted cabinets that looked professional. I painted the cabinets using the roller as usual. Then before the last coat of paint, I gently sanded everything using my 320 grit sandpaper again. This made the cabinet surface silky smooth. Then I brushed on the last coat of paint using my super soft paintbrushes. Yes, this added more time to the process yet again. But the cabinets look and felt amazingly smooth and beautiful.
And the best part? No top coat is needed. DecoArt satin enamels is an enamel paint which means it dries to a very hard finish. Which means you don’t need to put anything over it for protection like other softer paints. I was able to reattach my cabinet doors the same day I finished painting them, though I did try to be extra gentle with them for a few weeks just in case.
As you can see, we also finally removed that little flourish above the sink. Good riddance!
It is absolutely unbelievable what a difference painting our kitchen cabinets white made. Even if we didn’t change anything else – not the gold speckled laminate countertops, not the appliances from the 80s, nothing – painting the cabinets alone makes it feel like an entirely new kitchen. I know that sounds crazy, but I am completely for real. Yes, it is time consuming. Yes, it is a pain to have your kitchen in chaos. But it is so very, very worth it in the end.
Want to remember this post? Pin this image to Pinterest so you don’t forget it!
Check out all the posts related to our DIY kitchen renovation below:
Painted countertops: How to paint your countertops to look like marble
Updating hinges with Rub n Buff
Where to buy inexpensive cabinet knobs and pulls
Jessica says
I love what you did in your kitchen and how you used sparkle to fill in the grain lines….GENIUS!!!!
Carrie says
Thanks Jess! It worked so well!
Gretchen@BoxyColonial says
oh, wow–those look so good! I have oak bathroom cabinets to paint soon(ish), and it hadn’t even occurred to me to try to fill in the grain, but seeing the difference it made with yours….hmm….
Carrie says
Thanks Gretchen – it definitely added a lot of time onto the project but was so worth it.
Carrie says
The whole process took some time. I was working on this mainly during my kids’ naptimes, so it is hard to say exactly how many hours it took, but I worked on it for around 2 weeks total for 1-2 hours most days.
Paula says
Your kitchen looks awesome! Painting had to have been a pain but was totally worth your time.
Carrie says
Thanks Paula – it definitely was!
Kris C. says
I love your attention to detail. I’m a perfectionist too…well, maybe not totally, but I can spot poor workmanship a mile away and it bothers me. You did a great job and your kitchen is looking fabulous. What a difference!
Carrie says
Thank you so much Kris! Being a perfectionist is definitely both a blessing and a curse. Everything takes so long to finish – but it looks really good once it is done!
Carolina Montenegro says
I love everything you did! Thank you for sharing such wonderful information! I had just had a conversation with my mother in law about changing my cabinets to white and she told me that was a bad idea, that streaks will be seen, that it will chip, and that the paint is so strong that my condo will smell like paint for a very long time. Is this true?
Carrie says
Thanks Carolina! I do not regret painting my cabinets one bit. First of all, paint smell is not a problem at all. There are awesome low-VOC paints out there and I never smelled that ‘paint smell’ once with the paint I used. Also the paint surface looks great – as long a you are careful with your cabinets for the first couple of weeks, you shouldn’t have any problems with chips. The one big downfall of white cabinets is they definitely do show dirt/food/whatever more. I have a baby and a preschooler so we have way too much food all over the place. With white cabinets, I am definitely having to wipe them down more often. That is really the only downside I have seen so far.
Kimclark says
Your kitchen looks awsome and I love your attention to detail. I have oak cabinets and I see the difference between my cabinets to your cabinets. Thanks for sharing.
Carrie says
Thanks Kim!
Liz says
So I’m incredibly curious why you choose this pain as upposed to other paints? I’ve been reading a lot about painting cabinents. I wonder what paints are better than others.
Carrie says
Hi Liz! I chose this paint because I love that you don’t need to use primer or sealer with it. (Especially sealer – for some reason, that is always my least favorite part of painting!) I like that it goes on smoothly and dries to a really hard finish. I’m sure there are other great paints you can also use, but I’ve been very happy with the paint I chose.
Kevin E. Brown says
Wow. It looks great. Love the freshness of white. That really is an amazing transformation. thanks a lot for sharing the tips.
Carrie says
Thanks Kevin!
Alan C. Brown says
Wow, your kitchen looks so amazing after repainted, makes me feel cleaner, fresher!
And thanks for your detailed steps, just saved them and will redesign my kitchen for my partner soon. She also like white color like you.
Carrie says
Thanks Alan! I am glad my tutorial helped!
Tamar says
its wonderful, I love what you did in your kitchen, it seem brightly, Painting had to have been a pain but was totally worth your time.
thanks for share
Carrie says
Thank you Tamar. It was a big job but so so worth it!
Erin Taylor says
It is a great transformation when you make your kitchen becomes white. It is really beautiful. Such a good idea for decoration.
Carrie says
Thanks Erin!
Thomas says
Just with the paint layer, the kitchen looks so bright and clean now. woohoo. You’re so handy !!! Thanks for the suggestion, Carrie :)
Carrie says
Thanks Thomas! I am loving it!
Ana says
I couldn’t close my mouth when seeing that lol. Just amazed by what you have done. You are so talented Carrie! I admire the way you put the best effort in everything. Well done.
Carrie says
Thanks Ana! I am loving how fresh and bright it is now!
Laura says
you truly did a great job Carrie, Your kitchen is definitely clean, fresh now.
I wanna take a transformation for my kitchen as you did, i love white. Thanks for inspiration!
Carrie says
Thanks Laura! It is definitely so much more clean and fresh now. I love it.
Shelly says
Is the paint sold other places besides Amazon? I also see on Amazon that it is 8 oz is that the only way it comes?
Carrie says
Shelly, I saw it in Michaels just the other day as well (So you could take advantage of their awesome coupons.) And as far as I know it does just come in the 8 oz size. The coverage is pretty good, although you do have to use more coats of white than other colors. (Sadly, I haven’t found a pure white paint that doesn’t require extra coats.)
jan b. says
So it only comes in 8 oz. containers?! How many jars did you use? and How many coats were necessary?
Carrie says
Jan, As far as I know it does only come in 8 oz containers. For my kitchen, I think I ended up using 8 containers but I have a lot of cabinets. I did four coats of paint. If you were doing a different color, you could definitely get away with 2-3 coats, but I have yet to find a true white paint that covers well with less coats. (I have seen this paint being sold at Michaels – so it would be a great thing to use some of their awesome coupons on.)
VM says
Thanks for the tips. I’m going to redo an oak breakfast nook. My question to you is . Did you just sand by hand ? Did you sand looking for a certain appearance ? I’m a wannabe DIY girl and I really don’t want to mess up this project thanks !
Carrie says
I did sand by hand. The spackling is not very hard, so it is easy to sand off without too much elbow grease. A power sander could also work for the flat surfaces, I just prefer hand-sanding. I used 320 grit sandpaper. You will know you have sanded enough when the wood is completely smooth to the touch. It really should not take very much sanding at all. And we all start out as wannabe DIY girls – once you’ve done a few projects, you are totally a real DIY girl!
Judy says
Carrie, I just read your post and I am getting ready to do my bathroom oak cabinets. I want to try your method but I was wondering why you did not prime after the spackeling step. Is that not necessary before applying the paint?
Carrie says
Judy, Priming isn’t necessary for the specific paint I used. You can also use the spackle method with other paints and they probably do require priming. Good luck!
Melanie says
Was wondering if after you applied the DecoArt sealer/ stain blocker did you let it cure for 5 to 7 days (as directions recommend) before applying the spackle? Also how may coats of sealer did you use?
Carrie says
Melanie, great question. I didn’t let it cure that entire time, which was of course a risk. I did let it cure for at least a day. And because I was working in small chunks of time, some areas did get to cure the full five days simply because I hadn’t gotten to them yet! I haven’t seen any problems for not waiting the entire time.
Barbara says
How many coats of stain blocker did you use? If more than 1, how many days between coats.
How long in between coats of the satin enamel?
Carrie says
Hi Barbara, I did one coat of the stain blocker. It is supposed to cure for 5 days before painting, but I think I started painting after three days. And I waited about a day between coats of the satin enamel. I might have attempted to recoat sooner but I only had a couple of hours a day to work on this.
Lorna says
Love the way your cabinets look and great advice. I started ours by doing the island first. I have yet to tackle the rest. My question is …do you have an idea how much paint it took? It looks like it comes in small quantities. Thanks!
Carrie says
Thanks Lorna! The paint does come in pretty small quantities – I think I used 8 jars to cover all of my cabinets. I have quite a few cabinets and used several coats.
Angie says
Just wondering if now 6 months later with as you said lots of wiping from kids etc, is the finish still in good shape with no peeling paint or any other blemishes? We painted ours several years ago (oak to white), having bought expensive paint suggested at paint store, and are constantly repainting to cover heavy “traffic” areas to cover blemishes.
Carrie says
So far so good Angie. I definitely have to wipe certain areas down more often like the area under the sink and the cabinet door that hides the trash can, but I haven’t had any areas of paint chip or fade yet. Here’s hoping it stays that way for the next six months and beyond!
Krystal A. says
I assume you use the same process with colors other than white?
Carrie says
Yes, the process would be the same. The only difference is you probably won’t need as many coats of paint with any other color!
Tori Osborne says
I love your results! Inspires me to tackle my own:-) Just to be clear, no sanding before sealing the wood tannins or prior to cleaning? Thanks, Tori
Carrie says
Tori, glad you are feeling inspired! And yes, the only sanding I did was to sand the spackle I used to cover the wood grain. Other than that, no sanding needed!
Aubrey says
Did you remove all the hinges before painting? Does it strip the cabinet doors if they are removed than re-applied?
Carrie says
I did remove all of the hinges before painting. I didn’t have any problems removing the hinges and screws and then using them again to rehang the cabinets.
Ashley says
Great post! I am getting ready to undertake this project! I was wondering what steps you took to paint the frame of the cabinet once the door was off? I also have oak cabinets and the frame has the oak texture and appearance too. I am trying to avoid sanding the frames since I cannot take them to the garage–dust will be everywhere! Thanks!!
Carrie says
Ashley, Hooray for painting cabinets! I actually did the same thing to the frames -spackle, sand, paint. It was a bit messy inside but I was able to do it pretty quickly since there really isn’t much surface area to the cabinet frames. I covered everything still in the cabinets with plastic trash bags and then sanded all of the frames at once so I only had to clean up the dust once.
Laura says
This looks amazing. I think my husband and I are going to attempt painting our cabinets before investing in new cabinets. You’ve given me hope. Not sure if we are going to do white or light gray, but I’m going to follow your tips on our oak cabinets. One question – did you paint the interior of the cabinets? Does it look funny having white on the outside and oak on the inside?
Carrie says
Laura, I didn’t paint the inside of the cabinets, though I did paint the back of the doors. I don’t think it looks strange at all having the insides unpainted. I don’t think anyone really pays attention to the insides of your cabinets once they are full of dishes and things.
Andrea says
Hi, Carrie!
Your cabinets look great! I’m in the middle of my kitchen cabinet “forever” project. Hiding the oak grain has been the biggest pain the butt for me as I’m looking for the smoothest finish possible which is requiring a couple of rounds of wood filler (then re-prime and re-paint). It has been slow going for several reasons – working full-time, trying to have a small life outside of renovating the kitchen, and no work area to speak of…but, hanging in there because it is starting to take shape.
I painted the backs of the cabinet doors first (without filling the grain) and they look okay, but now I’m second guessing myself when i hold them up to the fronts…how does it look when you open your cabinet doors and the insides show so much of the oak grain? Have you regretted not filling the grain on the inside of the cabinets?
Thanks!
Carrie says
Hi Andrea, I haven’t regretted not filling in the back grain at all. When you hold them up next to the fronts it is very obvious. But when the doors are actually on your cabinets and you are going about your day, you aren’t going to notice at all. And nobody else will be judging the paint job inside your cabinets. I wouldn’t worry about it!
maria in nj says
Carrie how many coats of paint did you use to get them looking like that? They look great!
Carrie says
Thanks Maria! I believe I did four coats of paint to gt a really even finish. I have yet to find a pure white paint that doesn’t require extra coats to get everything looking good.
Nina says
Looks beautiful, Carrie! Just wondering what you used to clean your hinges/hardware? The Dove soap like the cabinets or something else? Thank you!
Carrie says
Thanks Nina, I soaked my hinges in dawn soap and hot water and then scrubbed them with an old toothbrush to get any grime off.
Nina says
One more question? Did you use the Deco Art Americana Chalky Finish Paint, 8-Ounce (Delicate, Treasure, new life or one of the other names) or the Deco Art Maxx Gloss Acrylic Paint, 8 oz, White China? These are the only ones I’m seeing on Amazon but I haven’t looked at Micheals yet. Thanks again!
Carrie says
Nina, I used Deco Art Satin Enamels in Pure White. It is still available on amazon – http://amzn.to/2xHn2E9.
Shanna says
They look great! Some other sites recommend using a deglosser or sanding prior to anything. Any reason why you didn’t?
Carrie says
It definitely wouldn’t hurt, but it just isn’t necessary for this paint so I didn’t. The less work, the better!
Barbara says
Hobby Lobby has the paint in 8oz jars. They have 40% off coupons online. I just made a couple of trips to get what I needed.
Carrie says
Great suggestion! I have done the same thing at Michaels though I haven’t seen it there lately.
Len says
Hi! I am just wondering how your cabinets have held up since you painted them more than a year ago. We will be painting ours white, too, and I am so grateful that you shared your experience with everyone, and you explained each step. I am so excited. We wanted to do it much sooner but we had projects after projects that came in between at higher priority. We are ready now, and so I wish to ask you if the paint stayed as nice as in day 1. I also wish to ask you how you applied the stain blocker-did you brush it on or did you wipe it on? How long should we wait before we continue to the next step? I do not know if it would be just fine not to follow the 5 to 7 days curing period in the manufacturer’s instruction. That was a lot of wait in my opinion. Is that really necessary? I would really appreciate hearing from you. Many. many thanks to you already-you are such an inspiration!
Carrie says
Hi Len! Yay for painting cabinets. I put off painting mine for years too while finishing up other projects but I was so happy to finally get them painted! I need to write a follow up post on how they are holding up, but in general, they are still looking beautiful. There are a few tiny chips on the cabinet where we keep our trash can but it does get handled very roughly. As far as the stain blocker, I just brushed it on with a paintbrush. It is always safest to follow the paint manufacturer’s instructions but I think I started painting over it after about three days and it worked ok. Good luck!
Montiel says
Are you seeing any issues with the adherence of the spackle to the wood to fill in the grain? Trying to decide what type of wood filler to use.
Carrie says
Hi Montiel, I haven’t had any problems at all with the spackle. I tried a more traditional wood filler first on one of the doors and it did not work so well. It was nearly impossible to get it applied thinly enough and sanding it smooth just didn’t work out the way I thought it would. For me the spackle was 100% better.
Katie Beckner says
Excited to get this started in my kitchen–question for you…If you do not spackle, would you suggest sanding first, then sealer/blocker, then paint…or sealer/blocker, sand, then paint..or NO sanding at all? Thanks for the inspitation!
Carrie says
Hi Katie, If you aren’t going to spackle and aren’t worried about wood grain, I would probably skip sanding altogether. Just be sure to clean the cabinets well with a degreaser first. (I just used Dawn dishsoap.) Then I would do the sealer. If the cabinets feel a little rougher than you would like, you could lightly sand after the sealer before painting, but you probably won’t need to. Good luck! Painting cabinets is time consuming but so worth it!
Lynn says
Your cabinets look more professional than mine! & I paid a professional to paint! They didn’t fill in the grain, it looks terrible. Im wondering now that they are painted do i need to strip them to start over or just sand, spakle & paint again?
Carrie says
Hi Lynn! If the paint is in good condition and not chipping or anything, I would do a test on one door of spackling over the old paint, sanding, and painting. If it adheres well and gives a smooth finish, you can continue on that way. If for some reason, it doesn’t work well, you may need to strip them. Generally I avoid stripped furniture at all costs if I am going to repaint it, but of course cabinets are a permanent home fixture which makes things a little different. Good luck!
Amy says
This looks great! How many total coats of paint did you do? Also do you think the first couple of coats could be a standard paint (Behr or the like) and then complete the last coats with the DecoArt since it’s pricey? Thanks!
Carrie says
Hi Amy! I believe I did four coats total. You could definitely get away with two for any color other than pure white but white is always tough to get good coverage with. I don’t know that I would combine types of paint but I do think you could do a couple of coats of white primer followed by the DecoArt paint. That would cut down on the amount of coats of paint you need.
Sara Malcolm says
Hello!! Your kitchen looks beautiful!! I have a couple oak wall cabinets I would like to paint and hang over my laundry machines. I have a couple questions though:
1. I read it in your steps given, but just want to make sure I’m understanding correctly- you cleaned the cabinets ,then used the stain blocker, and then used the spackle? If I was doing this blindly I would have assumed clean, spackle, stain blocker so I just want to make sure.
2. The cabinet doors do not have knobs on them and presently but I would like to add those, should we drill the hole for that before or after painting?
Thanks!
Carrie says
Hi Sara, Yes, you definitely need to use the stain blocker before the spackle. Once you have spackled and sanded, anything wet will pull the spackle out of the grain. (Other than paint anyway.) And as far as drilling the holes it is up to you. I had to add hardware to my cabinets too and I waited until after painting to drill the holes. The one advantage to doing it before is if you mess up, it would be really easy to fill any mistakes back in with wood filler and sand them smooth between painting.
Deb says
I am getting ready to paint cabinets and am wondering how your cabinets are holding up with the paint you used?
Carrie says
Hi Deb, they are holding up really well! It has been about a year and a half since I painted the cabinets and they are holding up well so far. There are a few spots on the cabinet where we keep our trash can that could use a touch up. We open that door many, many times a day so it has gotten the most wear and tear. Otherwise, they have held up really well. And I am still soo happy I painted them!