Interior Painting Kitchen
“How often should I paint my kitchen?”
Posted on March 6, 2021
Painting most interior rooms often happens when people tire of the color. However, because of the steamy and often messy kitchen environment, kitchen walls could use a coat of paint more often.
We often paint outdated cabinets a timeless white or ivory color. This is much less expensive than installing new cabinets. Because the kitchen tends to be a messy and “wet” area where grease splatters and steam from boiling water occur, most kitchen walls could use a cleaning every six months or so. That will stave off having to paint them because they are greasy or dirty.
- Painting kitchen walls every 10 years might be a good cadence, but often, people tire of the color before the paint wears out or gets dirty anyway.
- Most ceilings in other rooms only need painting every 20-30 years, but because of the kitchen’s overall climate (including an occasional kitchen fire that can leave soot on the ceiling), we tend to paint kitchen ceilings at the same time we paint the walls (again, about every 10 years).
- Kitchen cabinets are another area that is often painted. After about 15 years of living with outdated cabinets, many people call us to paint them white, ivory, or other timeless colors. We take the cabinet doors and drawers offsite to our warehouse and spray paint them so that there are no brush or roller strokes on them.
What kind of paint do I use in my kitchen?
- For walls, we prefer a highly washable eggshell finish (think of the shininess of an actual eggshell). That being said, there are also washable flat paints, like Benjamin Moore Regal Select in Flat or Sherwin Williams Emerald Interior Latex Paint in Flat.
- Flat paint hides imperfections better than paint with a sheen, so sometimes flat is the best choice if a house is old or antique.
- A shinier sheen tends to highlight the imperfections of the wall or ceiling.
- For kitchen trim, we prefer semi-gloss, which is shiny and durable.
- For kitchen cabinets, we spray on Benjamin Moore Advance paint or Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Alkyd.
If you have any questions about painting your kitchen, email [email protected]. We’re happy to answer your questions, even if you’re doing the painting yourself.
Author: Paige NeJame owns CertaPro Painters of the South Shore and has written about painting for Martha Stewart, Family Handyman, and others.
