{"id":4014,"date":"2022-02-24T21:31:15","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T02:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/boston-south-shore\/?post_type=community&p=4014"},"modified":"2025-11-09T17:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T22:57:35","slug":"day-by-day-journal-of-a-2022-kitchen-cabinet-painting-project","status":"publish","type":"community","link":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/boston-south-shore\/community\/day-by-day-journal-of-a-2022-kitchen-cabinet-painting-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Day-by-Day journal of a 2022 Kitchen Cabinet Painting Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

In February 2022, we had one of our clients keep a photo diary of her experience with us so you would know what to expect when we paint your kitchen cabinets:<\/p>\n

Color consultation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few weeks before the painting started, I worked with free CertaPro’s designer<\/a> to choose new colors for my “orange-tone” cherry kitchen cabinets. \u00a0To hide the black appliances (which I couldn’t afford to change) we chose Sherwin Williams’ Black Fox for the bottom cabinets. \u00a0The top cabinets would be white.<\/p>\n

Ordered new cabinet handle & hardware<\/strong><\/p>\n

I also ordered new cabinet handles that fit the same “screw footprint” as my old handles. \u00a0This meant that I had to make sure the screw holes on the new handles matched the current holes in the cabinet doors and drawers. CertaPro told me that if I chose handles that didn’t have the same “footprint” they would have to fill the holes and they may become obvious as time went on and the wood filler “sunk” into the cabinets.<\/p>\n

\"Cherry
Here are my 2004 “Builders” cherry cabinets. \u00a0They’re in good shape, but they just look too orange to me.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"dining
The day before the painters arrive, I\u00a0take 3 hours and empty all of my cabinets, clear off my counters and place my essentials in the other room<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Food
I did my best to keep the food organized. It still was very hard to make food while this project was going on.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"plastic
The painters added plastic to the entrance of the kitchen while they sanded. This helped keep the dust semi-contained, but it still snuck through to other rooms.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Painter
Next, the painters lightly sanded the cabinets<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cherry
Day one: \u00a0Painters arrive at 8:30am to remove the cabinet doors. They’ll bring them to their shop to spray them. They label every door to be sure they can replace the doors in the same opening after they’re painted.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Wooden-drawer
All of the drawer faces are removed and drawers are labeled. This is so the drawer faces are replaced on the same drawers after they’re painted. Good news: I don’t have to empty the drawers, I simply remove them from their rollers and place the full drawers in the other room.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Painter
Next, the painters spent about a day masking the cabinets for the eventual spraying they’d do. This was very meticulous work that took a whole 1.5 days – way longer than I had expected. At this point, I had NO access to my kitchen, fridge, sink, dishwasher and oven. \u00a0<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"masked
The painters then sprayed the cabinets – see all the plastic? That was the masking they did so the areas that were supposed to not get painted (like my countertops) were protected. \u00a0 \u00a0Notice that the inside of the glass-faced cabinets are painted, but the inside of the solid faced cabinets remain paint-free.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"kitchen
The final cabinets are white on top and Sherwin Williams’ Black Fox on the bottom. This was to hide the black appliances and make them disappear.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some hindsight:<\/strong><\/p>\n