How Much Does Kitchen Cabinet Painting Cost?

Renovating a kitchen can be one of the costliest undertakings a homeowner can face. New appliances, cabinets, paint and flooring all add up to a hefty grand total. If your cabinetry is in good shape but out of date, try giving it new life with painting rather than replacing. You could save a bundle and still get a kitchen that feels brand new. Here’s what it costs to paint kitchen cabinets and to have them painted by someone else.

First, you must decide, are you up to the challenge of painting the cabinets on your own, or are you more comfortable hiring a professional? This project is not for the faint of heart. It’s a time-intensive job that contains elements that could go terribly wrong. Painting yourself is less costly at the hardware store, but much more frazzling on your nerves. Determining the price will depend on a few factors including the following:

Layout

As you can imagine, the bigger the kitchen, the more real estate to paint. You’ll need more time, and more painting materials. If you are bringing in a pro, it means more labor hours or potentially a bigger crew. Typically, a gallon of paint, when used under normal circumstances will cover about 400 square feet. Painters normally will charge either by linear square feet, or hourly. Some will require seeing the job to give you the most accurate costs, including repairs that must be made for the best outcome in paint.

Materials

Painting requires a certain amount of tools no matter who completes the job. Things like brushes, tape, rollers and paint will always be necessary. Expect to spend $200-$600 in supplies alone, depending on quality and quantity. Experts warn DIYers not to skimp on products. Lesser quality brushes and paint tend to break down faster. You’ll be looking at bristles in your paint job or paint failure more frequently. Hiring pros means hiring someone that likely has at least some of the tools required already on their truck. Things like ladders, buckets and extenders add up quickly.

Geographic Location

As with rent, groceries and everything else you buy, prices vary according to geographical location. Thumbtack did research on painter projects of comparable size and found that the range of prices quoted started at $400 and went as high as $1,550. Some of the bigger painters have online estimators for you to get a good idea of what to expect.

Time

Painting kitchen cabinets can require quite a bit of time to remove doors, hardware and do the preparations. On typical paint jobs, you are expected to spend 2/3 of the job on prep work alone. With kitchen cabinets, the number is much higher. The sanding and priming alone can take an entire day for a novice. The time gets compounded if you are called away from the project for work or family duties. Consider the cost of a professional painter a piece of mind that the job will get done in an expedited fashion.

CertaPro Painters would be happy to schedule a free, in-home estimate for your kitchen cabinet painting project. Call us now.