Kitchen Cabinet Makeover: Why We Painted the Upper Cabinets White

We woke up to a bit of a white Christmas—though not from snow on the lawn. Instead, our kitchen got a dusting of white: we sanded, primed, and painted all of the upper cabinets. After lots of back-and-forth, we chose white for the uppers. It’s a departure from our earlier idea of a light gray-tan, but it ties together with new white elements we’ve already installed and keeps the visual balance we wanted for the room.

When we added the range hood and floating shelves, the white pieces began to stand out. We liked the contrast, and we realized that painting the upper cabinets in a darker putty tone might create too many competing colors—white and putty above with a third, darker color for the lowers would have made the space feel busy. Another practical consideration was the crown molding: it runs continuously across the wall with no clear break where a different cabinet color would naturally stop. Painting a section of that crown to match the uppers would have looked awkward, so white felt like the cleaner, more cohesive option.

Choosing white lets us still go bold on the lower cabinets later. We’re planning a deep tone on the lowers for that classic tuxedo-style kitchen look—something we’ve admired but haven’t tried before. We also have budget-friendly ideas for the countertops, including a refinishing technique or a concrete coating, so Phase 1 focuses on visible high-impact changes without breaking the bank.

How We Painted the Cabinets

We followed a tried-and-true approach similar to the one we’ve used before: remove doors and hardware, sand, degloss, prime, then paint. All surfaces received light sanding to remove gloss and help paint adhere—doors were sanded with 150 grit paper using a hand sander, and frames were sanded with a 150 grit sanding block.

After sanding we wiped everything down with a liquid deglosser to remove dust and further prep the surface. We taped off walls and any nearby fixtures—like the newly installed hood—so coats could go on quickly and cleanly.

We primed the frames with a brush and a small foam roller, using a stain-blocking, low-VOC primer. One person cut in with an angled 2″ brush while the other followed with a foam roller to smooth the brushed edges. For the cabinet doors, we used a paint sprayer in the garage which gave a smoother, thicker factory-like finish—spraying doors is faster if you have the space and are comfortable with the technique.

Spraying requires practice to avoid drips and runs, and it also adds cleanup time between coats. For the interior frames and areas inside the house we opted to hand-brush and roll to avoid overspray and lingering fine mist in the kitchen and surrounding rooms. The doors, however, were quickly handled with the sprayer in the garage, coated one side at a time and allowed to dry between flips.

Primer, Paint, and Coverage

Based on past experience, we applied two coats of primer in many areas. In hand-painted spots, the finish took two coats of primer and three coats of paint for smooth, even coverage. The sprayed doors only needed one coat of primer per side and one coat of paint per side because sprayers lay down a thicker layer. We used a durable cabinet paint designed to self-level and withstand daily use which helps minimize brush marks and improve longevity.

Our week-long schedule looked like this: day 1 sand and first primer coat; day 2 second primer coat; days 3–5 paint coats; day 6 extra drying time; day 7 re-hang doors and install hardware.

Hardware and Finishing Touches

We replaced the worn brass hinges with oil-rubbed bronze hinges to introduce a contrasting, updated hardware look. To help paint adhere to moving metal parts, we primed the hinges with a clean metal primer before applying the finish. So far the hinges are working smoothly without sticking or peeling.

For knobs we chose simple octagon-shaped pulls for a clean, modern contrast against the white doors. They’re affordable and visually crisp against the fresh white finish.

Before and After

The transformation is dramatic from several viewpoints—the painted uppers brighten the space and help existing wood tones and future lower-cabinet plans work together. The sink area and the room as a whole already feel more like home, even with the faux brick floor and existing countertops waiting for future updates.

Next up are the lower cabinets. We briefly considered a deep stone-colored paint, but after seeing how the newly painted uppers interact with the existing wood tones, we’re leaning toward staining the lowers instead. That change will shift the kitchen’s character again and is part of our phased approach: affordable, impactful updates that gradually evolve the space.

It’s surprising how much a few affordable updates—stripping wallpaper, removing a few cabinets, adding shelves, and priming and painting—can change a kitchen. The process requires patience and planning, but the results are worth it.

Did you tackle a big project over the holidays, or did you take a well-deserved break and relax? Either way, a fresh coat of paint can make a space feel brand new.