Ahh, the question that does not have a set answer. Many people face this question when they tackle a cabinet remodeling project. Giving cabinets a new look is a great project for the interior of your home. It can enhance the look of your home and really highlight your beautiful kitchen. The difficult part is deciding what finish to go with.
Overview of Different Finishes
There are many different finishes you can choose. You can paint, stain, apply lacquer, etc. Home owners are often overwhelmed with the differences and which option to go with. They feel that there is only one option that will fit and if they don’t make the right choice, the remodel was a waste. However, that is not the case. All finishes are great and choosing one can be easily narrowed down to your preferences. Some finishes better fit a certain style, some are better at protecting the surface, and so on.
Painting Cabinets
Pros
- Painting your cabinets allows you to become much more creative than if you were to choose another finish. You have a plethora of colors to choose from at the paint store.
- Painted cabinets showcase a clean and crisp look. Paint adheres to wood on the surface and covers wood grain and knots in most cabinets. This leaves you with a solid color. If you have tight wood grain than paint will completely cover, if you have coarse wood grain, some grain will show through the paint. The picture below shows how white painted cabinets are a completely solid color. The solid color also does an excellent job in hiding imperfections.
- Painting the cabinets also will hide the wood used in cabinets. If the cabinets in your kitchen are made with less costly material, a solid paint color will hide that material. This can enhance and add a little more value to your kitchen.
Cons
- If you want to see the wood grain, painting cabinets is not the way to go. Paint will cover the natural wood designs.
- Most painting companies that deal with cabinets will typically spray them. That means if you need to do some touch up years down the road, it’ll be difficult to replicate that smooth spray look with just a brush. If the area needing touch up is large, using a brush method to repair will be evident on the cabinets.
- The cost. Painting cabinets as opposed to staining them is more costly; about 10-15% more. Depending on the size of your kitchen, that could be quite a large difference in price.
Staining Cabinets
Pros
- Stain is thinner than paint so it seeps into the wood grain and is more absorbed. This allows the definition of wood to be displayed.
- If you are needing touch up, re-staining a certain area is much easier than with paint. Stain tends to blend in much better. Also matching the stain color is also less of a headache because, the wood grain is able to blend into varying shades of stain so the stain match does not need to be 100% unlike paint.
- Stain is usually less expensive. Staining can help save you some money. However, depending on the process needed with your cabinets, may not be much less than painting them.
Cons
- Stain will reveal imperfections that your cabinets may have. If your cabinets have a significant amount of that and you wish not to have them show, staining is not the best option for you.
- A dark stain allows dust to be more evident. If you choose a darker stain for your cabinets, just be ready to clean them more often.
- If you have mdf (medium-density fiberboard) cabinets, stain will not look as good.
Top Coats
If you would like to use a top coat on your cabinets there are a few options for that. Finishes add protections to your cabinets and enhance the look.
Lacquer is solvent-based and dries quickly. However it is not the best coat for water resistance.
Varnish is oil and resin based. This allows it to be more water-resistant. However, varnish is time consuming because it is applied by a brush and in turn more costly than lacquer.
Your Ideal Look
The first thing that you need to do is, understand what finish you are seeking to achieve. If you would like a solid opaque look that hides the natural wood well, than choosing to paint your cabinets will be a good option. If you would like some definition to show, than staining is a better option. Once you know your desired look, decide if you want a top coat or not. Then reach out to your preferred local painting contractor and let them transform your kitchen!
