There is lots of advice on the internet on how to paint kitchen cabinets, but what about the inside of the kitchen cabinets? Even though that is a decision that everyone who paints cabinets will have to make, there seems to be much less online help regarding this question. Do you paint them at all? If so, do you paint them the same color as you did the outside of your cabinets? Do you have to seal the inside if you do paint the inside of kitchen cabinets? So many great questions! Let’s dive into it!
Click Here for a free download on how to clean your kitchen cabinets before painting!
Should you Paint the Inside of Your Kitchen Cabinets?
I think this is totally optional! It is up to you! Does it look nicer when you open your cabinets doors to have them painted and match the rest of your painted cabinets? YES! But if you’re not using a spray gun it can be exhausting to paint the inside of your cabinets. I generally only paint the insides of kitchen cabinets if it can be seen thru a glass cabinet door or maybe it is open shelving. Here’s a helpful rule of thumb when asking whether or not to paint the insides of your cabinets: if you can see it when closed it ain’t, then you paint. 🙂
Do you Paint the Inside of Your Kitchen Cabinets a Different Color?
Painting the inside of your kitchen cabinets a different color than the outside of your cabinets can add contrast. Having two different colors can look great, especially when you have open shelving! I painted the inside of our open shelving white to help it stand out against our olive green cabinets. You can see our full kitchen makeover published on apartment therapy here. 🙂
Do you have to seal the inside shelving of your kitchen cabinets if you paint them?
This is another great question that it seems like people don’t often have answered! I would say it totally depends on how often you are going to be using the shelving that you just painted. If it is a high traffic area then absolutely seal the shelving! Here’s another saying I find helpful: “If high use is in the deal, make sure your cabinets to seal.” 🙂 If it’s in a cabinet that has a glass window and you have 3 bowls in it to look pretty but that you’ll never be removing and replacing, then you may opt not to seal, since the probability of the shelving getting chipped is not a high probability.
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When I painted the inside of our kitchen cabinets I used Dixie Belle’s Cotton Chalk Mineral paint. This worked great for painting the inside of our kitchen cabinets. It adhered well to the cabinetry and went on smoothly!
How to Paint the Inside of Your Kitchen Cabinets
Supplies
- Your favorite paint brush! I used a 2′ chip brush. BUT my favorite are the Wooster Shortcut brushes because they have a rubber handle and do not hurt your hand after you have been painting! It is also angled to get into all of your corners. 🙂
- Dixie Belle’s Mineral paint- I used “Cotton”
To Begin, make sure your surface is clean. Wipe the inside of cabinets with a damp shop towel to remove any dust. Once surface is clean begin by applying paint to the bottom shelf first. I always like to do the bottom shelf first because it gives you a good idea if you’re going to like the paint color you have chosen! After the bottom shelf is painted, move to the sides and paint the top shelf last. You want to make sure you get into the corners of the inside of the cabinets using a dabbing motion, packing the paint into the creases of the corners. This takes about 2-3 coats of Dixie Belle’s paint. I used half of the pot that I had bought for the inside of this cabinet. It covers well. 🙂
Next, if you are going to seal the inside, I recommend a water based poly. This will help keep them nice and pretty. I’ve used MinWax water based poly over Dixie Belle’s paint and they work well together!
Although time consuming, painting the inside of your kitchen cabinets can give your kitchen a more finished look.
PRO TIP: For the fastest result a spray gun is ideal! If you do not have a spray gun the next go-to option is a roller! 🙂 Rollers also help speed up the process! 🙂
Here is the link for the cute bins! I purchased them from Target!
Have you painted the inside of your kitchen cabinets? If so, did you paint them the same color as the outside of your cabinets or a different color? I would LOVE to hear! please leave a comment below!
CLICK HERE for a full tutorial on how to paint your kitchen cabinets with chalk paint!
I’m actually going to paint my cabinets this summer and I have never come across a tutorial for the inside of the cabinets. My inside cabinets are all original wood and they are very very dated. The top “row” of cabinets are white and the bottom “row” of cabinets are black right now. I think i’m going to go for a light, sky blue or a slight grey all over look for the cabinets and maybe even a white for the inside of the cabinets. We just moved in last fall, so it has been a long winter with ugly kitchen cabinets!
Thank you for this post, it has given me inspiration.
Oh what a fun summer project! They sound like very pretty cabinets if the inside of them are all original wood! (the shelving in ours is MDF.) Light sky blue or grey sound super pretty for the cabinets! And I LOVE white for the inside! It can be hard to cook in your kitchen when you don’t like your kitchen cabinets! ha. Blessings to you that you’re able to to tackle this over the summer!! You can do it!!! 🙂 And you are super welcome! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
I took on the large task of painting our very dated oak cabinets using rustoleum chalked paint on the outside in linen white, and their matte protective clear top coat. They turned out beautifully! I’m a bit of a perfectionist…no short cuts here, so I sanded lightly, washed with TSP and primed with zinsser primer ( not my favorite primer). I ended up putting at least three coats of primer inside because the wood just soaked it up. I then used Behr (our go to and favorite paint), in Tsunami , a dark teal on the upper cabinets only and in gloss for durability. I painted the lowers insides in white mostly because the dark teal scared me lol, but now i wish i had painted all of them in the tsunami.
What a transformation of has made in our kitchen! This was also the first time I’ve ever used chalk paint. I watched a lot of videos and read many blogs like yours and found so many great pointers, so thank you for sharing your experiences and recommendations.
Oh wow! I am SO glad you shared this with me! I am always wanting to know more about other paint products. Your Cabinets sounds beautiful! I’m going to put a link to your products incase anyone would like to do this!
Zissner Primer Zissner Primer
Behr TsunamiBehr Tsunami
Behr Tsunami is gorgeous!! What a beautiful color. Thank you for your input and encouraging words for anyone who might be hesitant on painting their kitchen cabinets! They can totally do it!
Thank you so much for sharing!
That’s a good idea to make sure that you remove any dust or dirt before you paint. I feel like that could mix with the paint and make it look funny. If I decide to get new cabinets and paint them I’ll have to keep that in mind.
Yes! I have made that mistake before. And then I look at my finished paint job and see little fuzzies clumping in my paint. 🙁 Good luck painting your new cabinets! Sounds like a fun project!
I love those bins! Where are they from? 😉❤️
Thank you Ali!!! I got them at Target!! In the homegoods section! Here is a link. These are the closest I could find online the exact one’s I have.
https://www.target.com/p/large-wood-milk-crate-toy-storage-bin-pillowfort-8482/-/A-17478758
Just as an aside regarding the color for inside your cabinets, white is the most reflective for being able to see deep inside. And for those of you who plan to put in electronic components, consider a black interior. All those wires and things just disappear, leaving cool indicator lights to glow at you when you open the cabinet doors.
Great tips Dianna! 🙂