So many questions on painting kitchen cabinets! Yes, I’m here to tell you that you CAN chalk paint your kitchen cabinets!!! The most popular color people are wanting their kitchen cabinets is white chalk paint! White is such a wonderful classic color. The color white also goes so well with everything. It will look perfect with any wall color. And white chalk paint tends to make a kitchen look light and airy. It just feels fresh when you walk into a kitchen that has white painted kitchen cabinets.
I’m going to share with you my go to white chalk paint that anyone can purchase and how you can start painting your kitchen cabinets right now with a paint brush, and some chalk paint! These are the exact materials I used in these photos!
Affiliate disclosure: “This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link.”
Supplies you Need to Paint Kitchen Cabinets White
- Annie Sloan Old White (Annie Sloan’s Old White chalk paint has some pigment added and it is a preferred white because True White is very difficult to work with.)
- Wooster Shortcut paint brush! (this is my GO TO BRUSH! It has a rubber handle and your hand will not hurt after a day of painting. It is also angled. Great for getting into edges and corners when you are painting your kitchen cabinets)
- Kitchen Cabinet Roller (this is very useful on the Long stretches of cabinets. It will help make sure that you do not have brush marks and can speed up the process. This is optional! But, might be helpful to you!)
- Clear Wax (I sealed all of the cabinets in this picture with clear wax)
- Wax Brush ( You will need a wax brush to apply wax over cabinets)
- **Optional** Water based Polyurethane INSTEAD of clear wax
How to Paint your Kitchen Cabinets with White Chalk Paint
To Begin, make sure kitchen cabinets have been lightly cleaned with a small amount of water, removing any spots or stains that may have gotten on the cabinets over time. Remove hardware and cover hinges with painters tape. (you can skip the painters tape if you hinges are on the inside of your kitchen cabinets) Once cabinets have been lightly cleaned, hardware taken off and hinges covered you are ready to start applying Annie Sloan’s Old White Chalk Paint!
I generally like to start on the very end of the kitchen where there is a long stretch of cabinet to paint. Start with your 2″ inch Wooster Short Cut brush and work your way towards the middle of the kitchen cabinets and then to the other end of the kitchen cabinets. Make sure to always go with the grain of the cabinets using up and down brush strokes with a light amount of paint on your brush. You don’t want to apply the paint too thick.
NOTE: If your hand ever starts to get tired this is a great time to use your roller! 🙂 Add a VERY small amount of water to thin your paint and you can begin rolling it onto your cabinet fronts. You will need to use your brush to paint inside any details that the roller can not reach. 🙂
If your kitchen cabinets are a very dark color and you are painting them with white chalk paint you will need about 3 coats of paint to fully cover the dark. If your kitchen cabinets are a lighter color you can expect to need 2 maybe 3 coats of chalk paint to paint your kitchen cabinets.
After Kitchen Cabinets have been painted and you can not see any of the original finish you can start applying clear wax with a wax brush. If you are sealing with wax (this is what I did in the photos) You want to make sure to really work the wax into the paint making sure to get an even finish. You can wipe off excess wax with a shop towel. 🙂
If you choose to seal with Polyurethane you can use a clean cabinet roller to apply the poly and your brush to get into any nooks and crannies that the roller can not get into. 🙂
Pro TIP #1: Depending on the size of your kitchen expect painting and sealing your kitchen cabinets to take about 1 week. Recruit some helpers! Maybe a teenager, or the hubs? YES! This will help speed up the process!
PRO TIP #2 Depending on the size of your kitchen you will need 2 to 4 pots of Annie Sloan’s Old White Chalk Paint to paint your kitchen cabinets white.
If you are thinking about painting your kitchen cabinets with as little prep work as possible and getting a lasting finish! I want to encourage you to try this process out!! It has worked for me every time! AND you do not need an expensive spray gun for this process! It is for any level of DIYER! Chalk paint will help you save time on a project that can seem so big!
Are you thinking about painting your kitchen cabinets with chalk paint? If so, I’d lOVE to hear what color you are wanting to paint your kitchen cabinets! Leave a comment below!
If you are curious on painting the inside of your kitchen cabinets click here!
I only have a few cabinets, but I’m going to go with the white!
Oh how fun!!! It’ll be a piece of cake if you only have a few cabinets! You’ll do great!
I also want to paint my hideous, wicker dirty white mirror!!!
Go for it! Wicker is easy to paint! I’d add a touch of water to your paint and it will go on smoothly to the wicker! 🙂
I am a first timer for painting over cabinets. I have a few oak cabinets in my bathroom that I am going to paint white. Three pieces do not have a lossy finish but one over the toilet cabinet is slightly glossy. Will this pain you recommend really go over and stick to these surfaces with just a good ming over with vinegar and water first? BTW i have never used chalk or furniture paint before.
Hi Debbie! Yes, Annie Sloan Chalk paint will go over your slick surface cabinet just fine (it will even adhere to glass!) Yes, just a good cleaning with a little vinegar and water and you will be good to go. 🙂 I would look up your closest Annie Sloan stockiest. Buy a small sample pot and work on a small furniture project to get you comfortable, then go for the cabinets. 🙂
click here to look up closest stockist
Beautiful Job. Well done.I really like it.
Thank you SO much Carol!
Would it be easy to clean the cabinets after using the chalk paint, even with clear wax over the paint? I would love to oaj t my cabinets an off-white.
The wax is water repellant. Thankfully not much sticks to the painted finish. But, yes, a little soap and water you can use to clean the cabinets after you have painted them and it will not hurt the finish.
Thank you very much for your quick reply. That information is good to know.
You are so welcome! I hope you get to paint your kitchen cabinets. 🙂
is this white tinted with yellow? I want to paint the top cabinets white and the bottom grey so I am wondering if the grey would scream at the white if there is a yellow tint to it. Beautiful job and I am scared to death to do my kitchen but it’s time!
Hi, it has no yellow tint to it. It was recently reformulated to even ensure that! 🙂 I love your idea to paint the top of your kitchen cabinets white and the bottom kitchen cabinets grey. That sounds so pretty!
You can totally do this!
Gorgeous transformation I recently repainted my cabinets but never thought to seal them. I’ll definitely do that now that I know. Thanks for the great tips!
Thank you Jenn! You are SO welcome. Sealing kitchen cabinets is great to protect them from any kiddos or husband spills. Ha.
How much of the chalk paint did it take to paint your cabniets?
Hi Toni! We used close to 4 pots of chalk paint. About 4 quarts. 🙂
Did you paint your island in the full white 3 coats as well?
Hi Felicia! Yes we did paint the island in close to three coats of Annie Sloan Old White chalk Paint! 🙂
Hey!
Quick questions:
1) Why chalk paint vs regular paint? Is this to help you not have to sand???
2) Why wax? Is the wax a paint type consistency?
Sorry….new at this and am full of questions! Ha!
Love your questions!
We chose chalk paint for this project because with Chalk Paint you do not have to sand or prime the cabinets before hand. Annie Sloan Chalk paint is made out of minerals and is even kid safe and odorless. I really like the wax with the chalk paint because it does not turn yellow over time. Especially since we were painting the cabinets white. (some poly’s will turn white paint yellow as time goes on.) Check out my post here for more on what chalk paint is and how it got started! 🙂 Hope that helps!
Chalk paint over all is great on kitchen cabinets because it can save you SO MUCH TIME and give a lasting finish. Let me know if you have any more questions! 🙂
Hi! We recently painted our cabinets with the rust-oleum kit, and our cabinets are already chipping paint and creases are yellow orange 🙈 would we need to prep these or do anything before painting over with the chalk paint?
Brittany Oh no! So sorry to hear that! How did you seal your cabinets after you painted them?
I would lightly sand where they are chipping with 220 grit sand paper. Wipe them clean with TSP TSP is a degreaser that will actually open the poors of the existing painted finish to allow for a new finish to be applied well.
Wipe again with a damp clean rag (this helps to make sure you’ve removed all of the TSP. You don’t want any chemical reactions goin on. 😉 THEN go for it with the chalk paint. I really like Annie Sloan on kitchen cabinets. But I have also used Dixie Belle for the inside of cabinets. Both have worked great.
Seal with clear wax OR a waterbased top coat. 🙂 (make sure you have good paint coverage before you seal or it will look uneven.)
My go to waterbased topcoat is General Finishes High Performance Top coat!
Hope this helps!! You can do it!!
Thank you for the response! Been such a headache. We originally sealed with the kit stuff. . then we tried sanding it off and restart and sealed with the Polyurethane I think. But still poor results unfortunately 😔
You are welcome! I’m sorry it sounds like its been rough! Yeah…the kit stuff you never know what they put in those…typically it’s lower quality. Hopefully a little TSP and chalk paint will get your cabinets where you want them to be! You’ll have to post a pic here when you get it done! 🙂
I am making my own chalk paint. I want a pale yellow for my cabinets. Have you ever mixed the reg paint with the calcium powder to make your own? I can’t afford Annie’s. Any suggestions?
Hi Valerie!! I NEED to do a post on chalk paint recipes!! I’m glad you asked!
I have not made my own chalk type paint. Annie Sloan is expensive! Dixie Belle Runs about $10 and a small pot goes a LONG way. Dixie Belle is definitely the most affordable option. If you want I can email you a furniture paint price guide I made. Also If you are doing this on your kitchen cabinets I would purchase it. I’ve read/seen lots of homemade chalk paints that end up peeling off. 🙁 I do think making your own is great for a small project!
Here is a link to one of the most popular chalk paint recipes I’ve seen.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/139963500906608406/?nic=1
Love the transformation!!! Thanks so much for all the helpful tips. Not chalk paint related, but did you change your counters after you painted, or did the color change of the cabinets bring out the white in the counters?! We have a yellowish white granite (similar to what yours looks like and I am hoping that lightening up the cabinets will bring out more of the white tones in the counters. Thanks again!
Hi Abbey!! Oh my goodness yes!!! It totally brighten and lightened the kitchen! It totally made the countertops look lighter! You’ll find this too when you paint yours!
Also before you really couldn’t see the blue backsplash and the white painted cabinets brought out the blue backsplash even more! So happy you like the makeover!! I helped a client in our town paint them. 🙂
I chalk painted my vanity in the bathroom with rustoleum chalk paint and sealed with matte clear. Now I don’t like the way the doors don’t match. One is darker than the other. Can I resand and paint again???
Hi Mariann! I would recommend a light sand with 220 grit on both doors. And repaint with the rustoleum white. That should fix your problem! Are you sealing them with a poly or wax? If a poly make sure it is waterbased. 🙂
This Varathane is becoming wildly popular among furniture artists! It is a waterbased poly! Here is the link for it on Amazon. Let me know if you have any more questions! 🙂 The link I attached is for satin but it also comes in a Matt finish!
Love this post! I am planning to paint my upper cabinets white and have read multiple tutorials. What is the difference between chalk paint and milk paint?
Hi Vivian!! So happy you commented and love the post!
Chalk Paint is a registered brand by Annie Sloan. It is odorless, made from fine minerals from England and adheres to almost any surface with no sanding or priming required! Typically sealed with wax.
Milk paint was really brought to everyone’s attention by Miss Mustard Seed (I’ve met her and she’s amazing!) She has her own line of Milk Paint. Milk paint has been around since the Egyptians! Milk paint many use for a chippy rustic look BUT I have seen several use General Finishes milk paint on their kitchen cabinets and they all LOVE IT! Here is a good post by Mamma & More of an unbiased opinion on using General Finishes Milk paint on kitchen cabinets.
Milk paint has been used for thousands of years.
“It is extremely durable, often lasting for hundreds of years if protected from the elements. It is made of all-natural ingredients, and is very safe and non-toxic once applied. Because oil base and acrylic paints are made in vast quantities using cheap petrochemicals, their price can be low relative to the price of milk paint, which is sold in small quantities. Another impediment to using milk paint for some is that it does not come pre-mixed.[6] Milk paint is commonly sold in the powder form, which is a combination of casein and lime. Once water is added, the lime activates the casein and yields a durable but caustic paint, that can only be used on porous surfaces.” Wikipedia
I have painted several kitchen cabinets with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. They all had a great lasting result. I have used Dixie Belle on the inside of some of our cabinets (it is a mineral paint.) And it has also worked great! You can click here to read about the result!
Hope that helps! You’ll have to come back and share your story of painting your kitchen cabinets here! Good Luck!
Thank you so much for such a timely response and all the great info! I am not really after the chippy look and really just want to make sure I can get a clean finish with no visible brush strokes, just want to make sure whatever paint I use will last! I think I will try the milk paint..
I will definitely report back with an update on the cabinets.