Brooklyn kitchens are often small galley kitchens, where new cabinets cost a lot for little change. Painting sound cabinets gives the room a new look for less. Doors and drawer fronts come off, grease is cleaned away, and everything is primed and finished with a cabinet enamel.
Brooklyn kitchens tend to be compact. A galley in a co-op, a kitchen at the back of a parlor floor or an open kitchen in a loft may hold a dozen or so doors, and the boxes are often solid even when the finish looks tired. Painting them changes the room without tearing anything out, which matters in a building where demolition needs board approval and a freight elevator. We look at the cabinets first. Sound wood, plywood and factory-finished boxes can be painted. Swollen or peeling thermofoil usually cannot.
The method is the same on every kitchen. Doors and drawer fronts come off and are numbered. Hinges and pulls are bagged. Everything is washed with a degreaser, because cooking film near the stove will stop paint from sticking. Surfaces are sanded dull, primed with a bonding primer and given two coats of a hard cabinet enamel, sanded lightly between coats. Boxes are finished in place with the counters, floor and appliances masked. Doors are finished flat so the coat levels and dries without runs.
Expect the kitchen to be partly out of use for several days. You can normally still reach the fridge and sink, but the doors will be off and shelves open. Cabinet enamel feels dry within a day and keeps hardening for a few weeks, so go easy on it at first. In an apartment we plan where doors will be finished, how fumes will be aired out and how we will move through the hallway and elevator. The written quote lists the door count, colors and finish.
Cabinet painting in Brooklyn: common questions
My apartment is small. Where do the cabinet doors get painted?
It depends on the space and the building. Doors can be finished in a cleared room of the apartment with good masking and airflow, or taken off site and brought back. We decide that with you at the estimate.
Can you paint the cabinets in a rental?
Only with the owner's consent. If you rent, ask your landlord in writing first. If you own rental units, painted cabinets are a common way to freshen a kitchen between tenants.
Will painted cabinets chip?
Any painted surface can chip if it is hit hard. Good cleaning, a bonding primer and a proper cabinet enamel make the finish tough enough for daily use. Edges near the sink and the bin take the most wear and are easy to touch up.
How it works
- Free estimate: Call, text or book online. We walk the job and measure.
- Written quote: Prep, paint and price in writing.
- Prep & protect: We cover floors and furniture, repair and prime surfaces.
- Paint & walk-through: Two coats, clean lines, full clean-up and a final walk-through.