How to Paint Kitchen Cupboards and Kitchen Tiles (FEATURING MRS MELDRUM) | Decorating Centre Online

How can I decorate my kitchen cheaply?

Kitchens can be a very expensive area to revamp, however they are often the space which needs revamping the most in your whole home!

As a result of a variety of different everyday kitchen accidents such as spilt sauces, splashes or burns, your kitchen spaces usually need a little bit of TLC every few years!

However, replacing your kitchen spaces can be a very long and laborious process, not to mention very expensive too!

From replacing your kitchen cupboards to pulling off your tiles and re-pasting them to the wall, your kitchen revamp can seem like an everlasting nightmare!

You can make your life so much easier by cutting a few corners and, rather than replacing everything in your kitchen spaces, you can decorate instead!

Although it may seem like its difficult to paint tiles and kitchen cupboards, it is actually so much easier than you may think!

Check out the quick question and answer blog article below for some handy tips and tricks! 

Remember, you can always DM, Email, Call or send a carrier pigeon to us for any more tips and advice on your kitchen revamps!

Q: My kitchen is looking old and used. How can I revamp my kitchen space without spending a fortune on buying a whole new kitchen?

A: Kitchens are spaces which are used constantly by not only yourself, but by the others in your household every single day! It’s no wonder that they end up looking old and used!

If you are in dire need of a revamp, or even if you are just wanting to spruce up or modernise the space, you can easily create the kitchen space of your dreams, without breaking the bank!

Painting your kitchen space, even your tiles, can be very easy to do, and can create a beautifully new, strong and durable kitchen area which you will be over the moon with!

You can even opt to paint the inside of your kitchen cupboards too which will give them that extra longevity in your kitchen space, as well as make them seem bright and beautiful too!

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Q: So, how would I go about painting my kitchen cupboards?

A: Painting your kitchen cupboards can seem like a very long and laborious task to complete, however, it can also be very easy to accomplish if you follow the right step-by-step guide below!

Step one: It may seem like an obvious step, but it is a very long one which a lot of people don’t want to complete! You have to remove all of the contents of your kitchen cupboards!

What it would definitely recommend is to take a few cardboard boxes and separate food items and heavier items from any glasses or porcelain too.

This will ensure that all of your kitchen goods remain intact during this process. 

Move them to a different room if possible, too in order to give yourself some more space to work with as your redecorate the space!

You can even take this opportunity to rearrange your kitchen cupboards! Win-win!

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Step two:  You have to firstly remove all of the knobs and handles in your kitchen cupboards before you even begin to paint your cupboard doors!

This will help you protect the knobs from any rogue paint splashes or accidental overlays from your paint brush too!

However, for areas of the kitchen cupboards which cannot be fully removed for decorating- such as the hinges and/or any glass, you can use a sensitive decorator’s tape to protect any hinges or glass from the paint splashes!

You can also add dust sheets to any spaces which you cannot remove for painting! Make sure that they will hold any paint you might spill such as the Prep Polythene Dust Sheet.

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Step three: As a result of its constant everyday use, your kitchen cupboards will most likely be dirty. Either from fingertip grease, or spillages or any other air grease that sticks to your cupboards.

This means that you will definitely have to wash your cabinets down before you begin to prep them for painting. This can easily be achieved by wiping them down with either sugar soap or with a strong detergent solution.

By doing this, you will make a smooth surface in your kitchen cupboards in order to paint on.

Make sure that you wipe off any soap residue with a clean, damp cloth before you paint.

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Step four: Make sure you let the kitchen cupboards dry before you move onto this step.

If you have melamine or high gloss surfaces, you can skip this step, and use a primer specifically designed for high gloss surfaces instead- just DM us for some more advice regarding this!

However, if you have any other kitchen cupboards, you will have to lightly sand them down with a fine sandpaper!

If your cupboards have any imperfections on them such as a dent or a scratch, or any other area, you must fill in the imperfections before you begin painting.

Make sure that you sand down any filled areas too, this will ensure that your kitchen cupboards have a perfectly smooth finish.

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Step five: On this step, you have to prime, prime, prime!

Using a primer before you paint your kitchen cupboards will not only help your achieve a soother and better final finish to your painted kitchen cupboards, but it will also help prevent any chipping and peeling of your paint as well as help your paint adhere to the surface of your kitchen cupboards.

The best primer for this task is our Zinsser’s B-I-N as this particular primer is not only perfect for covering a wide variety of surfaces such as water stains, graffiti, mould, fire damage and many other surfaces too, but it is also specifically designed for use on kitchen cupboards too!

This primer is water-based so has a quick drying time and can be re-coated in just 45 minutes, which means that you can not only save money, but also time by painting your kitchen cupboards instead of replacing them!

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Step six: For kitchen cupboards, we recommend a couple of different paint finishes in order for you to achieve the durability and strength which you definitely need in order to wash down your kitchen cupboards.

What we recommend is using our Colour Match Paint in either an Acrylic Eggshell finish or a Hard-wearing Matt finish.

Acrylic Eggshell: This paint finish is water-based- unlike its Eggshell counterpart- and therefore has a quick drying time.

It is a very hard-wearing finish which is one of the best paint finishes to use for spaces which require extra cleaning and a stronger paint finish too!

This paint finish has a slight sheen to it which allows for the paint to be easily wiped down! This is the perfect paint finish which you will need to scrub your paint down and can withstand knocks, scrapes, and other high traffic incident areas, perfect for kitchen cupboards!

Hard-wearing Matt: This paint finish is very durable, and just does what it says on the tine really! It is a matt finish paint which is extremely durable and can be cleaned much easier than the matt finish!

It is both a washable and scrubbable finish which is stain and moisture resistant, making it the perfect finish for kitchen cupboards!

This paint finish is perfect for high traffic areas such as kitchens, which require regular cleaning in order for them to keep on looking as fresh and new as the day your painted them!

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Step seven: Paint your kitchen cupboards! Make sure that you cut in with an appropriate brush, such as the Harris Artisan Angled Sash Brush and then roller the rest with preferably a small mohair roller!

Once the first coat is completely dry- always check the back of the tin for instructions- you must re-coat it for the best type of finish!

Step eight: When your second coat is completely dry- again, check the back of the tin for further instructions- put the knobs and handles of your kitchen cupboards back on and place them back where they belong!

Step nine: Enjoy your handiwork!

Or you can follow this great tutorial below!

Q: I don’t like the colour of my tiles! Can I paint them without removing all of the tiles from the wall?

A: The very simple answer is of course you can! Painting tiles is such an easy way to revamp your space without having to go through all the laborious hard work of removing your tiles and replacing them with brand new ones!

If your tiles are in a good condition- with no cracks, breakages, splinters or any other forms of damage- you will be able to perfectly paint them and create a perfect finish!

The easiest way to paint your tiles is in the step-by-step guide below!

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Step one: Clean, clean, clean!

One of the easiest ways to ensure that your painted tiles achieve the best finish possible is to prep them beforehand!

Cleaning your tiles before painting them is one of the most important steps in painting your tiles- other than painting them of course!

If your tiles are in a very bad state, it might be best to use a little diluted bleach on them a few days prior to painting and then washing them down thoroughly to remove a large portion of the dirt from them!

You may also need to use a fungicidal wash or even a limescale remover to make sure that they are all clean beforehand!

However, if your tiles are only moderately dirty- as all tiles are!- you can ensure that they are clean prior to painting by cleaning them down with a hot detergent solution and a scourer.

Usually it is recommended that you don’t use too much detergent in order to help remove the dirt from the tiles, rather than coating them in a thick layer of soapy suds.

Make sure that you wash down your tiles with clean water afterwards to rinse them of any soap residue that could potentially change the consistency of your paint and make the final coat slightly patchy.

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Step two: Tape off any areas which you do not want paint on!

The best way to prevent paint from getting into or even onto areas which you do not want it to be is to tape off any areas which you think will get paint on- such as the outside of the tiles.

This will make it easier for you to ‘keep in the lines’ of your painted tiles, as well as make the final finish look much lighter too.

You must also ensure that you have removed anything from your tiled area before you paint it, such as cups saucers, or any other bits and bobs which could get in your way!

Additionally, you can even add dust sheets to your kitchen surfaces, or anywhere else where paint could potentially splat and ruin the sleek lines which you have created with your masking tape!

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Step three: Prime for the best results as well as durability!

The best way to ensure that your paint will adhere properly to the glossy surface of your tiles is to prime properly and appropriately!

A lot of different types of paint primers are not suitable for tiles as they do not provide enough of a friction surface for your paint to stick, however Zinsser’s Bulls Eye 1-2-3 is the perfect primer for the job!

As an all-surface, all-purpose primer, this primer is specifically designed for use on tiles and therefore will work perfectly for what you are after!

You don’t have to make sure that your primer layer is smooth and not patchy, so using a brush on this step is perfectly fine! Your primer layer will probably be patchy and not smooth at all, however this is all part of the process and will not affect the look of your final paint finish!

Step four: Paint your topcoat!

Now the fun part of the process begins! Using preferably a mohair roller, you can finally paint your top layer of paint on your tiles!

We usually recommend the same finishes as we did for the kitchen cupboards- the acrylic eggshell or the hard-wearing matt- as a result of their scrubbable nature as well as how durable they are too!

However, you also have the option of using Zinsser’s AllCoat which is a self-priming paint which is designed to adhere to a wide variety of surfaces, both indoor and outdoor too!

Make sure that you wait the appropriate time before painting your second coat on top!

Step five: Once you have painted your tiles, you may want to redefine them with a grouting pen which will make the squares- or whatever shape your tiles are- more visible, just like they were before you began painting them!

Step six: Admire your handiwork!

You can always watch the video by Mrs Meldrum (on her Instagram, or YouTube account)- paint, primer and tools all from Decorating Centre Online- for a video step-by-step guide as well as some more handy tips on how to paint your kitchen cupboards and tiles!

Or DM, email, or call us for some more tips!