Painting your kitchen cabinets is a great way to customize your kitchen space to your preference or keep up with the current interior décor trends. However, when painting your kitchen cabinets, one question that may run through your mind is whether you need to paint the inside of the cabinets as well. Let’s find out!
Painting the inside of your kitchen cabinet interiors is a matter of personal preference. And in most cases, they’re left unpainted. However, the practical effect of having painted or unpainted interiors is negligible because they’re adequately protected from dirt and oil vapor by the exteriors.
If you want to paint your kitchen cabinets and have yet to decide whether you should paint the interiors as well, you’re in the right place. Keep reading this article to get insights into why you should or shouldn’t paint your kitchen cabinet interiors.
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Deciding Whether or Not To Paint Kitchen Cabinet Interiors
Painting kitchen cabinets is simple, but it gets tricky for the cabinet’s interiors. Doing so is a good way to add life to the cabinets. You can either reduce the contrast between the interiors and the cabinet doors or create a pop of color to make the space more eye-catching, whichever suits your needs.
However, you can still leave them as they are. The choice is yours!
Either way, painted or unpainted, the cabinets still serve their purpose.
If you decide to paint the interiors, you should keep in mind that the process isn’t as simple as painting the outdoors.
Here you’ll mostly deal with the hard-to-reach innermost parts of your cabinets. Additionally, some interior parts may need you to paint upside down, which can be pretty challenging. And depending on the design of your cabinets, you may need to remove the doors before painting the interiors.
So, in a nutshell, painting the inside of kitchen cabinets can be more challenging than you envisioned.
If the task seems overly demanding to you, leave the interiors as they are, but if you feel that you can crack through it, go ahead and paint. If you settle for the latter, spray painting using a spray gun will make the task a little bit easier for you.
Reasons To Paint the Inside of Your Kitchen Cabinets
Let’s look at some reasons why you might undertake this demanding process to have the insides of your kitchen cabinets painted.
For Display
You may decide to paint the insides of your kitchen cabinets for display purposes. This Is usually the case if your cabinets have a glass or open front.
The beauty of having open or glass-fronted kitchen cabinets is that they allow you to show off what’s on the inside effortlessly. And by doing this, they put the interiors of your cabinets on display too.
Therefore, it may necessitate you to paint the inside of the cabinets to create a perfect display. You can decide to go with a color that matches the exteriors for uniformity or a different shade for intrigue.
For Uniformity
Even if your kitchen cabinets aren’t glass-fronted, you may decide to paint the interiors to achieve uniformity with the exteriors. Matching the inside of the cabinets with the exteriors creates a cohesive and sophisticated look. You don’t have to worry about your cabinets looking weird any time you open them.
To Add Contrast
You can also decide to paint the interiors of your kitchen cabinets to create contrast. Here, you can be a little creative with colors and get a different shade that creates contrast while still complementing the exterior hue.
You can even use different shades for different cabinets. The choice is all yours!
Personal Preference
The choice to paint the inside of your kitchen cabinets can also be a matter of personal preference.
It can be a move to upgrade your kitchen space to suit your lifestyle needs or change the old paint. After all, the kitchen is yours, and you’re free to do whatever you want with it—you’re the master of your kitchen!
Reasons Not To Paint the Inside of Your Kitchen Cabinets
Now, on the flip side, let’s look at a few reasons why you might not want to paint the interiors of your kitchen cabinets.
Difficult To Do
Painting the inside of kitchen cabinets isn’t a task for the faint-hearted. You should be prepared to deal with lots of hard-to-reach areas, remove the doors or front ends, paint upside down, etc.
This process is quite tricky if you don’t possess expert painting skills, and it might be difficult to get a thick paint coat in all the interior parts.
So, if the process seems overwhelming for you, leave the interiors unpainted.
Time-Consuming
The exteriors of your kitchen cabinets are easy to paint and don’t take up much of your time. However, for the inside of the cabinets, you’ve got to spare a few more hours out of your busy schedule to remove the doors and other front decorations, clean all the cabinets, and get paint to the hard-to-reach corners.
So, if you have a busy schedule, you shouldn’t commit yourself to painting the inside of your kitchen cabinets.
Uses More Paint
The insides of the kitchen cabinets constitute the largest part of them. Therefore, painting them means you need extra paint, which can be costly if you’re working on a budget.
And besides the extra paint needed for the initial painting phase, you’ll also need more paint to take care of the regular paint chips.
Painting cabinet interiors can be a costly undertaking that may not be worth it in the long run unless your cabinets are open or glass-fronted, where one can see the insides at all times.
Paint Chips
Sometimes, as the paint on the inside of the cabinets dries up, it may chip and fall on your kitchen essentials. You may find paint chips in your edible kitchen supplies, and removing them can be overwhelming.
Besides, when paint chips fall on your cutlery, you need to spend some time wiping or cleaning them. Cabinets with high traffic, such as those holding regularly used kitchen supplies and cutlery, are more prone to chipping than others.
To reduce the nuisance caused by paint chips, you can add a sealant to your cabinets’ interiors after painting them. Adding a sealant layer means an added expense and more drying time before you use your cabinets again.
Painting the Inside of Cabinets: FAQs
Here’s a rundown of some frequently asked questions regarding painting the inside of kitchen cabinets:
Which Paint Is Good for Kitchen Cabinet Interiors?
If you decide to paint the inside of your kitchen cabinets, consider using either latex or oil-based paints. Latex paints are easy to work with and clean with water, and they are also user-friendly. Oil-based paints take longer to dry, but they’re more durable.
Either way, latex or oil-based paints are good for the inside of kitchen cabinets.
Do You Have to Seal the Inside Kitchen Cabinets After Painting Them?
While it’s not mandatory to include a sealant, applying one to painted cabinet interiors reduces chipping. If you choose not to add a sealant, the cabinets will still be functional in its absence. However, it’s highly advisable to include it for the high-traffic cabinets that you use more often.
Which Is the Best for Kitchen Cabinets: Brush, or Spray Paint?
You can use either a brush or spray paint for your kitchen cabinets. Spray paint gives a smoother finish, but you may incur extra costs renting the spray equipment. Besides, when using spray paint, you’ll be required to mask off other areas of your kitchen to counter accidental sprays.
Since masking off may include masking countertops, handles, and other areas, it may be time-consuming, and it may also cost you to get the masking material.
When using a brush (a cheaper and more convenient option), consider getting a quality medium-sized brush. For latex paint, it’s best if you use a synthetic brush and a natural bristle brush for oil-based paint.
You may also like: How Many Coats of Primer on Wood Cabinets?
Wrapping It Up
The decision on whether you should or shouldn’t paint your kitchen cabinets is a matter of personal choice and preference.
And while painting your kitchen cabinet interiors can be tricky, costly, and time-consuming, it helps customize your kitchen space giving it uniformity and a touch of color. All you need to do is weigh the benefits and the downsides of painting your kitchen cabinet interiors and then decide which option is best.
Good luck deciding on what to do with the inside of your kitchen cabinets!
