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Delbrook North Vancouver Home Staging Tips Paint Wood Cabinets

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Home Stager with EXIT STAGE RIGHT

Delbrook North Vancouver Home Staging Tips Paint Wood Cabinets

Are you preparing your house for sale but have tired, dated, oak cabinets in your kitchen or bathroom?  Replacing kitchen cabinets can be quite expensive, but an inexpensive, quick fix is to paint kitchen cabinets to give them a clean, fresh, updated look.  Here's what my company, Exit Stage Right Home Staging did to help out a client in the Delbrook area of North Vancouver stage her kitchen.

Now, repeat after me.  It's o.k. to paint wood.  I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you.  Shout it out, people.  IT'S O.K. TO PAINT WOOD!  I could make a very sexist comment right now and suggest that men in particular hate the thought of painting over wood.  What's with that?  But of course, I'd never make such a comment, so just keep on reading.  I'm not suggesting painting over beautiful, inlaid wood or mahogany, but I do give you permission to paint over plain, old, boring oak.

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen Before Painting Cupboards

This Delbrook, North Vancouver client was very open to suggestions that would make her kitchen lighter, brighter, and much more appealing to potential home buyers.  She had already made great strides with some updates to her kitchen, such as changing out her white kitchen appliances with sought after stainless steel and replacing the worn kitchen countertops with a new,  updated, neutral coloured laminate. 

We suggested painting over the dark, rust coloured walls with a much lighter, neutral colour.  Next, we suggested painting the kitchen cabinets in a nice, soft, cottagey white.  I suggested Benjamin Moore Mascarpone AF20.  This is a colour used by Pottery Barn.  It's part of Ben Moore's Aura collection, has low VOCs and is so thick, that you often don't need more than two coats.  Normally, you don't even need a primer with this paint when painting over wood.  However, in this case, some stains were bleeding through, so a primer was applied.  Don't forget to wash the cupboards thoroughly with Pink Solution (an environmentally friendly answer to TSP) before you paint. 

Kitchen After:

After photo of painted kitchen cupboards

Once the cupboards were painted, stainless steel knobs were added to the cupboard doors to give an updated appearance and to tie in with the stainless steel appliances.  In a perfect world, I'd love to see a new backsplash, but as we're on a tight budget, we're discussing possibly painting out the backsplash also. 

After photo of painted kitchen cabinets

It's amazing what a lick of paint can do to dramatically change the look of a room.  In this case, we really lightened, brightened and updated this home.  Paint is a relatively inexpensive investment, and yet the return can be huge.  Don't put up with those dated, '90's oak cabinets.  Paint them!  You'll thank me!

Comments (38)

Roger D. Mucci
Shaken...with a Twist 216.633.2092 - Euclid, OH
Lets shake things up at your home today!

Sometimes I wonder Sally................

Aug 20, 2012 02:56 AM
Joni Bailey
101 Main St. Realty - Huntsville, TX
Your Huntsville / Lake Livingston Area REALTOR®

I just re-listed a little cottage that I sold a few years ago. They painted the cabinets and changed (brightened) the entire look of the kitchen. Not staged, but the cabinets look GREAT!

Aug 20, 2012 06:53 AM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Joni - This cottage kitchen looks great with the painted cabinets.  I also like the contrast between the light, white cabinets, the medium toned floors and the dark kitchen table & chairs.  Very nice!  Good luck with the sale.

Aug 20, 2012 08:20 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

It is okay to paint wood but many Minnesotans don't think so! LOL. Love the color...thanks for sharing that tip. 

Aug 20, 2012 01:00 PM
Melissa Marro
Keller Williams First Coast Realty - The Marro Team - Orange Park, FL
Jacksonville Real Estate and Home Staging
Oh man... I'm so tired of hearing, "it's wood, you can't paint it!" really? I mean aren't most painted surfaces wooden? Your after looks so much better!
Aug 20, 2012 01:10 PM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

Sally, great idea - never thought of it but let me say it aloud....

"IT'S OKAY TO PAINT WOOD!"

What a transformation!

Aug 20, 2012 01:15 PM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Shar - I believe the resistance to painting wood is a global thing!  Now if we can convert home owners one home at a time...

Melissa - You are so right.  I never really thought about it, but yes, most surfaces are wood before they are painted.  Good point, which I will be using in the future!

Praful - You are a brave man!  Thank you :-)

Aug 21, 2012 06:12 AM
Fred Carver Real Estate Consulant
Retired BC Realtor - Victoria, BC
Accredited Real Estate Consultant

Hi Sally...You're so Clever, I suggest you just know all the right things to do to maximize the Curb appeal..The Painted Cabinets look awesome...Well done Sally !!

Aug 21, 2012 01:13 PM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Hi Fred - Not as clever as you!  Glad you like the painted cabinets.  Happy to hear things are hopping in downtown Victoria!

Aug 21, 2012 04:22 PM
Kathy Nielsen
http://atlantahomestaging.net - Marietta, GA
Atlanta Georgia Home Stager

Very nice transformation, Sally. It's amazing what paint can do!

Kathy

Aug 21, 2012 09:14 PM
Mike Yeo
3:16 team REALTY - Frisco, TX
Sally - that is a very nice transformation. We recently had ours done as well and getting some dark expresso wood floor. It really made the house look new again.
Aug 21, 2012 11:24 PM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Kathy - Thanks and yes, a can of paint can go a long way in updating a kitchen.

Mike - So glad to hear you went for it and had your cupboards painted.  Oooh, the contrast of the espresso flooring and light cabinets would look amazing. 

Aug 22, 2012 12:00 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Hello Sally~ Found this post through Melissa's reblog.  The kitchen is much improved with just a little bit of paint.

Aug 22, 2012 02:38 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

My husband doesn't know it yet, but I'm planning on painting our kitchen cabinets.  You know, in my new house that didn't "need a thing" and then we ended up painting every room!  I need to give him a little break before I introduce the idea of the cabinets.  He won't be surprised, I'm sure. LOL!

Aug 22, 2012 07:34 AM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Hi Donna - Oh, that was nice of Melissa to re-blog.  I agree - the end result looks really great.

Sharon - Too funny.  I think your husband realized long ago that it wasn't worth fighting a designer/wife.  Smart man!  Hope you'll post pics of the before & after cabinets when you're done. 

Aug 22, 2012 09:54 AM
Michelle Drewry
Signature Real Estate Group - Henderson, NV
Realtor - Signature Real Estate Group

That's exactly what my last clients needed to do, but didn't.  It looks amazingly better!

Aug 29, 2012 02:13 PM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

IT'S OK TO PAINT WOOD!!!! LOL

I was in that kitchen's twin today LOL! The back splash in mine was a golden oak color too! The appliances were different colors! Yikes!

IT'S OK TO PAINT WOOD!

Aug 30, 2012 09:55 AM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Hi Sally, my Dad is a carpenter and he just about faints every time I say that I convinced a seller to paint their cabinets.

I love the look of painted cabinets. Not a fan of stained wood at all. Love the transformation, light and bright is the only way to go right now. It has been the colour in every major magazine for about 2 years now.

Give buyers what they see in the stores and in decor magazines and you will have a winner on your hands every time. Great work Sally.

Aug 31, 2012 05:20 PM
David Peterson
Synergy Staging ~ specializing in vacant home staging - Portland, OR
Home Stager Portland OR-Synergy Staging-Portland Oregon

It's a big project, but results are outstanding. One of our investor clients paints his cabinets quite often. Great solution to give the kitchen a fresh look on a modest budget. Looks great!

Sep 09, 2012 09:05 AM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Michelle D - I know, it's a hard sell.  More often than not, I'm told no, it's not possible to paint the cabinets, and yet the results are so worth it.

Janice - Ha ha - too funny.  Shout it from the tree tops - IT'S OK TO PAINT WOOD!  Amen, sista!

Michelle F - Your poor dad!  Maybe you should just refrain from mentioning anything to do with painted wood...  What a great thought - "Give buyers what they see in the stores and in decor magazines and you will have a winner" - so true and well said!

David - Painting cabinets is a big project - it takes a lot longer than painting a wall, that's for sure, so not for the faint of heart.  You have a very smart investor - a coat of paint on cabinets does make them look fresh and new again.

Sep 09, 2012 09:42 AM