Your kitchen really is the heart of the home – a place where memories are made while perfecting your chocolate chip cookies with the kids. It’s the place where fruit smoothies are made for rushed mornings and the smell of fresh banana bread wafts through the house.
There’s a good chance you’ve spent some time on Pinterest, scrolling through stunning photos of the ultimate dream kitchens – searching for the perfect space that fits your life and style.
We compiled a list of mistakes that are easy to avoid when you’re aware of them. Let’s get right to it.
1. Choosing The Wrong Color
Yes, you want a kitchen that’s uniquely yours. However, picking a trendy color for kitchen cabinets is the most common mistake people make.
Instead, select a versatile, marketable color that never goes out of style, like white or neutral, or a more natural wood stain. You might not plan on moving away from your home, but in the off-chance that you do, home buyers look at the kitchen first and you don’t want the cabinet color to turn them off.
Designers agree that opting for a neutral color scheme – like white, grey, or beige – not only increases the resale value of your home, but sets the tone for the feeling you and your guests have when gathering in your space.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to sacrifice fun accent colors. Use your neutral cabinet color as a canvas, then add pops of color with bright dishes, hardware, barstools, backsplash, rugs, plants and curtains. These non-permanent touches can be swapped out with the seasons or as your personal style evolves over time.
2. Forgetting Square Footage
When it comes to selecting your cabinet color, don’t forget to consider the size of your space. If it’s smaller, opting for lighter colors like white neutrals for the cabinets will make the space appear more open and spacious.
3. Having Unrealistic Expectations
It’s easy to assume that painting your kitchen cabinets is a fairly simple task. However, if you plan to paint your cabinets yourself, be ready for a time commitment of at least a week and interruptions to your busy schedule. Having professionals do the work for you can save you time and prevents missing important steps that impact the quality of your project.
4. Failing To Clean The Wood Properly
Prep is arguably the most important step in the cabinet painting process. Grease, oils and wax build up on your cabinets over time and keep the paint from adhering properly. Professional painters and do-it-yourself-ers don’t always take the proper time to clean cabinets prior to painting.
It’s wise to consider choosing professionals who specialize in cabinet painting. They have special proprietary cleaning solutions that remove contaminants from your cabinets that cause paint to peel and chip.
5. Using The Wrong Paint and Primer
Don’t skip the step of priming your cabinets before painting them. General painters will typically use a wall primer on your cabinets while cabinet painting specialists will use a cabinet primer that stops bleed-through and blocks stains.
Now, for the fun part – your new cabinet color. Use an acrylic-polyurethane blend that resists chipping and peeling.
Most painters use a latex paint, which is made for walls and not durable enough for cabinets. They brush it on, leaving unwanted brush strokes and paint drips. Cabinet painting specialists at N-Hance always use proper primer and paint, and add an industrial strength top coat that is cured instantly with UV light, leaving a smooth, factory-like finish instantly.
Consider Leaving It To The Professionals
Your life is busy, and your time with family is important. So when it comes to taking on a project like painting your kitchen cabinets, why not leave the elbow-grease to the professionals? Choose a color that’s best for your space and then let us take it from there.
Your friends at N-Hance Wood Refinishing of Delaware are here to help. Take the first step to a new kitchen you’ll love and contact us today.