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Kitchen Painting Tips - Walls or Cabinets First?

Kitchen Painting Tips - Walls or Cabinets First?

When you make the investment to paint your kitchen, it's important to make sure you're doing things in the right order. If you aren't methodical, you could end up with a mess that's hard to fix, or a color you end up unhappy with. So, when you are painting kitchen cabinets and walls, which comes first?

Cabinets Come First

It is best to paint the kitchen cabinets before you paint the walls. In fact, we suggest painting the cabinets before you even finalize your choice for the wall color. Here's why:

The kitchen cabinets make up a very large portion of the visual space in the kitchen. The effect of changing the color of so large an area can be surprising, especially since every kitchen is unique in its layout and lighting. It's best to wait until you can see the finished look of the cabinets before you buy the paint for the kitchen walls. You might want to get some color samples to paint on the walls after the cabinets are painted, so you can see how it will really look.

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If the color of the cabinets is not going to change, and you are simply refreshing them with the same color, these considerations are not as important.

What About the Kitchen Ceiling? When Do I Paint It?

When the ceiling is included in the kitchen repainting project, it should be the first thing to get the new coat. This reduces the chances you will get drips or splatters on newly-painted surfaces. Of course, any good house painter will use tape and plastic to protect all the surfaces when painting the ceiling, but this order of operations helps you be extra safe.

If I'm Getting New Cabinets Installed, Should I Paint Before or After?

You definitely don't want bare drywall behind your cabinets, as this absorbs moisture and odors, and isn't as durable. That's why any new or repaired drywall should be primed before new cabinets are installed. For the same reasons mentioned above, we suggest waiting for the cabinet installation to be completed before painting the kitchen walls.

Kitchen Painting Services in the San Francisco Bay Area

If you are considering a new paint job in your Bay-Area kitchen, we would love to hear from you. At M.B. Jessee, we have long experience with painting cabinets, a process that demands proper materials and careful steps. We can also provide you with professional color advice as you select the hues that will define your home.

As a residential painting company, M.B. Jessee serves the San Francisco Bay Area, including Oakland, Hillsborough, Pacific Heights, Piedmont, and the surrounding region. Call us to begin discussing your kitchen painting project; you'll be glad you did!

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Customer Reviews

“In all the years I've worked with MB Jessee, I'm always so impressed by your crews. They are so respectful of everything--you never even know they're there! Except that the paint looks amazing when they're gone. We've had one showing of our home and already have an offer. I'm sure it is because the paint looks so beautiful.”

— Erin T.
Pleasant Hill

“Hello Matt,Just another notice of thanks to your wonderful crew, Rigoberto, Javier and John. They did fantastic work, with Rigo providing meticulous and conscientious attention to the details and excellent woodwork finishing, as evidenced by the beautiful fireplace. Javier did a fantastic job in the bathroom especially, it looks "brand new," and John always does quality work, both with the interior and exterior. I can tell they care about what they do. Rigo's "punch out" was very thorough, too. I will call again when I need some more work and will definitely recommend your company and fine crew. I also felt as a homeowner, I could leave my house in their good hands during the day and that took a lot of worry from me, they were honest, prompt and reliable. They were also very kind, respectful and clean in their work, very professional. Thank you.”

— Beth Marx & Melissa Kirsch
Oakland

“Matt, Julie & Ricardo, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank the three of you for the wonderful job you did in hosting the SFBA NARI Chapter Meeting on Wednesday evening. Everything was perfect from beginning to end. Members and guests alike walked away with a truly positive experience. The "painter for a day" and the cookies in the paint cans were an absolute brilliant touch and received rave reviews. What a wonderful way to do such positive marketing. Thanks again for a truly memorable experience for our members and guests. You are valued as a NARI member.”

— Judy Tufo, SFBA NARI Executive Director

“M.B. Jessee painted the exterior of my Spanish house over 9 years ago, and they did such an incredible job that they are still getting referrals from me today. The paint is holding up perfectly -- there is absolutely no peeling chipping or any other deterioration. I still remember that my final walk-through list consisted of items written on one side of a 3x5 index card (and I'm REAL picky about my house!) However, when Matt and I did that walk-through over HALF the items were no longer an issue, as his team had noticed them first and they had already been resolved.”

— JoAnn Newcomb

“Richard and crew have been great, for sure. As much as I look forward to having the job done and my house back in order, I really enjoyed having them around. You should feel really good about how they represent your company.”

— Jessica Dodson

“MB Jessee painters are stellar! As a designer I've worked with numerous companies over the years, and MB Jessee is a top-notch firm. From the first phone call to the final clean up, every person is courteous, professional, and hard working. The owner, Matt, is a charitable leader who has instilled his team with integrity and honesty providing the customer with a first class experience at a fair price with a paint job that is guaranteed to last. I highly recommend MB Jessee. Thank you Matt and your STAR crew-Daniel, Rigoberto, Vicente, Edy, Pedro, and Mario, for a job well executed! Cynthia Brian, ASID, Starstyle® Productions, llc”

— Cynthia Brian
Morgan, CA

“I just wanted to thank you all for doing such a phenomenal job on our recent house painting. We are very happy with the outcome and can't say enough good things about the crew. Everyone working on the project was outstanding and made it a great experience. Thanks to everyone.”

— Daylan
Piedmont

“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walk through experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3 year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua Jansen

“Many thanks to Rigoberto and Damon and the extraordinary team who transformed my castle in the skies.They are magicians. I appreciate their work very much.”

— Kathleen A
San Francisco

“Dear Matt,You must be so proud of your men! They were fantastic to have around. Polite, courteous and hardworking. I am so pleased with the outcome of our home--in fact, I couldn't be any more pleased than I am!”

— Mrs. S
San Leandro

“I loved working with M.B. Jessee from start to finish on a relatively small paint job that grew a bit. I felt in very good hands from the moment Matt Jessee came out to give me the estimate and talk about my job. He was very easy to talk to and he handled my changes very well. Then the actual work done by Rigoberto and Mario was impeccable. They were neat and meticulous and the paint job looks beautiful. I could not have asked for more and when I did, they accommodated me 100%. I will not hesitate to call M.B. Jessee again and to refer them to friends.”

— Nancy Kurkjian

“Edy and crew are hard at work. They are doing a great job. Very professional outfit you have. Your crew is a delight. You may use me for a reference!”

— Heidi B
Walnut Creek