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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

“I cannot imagine finer painters--and I have worked with many. They work exceptionally hard. It is a joy to see their workmanship!”

— Alicia R.
Oakland

“Everyone I dealt with was nice, helpful, and very professional. The price was reasonable! (I didn't feel like I was getting the "San Francisco price." The attention to detail and work quality was excellent. They did what they said they would do in the exact timeframe they said they would do. Highly recommend!”

— Tim Tyson

“In September, MBJessee finished painting two sides of our 3-story condominium building (six owners). We were impressed by the professionalism of the company and every one of its workers, Matt Jessee couldn't have been more helpful in planning the project. His painters were well-trained, easy to communicate with and eager to please. In addition to painting the stucco, they made extensive repairs on windows and frames, which will save us considerable money in the future. They finished earlier than anticipated, with as many as five men working on the job, and the scaffolding came down the next day. All of us were delighted with the results. Now my husband and I are looking forward to having MB Jessee paint our own apartment later this month. Matt and Gustavo (who will be our crew leader again) have explained how they will work to make the painting proceed smoothly while we're living here, and they have been endlessly patient with our protracted decision-making process. If you look at their website, you'll learn that MB Jessee is an exemplary company that takes good care of its workers as well as its customers, and contributes public service projects to the community. All in all, we can't recommend MB Jessee highly enough.”

— Jayne W.
San Francisco, CA

“The finish on my kitchen cabinets had failed, becoming tacky and grimy around the handles. M B Jessee gave me a reasonable quote, far below some others, and did an outstanding job, striping the original varnish and refinishing with a new lacquer finish. The cabinets look like new. Work was done 1 day faster than estimated. The crew was extremely hard-working, considerate, and neat. Highly recommend M B Jessee.”

— Thama B.
San Francisco, CA

“I want to express my thanks for a job well done. The rooms look great and there is no problem with any marks on the all the trim, floor, carpet, etc. The paint job is lovely. I also want to express my thanks for the level of professionalism the foreman showed in running the job. He was very attentive to any changes I needed to make, was extremely careful in getting the faux paint color and effect correct. Thanks so much for a job well done.”

— Suzan D’Arcy

“Julie,Just to let you know I am very appreciative of your crew catching the plumbing/mold problem. It was very astute of them. I wanted to let you know that again your crew has done excellent work here, please pass this along to Mr. Jessee. There are some bumps in the road here, but the painting and your crew has not been one of them. Their work is the only thing going right currently, and this crew is very nice and respectful. It is much appreciated. Thank you again.”

— Beth
Oakland

“I can't say enough about how courteous and professional my foreman was. He was on time every morning and arrived cheerful and ready to go. He is highly organized and very thoughtful. He was extremely careful and respectful when moving my belongings - a mature professional.”

— Nora Robinson

“Awesome work by highly experienced, professional painters. They were: Conscious about the amount of time it would take. Ours had a lot of pre-work and took 3 weeks. Accommodating when we added a few last-minute changes Understanding when a heatwave hit and we remove some of the plastic sheeting over windows, which they had to put back up the next day. Accessible, especially the on-site crew (Hi Jose & Victor!) -- always answering questions and checking in. The end result is a perfect paint job that makes our 94-year-old house look brand new. I would definitely hire MBJ again”

— Stacey R.
Oakland, CA

“The people at M.B. Jessee are great – from the painters to the office staff to Matt. Talk about leadership from the top.”

— Kevin Ames, Mark Becker Homes

“Today I received a beautiful bouquet from your company. It was totally unexpected and very much appreciated--a lovely surprise. Also today, your crew finished my job. I am so pleased with all their fine work. Richard is absolutely amazing and a total delight to work with. He was also extremely helpful during the paint color process. The interior work in my home far exceeded my expectations. A big thank you to you and the crew for an outstanding job. Thank you, thank you for a terrific job!”

— Barbara
Piedmont

“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

“My entire experience with MB Jesse was very professional. The crew were very friendly and super accommodating of my ridiculous schedule and geriatric pets in the house. The finished product, which was pretty much my entire house, far exceeds my expectations. Would definitely work with them again!”

— Heather Jordan