Kitchen Painting

Kitchen walls, ceilings and trim

Kitchen painting takes more care than other rooms because the prep and the paint matter more here than in a bedroom. Kitchens are the hardest-working rooms to paint: steam, cooking grease and hands on light switches all wear on the finish. Safe Choice Painting paints kitchen walls, ceilings, trim and doors as part of our interior painting work.

Why kitchen walls need extra prep

Cooking leaves a thin grease film on walls and ceilings, heaviest near the stove and over the range hood. You may not see it, but paint will not bond to it, and new paint over grease can peel or stay soft. Benjamin Moore's guide to preparing walls advises washing kitchen walls with water and a grease-cutting detergent, then rinsing with clean water to remove any cleaner left behind. We follow that order:

1. Degrease. Walls and ceiling near the cooktop are washed with a grease-cutting cleaner.
2. Rinse. A clean-water rinse takes off the residue so the primer can grip.
3. Dry. The surface dries fully before anything else goes on.
4. Repair. Nail holes, dings and cracks around windows are filled and sanded.
5. Spot-prime. Repairs, bare spots and any stains get primer.

Stains that come back through paint

Kitchens collect stains that ordinary paint will not cover: smoke marks above the stove, water stains under a window or near the sink, and old grease spots. A stain-blocking primer goes on those areas first. Then the finish coats go over the whole wall so the repair does not show. Grease spots are washed before they are primed, since primer over grease fails the same way paint does.

Which paint finish for a kitchen?

• Walls: a scrubbable eggshell or satin. Both handle wiping far better than flat.
• Ceiling: a washable matte, or a flat rated for humid rooms. Very shiny ceilings show every bump under the lights.
• Trim and doors: satin or semi-gloss, the most washable.

Our paint sheen guide covers each room, and the ceiling painting page explains kitchen ceilings in more detail.

Working around a kitchen you use

Most families keep cooking during the job. We plan the work so the kitchen stays usable:

• Countertops, appliances, the floor and the sink are covered at the start of each day.
• Walls are painted in sections so the stove and sink area is clear by the end of each day.
• Outlet and switch plates come off and go back on once the paint is dry.
• Windows and the range hood fan run for air flow.

Our answer on how long it takes to paint a room has more on timing.

Open kitchens and where to stop the color

In open floor plans the kitchen walls often run straight into the family room. Paint needs a natural stopping point: an inside corner, a cased opening or a change in ceiling height. We mark those break points at the walkthrough so the color change looks planned. Pantries and laundry nooks next to the kitchen are often painted in the same visit with the same scrubbable finish.

Older kitchens

Kitchens in older homes often have several layers of paint, including oil-based trim paint under latex. Glossy oil trim is scuffed and primed with a bonding primer before new latex goes on, or the new paint can peel. In Gainesville about 68 percent of homes were built before 1980, and in Denton about 27 percent, by Census estimates, so this comes up often. See interior painting in Denton and interior painting in Gainesville.

Picking kitchen colors

Kitchen color has to work with fixed finishes: countertops, tile, flooring and appliances. Bring a sample of the countertop or backsplash color to the walkthrough, and look at paint samples under the kitchen's own lights at night as well as in daylight. Warm whites and soft grays work with most stone and tile. Bolder colors often work best on one wall or an eating nook rather than the whole room. For what drives the price of a kitchen job, see our interior painting cost guide.

Kitchen ceilings

Kitchen ceilings collect grease and cooking film, most of all above the range. They are degreased and primed where stained before the ceiling paint goes on.

Nearby

• Interior painting
• Ceiling painting
• Interior painting in Denton, TX
• Bathroom painting
• Interior trim and door painting