Way before this blog started, I painted our kitchen cabinets the color they are today. I used Behr Ultra paint in the color ‘village square’ and mixed it up to be chalk paint. You can find the recipe I use here. I feel like there are lots of questions about chalk paint and how it holds up. Today, I decided to talk with you about how I painted our lower kitchen cabinets with chalk paint and how they look 4 years later. **this post contains affiliate links**
First of all, I should clarify that the white, top cabinets were sprayed by our cabinet makers before they were installed. The only ones I painted with chalk paint were the lowers. They were originally black which was very pretty but I made the change when I wanted something a little brighter.
To start off I removed all the doors and gave each door a light sanding.
Like I said, I used Behr Ultra (that’s the paint+primer kind) in ‘Village Square’ and mixed it into chalk paint myself.
Chalk paint recipe here.
I painted a coat on the outside and tried to be really patient in between coats so that the paint fully dry. I’m not usually that thorough OR patient but for something like kitchen cabinets, I tried my best, yall. I chose to paint the inside of the doors as well. In between coats I gave the doors a light sanding to make sure brush marks didn’t show.
The most annoying part was having enough room for all of these doors and drawers to lay around while they’re drying. I gave the cabinet bases a couple coats of paint but didn’t paint the insides of the actual cabinets. Thankless job.
When the coats were done and before the doors were reattached, I rubbed on a couple coats of
this to seal the paint. The wipe on poly replaces the standard wax that you usually use to seal chalk paint. You wipe it on with a lint free rag and it protects the paint, repels water and makes the surface cleanable. I think this part is the game changer.
I don’t exactly know if it yellows since the paint is already such a warm color but it worked great for me.
Now to how it’s all holding up. Super, impressively well if you ask me. The issues haven’t been with the paint but with the little kids that knock chairs into the finish while getting super important things down from the top cabinets.
This corner in the shot above is the most used part of the kitchen. The horizontal handle is the drawer that opens to our trash and the other cabinets are under the sink.
That’s the trash drawer with the chipped paint at the top. I could easily repaint that little part, I just haven’t. After I took this picture (not before–rolling my eyes at myself), I scrubbed the doors really well with a wet paper towel and most everything cleaned off except for that black mark courtesy of my littlest artist.
This scrape above is under the sink because said little artist was trying to help with something one day and slammed her chair against the paint.
Then these chips and the scuff are on the cabinet with the kids stuff in it so it gets used a lot. That’s it. 4 years of chalk paint and a wipe on poly and those are the only signs of wear and tear. Maybe you think that’s a lot but I think that’s pretty great!
I love the color. I love the finish. The price was right. And I’d say it was worth my while. What do you think? Do you have any questions? Would you want to try it? I’m happy to help walk you through the process if needed! (pssst go check out
this instagram post for how the kitchen looks after another painting update.)
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Wow, I think it held up impressively well!! Thanks for the update and sharing your products! It's always good to hear how DIY techniques hold up! I did a wipe on poly over white chalkpaint and it turned yellow… I probably used the wrong kind… 🙁
Thank you so much! I feel like there are a ton of ideas out there but we never see how they really hold up. I bet you didn't use the wrong poly. I unfortunately think it just doesn't work as well over white.
Maybe I’m the most ignorant human ever but — why chalk paint? Was it for the dusty appearance? Can you write on it with y’all? Less chemicals/more natural? I genuinely want to know why you went this route versus a conventional paint match to this exact color! Xo
I mixed this paint from normal paint. It has plaster of Paris in it. Chalk paint bonds to surfaces without as much prep. I just had to lightly sand it. For a regular paint I would have had to sand a lot more and then the protective coat felt like it would be good for a kitchen. (Also I did it when chalk paint was all the rage) chalk paint is also good for really shiny wood or painting over oil based paint.
Revisiting this post as I prepare to paint my bathroom vanity. After painting several bathrooms and another kitchen, would you still recommend chalk paint? I'm doing a dark grey (Gray from BM) and I'm positive that it's a wood composite of some sort.
Hi! I still really love chalk paint and dont think its a bad choice.when I most recently painted our kitchen cabinets I used an adhesion primer and then good cabinet grade paint and its working really well too. Because it doesn't have a top coat, i feel like its a little easier to wipe down and touch up as needed.