Refinishing Your Kitchen Cabinets? Consider These 5 Types of Finishes.

Your kitchen cabinet is probably the largest decorative element in your kitchen. You can easily set the style, theme, and mood of your kitchen using cabinetry. If your kitchen cabinets are looking a little dated and tired, you might be considering refinishing them –and that is a good move.

Refinishing your kitchen cabinets is easy, effective and more cost-effective compared to replacing the whole set with new ones. If your cabinets are still in good physical condition, you don’t have to toss them away –simply give them a new face.

When refinishing your cabinets, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is choosing the type of finish to use. If it’s your first time refinishing your kitchen cabinets, making a choice here can be a little intimidating, after all, you must consider the cost, style, quality, color, and durability.
In this article, we want to quickly share the top five kitchen cabinet finishes most professionals and homeowners choose from, (and why), to help you make the best choice.

1. Painted Cabinet Finishes

Painted cabinet finishes are probably the most common across many homes. Paint forms an even solid coating on the surface of the cabinet wood and doesn’t allow wood grain, blemishes, and other surface characteristics to show through. It offers an endless range of colors to choose from, and there is a variety to suit each type of cabinet material and design. If you’re looking for flexibility in color options, painting might be your best choice.

2. Stain Cabinet Finish

Stained cabinet finishes are rather unique and common with homeowners looking to showcase the beautiful, natural characteristics of wood. Most stains tend to penetrate into the wood, don’t form a solid film on the surface and allow the wood grains and knots to show through.

There’re mainly three types of stains: transparent, semitransparent and solid stains.

• Transparent stains: this type of stain seeps into the wood, leaving a clear wood surface with minimal to no color alteration. They allow the wood characteristics such as wood grains and knots to show through, but their protective capabilities are limited.

• Semi-transparent stains: this is a sweet compromise in between the solid stains and transparent stains. These stains too, penetrate into the wood, alter the wood color a little bit, but still allow most of the natural wood color and grain to show through.

• Solid stains: these types of stains form a solid coating on the surface, don’t penetrate into the wood and hence don’t allow the wood character to show through. They offer maximum wood protection –more like paint.

3. Laminate Cabinet Finishes

Laminate cabinet finishes are created by installing a thin layer on the exterior of the wooden kitchen cabinet surface. Homeowners love them because they’re long-lasting and resist corrosive cleaning elements. This is why they’re also popular on some kitchen countertops. The best part is you can request them to be done in either a glossy or textured finish.

4. Opaque Cabinet Finishes

This type of finish is sort of a compromise between painting and staining because it offers characteristics of a painted cabinet, but still allow the wood grain to show through, just like when staining. This finish is common with high-end cabinets and favored by homeowners who want to show off the wood character.

5. Glazed Cabinet Finishes

Glazed cabinets are created when a transparent glaze is applied over the finished surface to create added depth and dimension in the subtle detailing of the cabinet. You can choose to glaze both painted and stained cabinets for an enhanced look.

The Bottom Line

Well, there you have it –have you chosen your favorite finish yet? Still can’t figure out the best choice for your cabinets? You can always seek professional advice. If you need any professional help with cabinet or woodwork refinishing in Omaha, Nebraska, Brush & Roll Painting can help. Simply book a free estimate below or give us a call 402-932-9764 for more details.