How to Refresh Inside of Kitchen Cabinets

Ever look at your kitchen and feel like you need to refresh the inside of your kitchen cabinets?

If so, it can be tough to figure out how to get started. It’s not the most common part of the kitchen to update. And how much work you’ll have to put in to refresh the inside of your cabinets is very individual to your kitchen. 

I found myself in a similar position, feeling like my kitchen cabinets were missing something, but they didn’t need a new paint job or anything. 

So I decided to refresh the inside of my kitchen cabinets that had open or glass doors. While this was purely decorative, it added a lot of depth to my kitchen and gave the room a focal point. 

This is a great project to take on if you want a quick refresh and don’t want to take on an entire room makeover. 

Keep reading for more ideas on how you can refresh the inside of your kitchen cabinets and a tutorial on how I freshed mine up!

Why your kitchen cabinets might need a refresh.

If you feel like something is missing in your kitchen, but you don’t want to take on a project as daunting as replacing the cabinets or painting the whole room, this might be the right project for you. 

After all, the average kitchen remodel costs $80,000! If you’re feeling antsy for a change in your kitchen but don’t want to spend $80,000 (and who does?!) a quick paint touch up may be just what you need. 

If you are changing the décor and accessories in your kitchen, refreshing the look of your cabinets helps complete the look without taking over your kitchen for weeks. 

Ways you can refresh the inside of kitchen cabinets.

While I’ll be demonstrating how I painted inside my cabinets, that’s not your only choice for refreshing your kitchen cabinets. 

Here are some ideas you can use to refresh the inside of your cabinets: 

1. Painting the inside of your exposed kitchen cabinets is an easy way to update and refresh the look of your entire kitchen.
2. Wallpaper the inside of the exposed kitchen cabinets. This is a great option for renters if you use removable wallpaper (sometimes called peel and stick wallpaper). 
3. Change the accessories in the open cabinets. This is the fastest and easiest way to go if you need a refresh asap!

For this post I am going to focus on painting the inside of the cabinets with visible interiors (open or glass front).

How to Paint Inside Your Kitchen Cabinets

Tools:

• Angled paint brushes (2-3 inch)
• Mini-foam roller with tray
• Painter’s tape 
• De-greaser (to clean inside cabinet surface if needed)
• Fine grit sandpaper (150-180 grit)
• Wood putty and small putty knife (if needed to patch holes)

Paint:

• Primer – I prefer KILZ 3 Water-based primer because it works on most surfaces, has good coverage and blocks most stains without bleed-through.
• Paint: – Any good quality Interior Acrylic latex. I used Sherwin-Williams Emerald satin for this project. I use water-based paints–like acrylic latex–whenever possible for easy clean-up.
• Polyurethane clear satin sealer – Optional step to provide additional protection on the bottom of the cabinet where you will be placing items. I use Minwax Polycrylic clear satin water based finish.

Steps:

Preparation:

Prepare your cabinet for painting by following these steps:

• Empty the cabinets
• Remove doors and hardware (optional if you’re only painting the inside, like I am here)
• Clean surface to be painted (use de-greaser if cabinets have stains or grease build-up from cooking)
• Repair any holes or imperfections with wood putty.
• Lightly sand the inside surface of cabinets with the sandpaper. Pass over the surface with the sandpaper roughly one time. 
• Wipe the inside of the cabinets clean

Taping: 

• Apply painter’s tape along the edges. Do this where the surface you will be painting meets a surface you don’t want painted.

Here’s an example of how I would tape to paint inside these cabinets:

Priming:

• Apply one coat of primer using paint brush to the entire surface of inside cabinets and let it dry for at least 2 hours or longer where humidity levels are high.
  • Note: The primer step does not need to be evenly coated. There will be streaks but don’t worry, the new paint will cover that.

Painting:

Once the primer is completely dry you are ready to paint.  To paint you will need an edging brush and a small paint roller.

• Paint the surface with the angled edging brush and while the paint is still wet, use the roller all over the surface to smooth out the paint, creating a smooth even coat.
• Let it dry for several hours
• Paint a second coat.  Let it dry again for several hours
• Check if it needs a third coat; Once the second coat is dry, if the surface has uneven coverage, go for the third coat. If the surface has even smooth, coverage, don’t worry about it. 
• Optional: Apply Polyurethane protective finish using an angled edging brush on the surface you want the extra protection on, if desired.
  • NOTE: If you apply polyurethane, allow the surface to dry a minimum of 24 hours, depending on room temperature and humidity, before placing items back on the surface. Otherwise, the items may stick to the surface.

Once you are satisfied with the look of the painted surface you are ready to return everything back to your cabinets and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

HINT -If you use a “paint and primer in one” you can totally skip the priming step. Check out my full breakdown on if you need to use paint primer here. 

Also you can line the bottom of the cabinets with a shelf liner to avoid any paint chipping.

Final Project

Here you can see my finished project. 

I decided to paint the inside of my cabinets black because I wanted to break up the block of white created by cabinets and add some dimension. While white is a classic choice, my cabinets looked a bit sterile.

I added black just on the interior of the open cabinets so I could quickly create depth without redoing all of my cabinets. 

Overall, the finished project broke up the monotony of my white cabinets. My decor and glassware pops more against the black backdrop, and it acts as a focal point in the kitchen. 

Need help choosing the right color for your project? Check out my guide to timeless kitchen cabinet colors or kitchen cabinet trends for 2024. One of these colors is sure to inspire you. 

Final Thoughts

Painting just the inside of your open-face kitchen cabinets is a great way to show off your glassware, add depth to your kitchen, or incorporate trendy colors without the expense or time needed to overhaul your entire kitchen.

I painted the inside of my open cabinets black, to add depth and interest. This also lets me incorporate the black color trend without weighing my kitchen down too much. 

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