Time for another week of the One Room Challenge, where bloggers have six weeks to completely transform a room in their home. Let’s see where where my main bathroom is at this week.
Paint might just be the best thing ever. Amiright? It’s cheap, it’s impactful, it’s usually pretty easy to do, and even if you end up hating it — you can just use more paint to cover it up. Do you see where this post is going? Yep. I’m talking paint! I’m even painting wood cabinets in the bathroom.
My colour palette? Soft blush pink and black. Yep, black. Ever since the reno, I lost my one black wall that we had in the house, and I’ve been itching to add a little back in — and I’m so glad I did! (This post may contain affiliate links. This means, should you end up making a purchase, advertisers give me a small percentage of that sale, at absolutely NO EXTRA COST to you. Click here for full disclosures).
MY COLOURS:
- Wall colour, soft pink: (PPU17-07) “Vienna Lace” in Behr Ultra.
- Wall colour, black: (PPU18-01) “Cracked Pepper” in Behr Ultra.
- Cabinet colour, black: “Cracked Pepper” colour matched to CIL Smart 3 Melamine Paint.
But first, I needed to start with painting wood cabinets. I had previously painted my bathroom cabinets a couple years ago — and, it was okay. I still loved the colour, but the wear on the paint was less than desirable. After painting my kitchen cabinets, I learned a few more things and found a product I absolutely love — CIL Smart3 Melamine Paint! (And, nope this post isn’t sponsored, I just truly love it). So let’s get to some painting!
PAINTING WOOD CABINETS
STEP ONE: Remove all the doors, and hardware, and gather your supplies — they should include…
Supplies:
- Paint
- 2″ synthetic paintbrush
- 4″ foam roller and handle
- Screwdriver (to remove hardware)
- Sand paper or sanding block
- TSP cleaner and cloth
- Drop cloth (to prevent spills)
- Cardboard box (to raise your work surface and get at those edges without making a mess)
Optional:
STEP TWO: Give everything a good sanding. You don’t need to remove the entire previous finish down to the bare wood, but make sure any shiny surface has dulled, and any loose paint is gone.
STEP THREE: Wash the entire surface with a TSP product (see packaging for instructions). TSP helps to further de-gloss the surface, and give a squeaky clean surface for the paint to adhere to.
STEP FOUR: Apply your paint! I like to use a paintbrush to apply paint to all the indents, grooves and edges on the cupboard door. Then I use the foam roller on the big surfaces, and to gently roll over top of any flat surface that the brush has touched. Try to finish each stroke in the same direction for best results. This gives a factory paint finish to your cabinet doors. Super smooth, no brush strokes, no blobs, and no bubbles. The foam roller is key because it’s the only roller that will give you that superior finish.
Painting is where the cardboard box comes in handy. You can use anything that will lift your cabinet door off your working surface, and provide enough stability for you to paint with. Having a raised work surface allows you to get at the edges without worrying about damaging the edges and corners of your newly painted cabinet doors. When one side of your cabinet door is sufficiently dry, you can flip your door and paint the other side. I like to do ALL of my fronts, and then ALL of my backs.
STEP FIVE: Let everything dry properly between coats (keep an eye on the instructions on the can — they’ll usually keep you on track), and be gentle with your doors for the first few days. Depending on the climate you live in, you can have pretty dramatic differences in paint curing timeframes. Pop your hinges and hardware back on, and you’re done!
TIP: If you have a lot of doors, like in a kitchen project, it pays to use some wire shelving (like a baker’s rack) lined with something soft like an old towel, to allow for extra square footage for drying your cabinet doors. You can apply paint to all of your door fronts and edges (while on a raised surface), then transfer them to your rack to leave them to dry. Next, (once they’re dry) flip them over, and then apply paint to the backside of your cabinet doors while they stay put resting on the wire racks. It can be challenging to try to “lean” a large quantity of doors against walls and sitting atop newspaper — it has a tendency to damage the paint as it drys and sticks to any surface it’s touching.
And voilá! I went from a midnight blue cabinet to a black one in about a day. What I love about the CIL Melamine paint, is the wipeable surface it creates. There is no paint transfer or dulling and chipping when I wipe my cabinets clean — making it the perfect paint for a bathroom situation.
Now, it’s time to move onto the walls. There is something about cracking a fresh can of paint in a deep colour (like black!) and getting that first coat on the walls! It’s so good! Can you spot my new soft pink on the adjacent wall? It was looking so good against the first coat of black edging paint…
Excuse the awkward picture, but I had to share! The husband was super thrilled about moving our brand new toilet … again ( — it had only been in place for a couple months at this point). Yep, he was “happy” to do it, so I could get behind there and apply my glorious black paint! Ok, “happy” might be pushing it.
But look! How exciting is it to have a little black wall action, returned to the house!? The walls are done. And, I’ve got a couple more projects up my sleeve, but this room is really coming together! And bonus for next week — that darn toilet will be out of my way (instead of sitting in the middle of the room), and I can take full-scope pictures while standing in the bathtub like a normal person. No, just me?
It’s getting real now! Join me next week so you can catch my one-of-a-kind, DIY, artwork piece! It turned out so good you guys — and so EASY! See you then!
Missed a week? Catch up here…
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 …
Hi. I plan to use the CIL 3 to paint my front door, but the door will be 2 different colors. How do I paint with clean edges so I only see 1 color on each edge? I’ve not found a way to keep one color from turning the corner a little which doesn’t look clean. I find your ideas helpful. Thanks
I have been looking through posts for painting cupboard, and you’re the one I am going with. You explained everything so well. I will let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed!😁
Love it all! where did you find the hardware (Love it!!)
Hi there looks beautiful great job! What did you pain your kitchen cabinets with? I’m looking to paint mine again the painter I hired made a horrible mess. Please advise thank you Patty
Hi there,
I know this post is a couple of years old but I have two questions:
1) How’s it holding up?? Do you wish you had put any kind of sealer on top? Should I if it’s for kitchen cabinets?
2) if you are going to do a lighter color over a darker color cabinet, do you think I need to do primer?
Thanks!
Talia
How is the odor from the paint? I want to paint our bathroom vanity with black paint, but there are no windows so an worried about the smell around the house. Also, did that one can cover your entire vanity?
It wasn’t bad actually. If you’re concerned, look for a low VOC option. ;)
What finish is the paint (semi gloss)? Do the cabinets have a shiney finish?
Satin finish. Nope, not shiny. Thanks! :)
Is that paint an oil based paint or latex?
Hi. I used the paint on my cabinets but it’s not drying. it feels tacky to the touch and i can see fingerprints on it. It’s been over 24 hours. Any suggestions?
Oh no. Could you be using and oil-based paint?
I’m about to paint my bathroom cabinets and appreciate your step by step explanation. What grit sandpaper did you use? I want to make sure I take off enough of the outer color, but not more than I need to.
Love your black wall and cabinet. Fantastic. My favorite color is black.If I didn’t live in an apartment I would paint one wall in my living room black.Maybe if I beg the landlord…the cabinets were installed in the late ’70’s so they have seen their better day. Thanks for sharing your project.
Thanks so much Sandra! We’re really loving the black too ;)
Hi Jen, where did you buy the melamine paint( Lowes, Home Depot,etc..) Any help would be appreciated, Thank you, Michelle
Hi Michelle, I found mine at Home Depot. Thanks, good luck with your painting! :)
Thanks for the info…. Happy painting
I love the colors and how smooth the paint looks when applied to the cabinets. Can’t wait to see more.
Thanks Nicole! I adore that paint! :)
Fantastic job! I am getting ready to paint my sink cabinet a dark blood red. I found a shower curtain with the different colored farm house’s. Off white, the same blood red, and black. The walls are going to be a beautiful tan, taupe and trim in the off white. Your tips are really going to help. Thanks, Connie
LOVE the color scheme, Jen! Those black cabinets are looking gorgeous!
Thanks Melissa! I’m loving the black too :)
That black looks so handsome – like it’s all gussied up in a stunning tuxedo! Love how it’s coming along. CAN.NOT wait to see the final reveal!!
Thanks so much Jen! Yes! A tuxedo crossed my mind too. I love anything with high contrast! ;)
I love the black cabinets! I am wanting to paint our basement bathroom cabinets black. So the CIL Smart3 Melamine Paint doesn’t require any type of topcoat on it to protect it?
– Jaclyn
Thanks Jaclyn! Nope, no top coat. The melamine paint, when cured, gives it almost a plastic finish topcoat. It’s great for wiping clean. I painted my kitchen with the same product and it lived through a huge home renovation and came out unscathed. This product is a little thinner than other paints and generally requires an extra coat though. But it’s so worth it. :)
Would you suggest priming bare wood cabinets before using this type of paint or does it have a primer in it?
Oh wow Jen, this is so dramatic, I just LOVE it! The cabinet hardware it so beautiful too! Can’t wait to see your art piece! xo
Thanks Laurie! Its fun to pay a little attention to our forgotten bathroom and pretty things up a bit. ;)
love the more modern look now! great progress!
Thanks so much Cassie!
Your husband sounds like mine! Love your colors! Your room really looks like it’s turning out great, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Thanks Robin! I guess it’s never good news when you have to move something like the toilet. But what can I say? Gotta do whatcha gotta do! ;) Thanks so much!
I want to paint a unit that is laminated. Do I need to sand or ruff up the finish for it to stick to.