Progress in our kitchen is moving slow but it’s moving!! We are still in the process of redoing the cabinets doors but cabinet frames are all done, YAY!! And today I wanted to share how we painted our base cabinets. Here is a reminder of where we are at before painting the base cabinets, see how we painted the uppers here.
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After spending months and months looking at paint samples, we finally decided on a color. We decided to use Behr Premium Plus Ultra Iron Mountain in Stain. And just like painting our upper cabinet, I prepped the area first then primed the area with 2 coats. I used my paint brush and foam roller to apply the primer and let it dry between coats according to the can. After letting the primer dry, I took my handy paint brush (I am loving this one) and cut in with the paint. But after I finished cutting in, we decided it was too dark.
I really liked the color but we did not want to darken the space that much… lucky for us we have the exact same paint in white. So let’s add white to the Iron Mountain paint. I started by adding 1 part iron mountain paint to 1 part white paint. But to give us another option, I also did 3 parts iron mountain paint to 1 part white paint. Here are the differences between them: far left is Iron Mountain, the middle is 3-to-1 & right is 1-to-1.
What color would you choose???
We decided on the middle one (3-to-1) but I believe any of the options would have been great. But before I started painting I needed to mix a lot more paint, so I went and bought a 2 1/2 quart plastic paint container, I debated on the metal paint can but went for the cheaper option.
Then I mixed enough paint to fill the plastic container (I mixed as much as I thought I would need to paint my cabinets). TIP: If you are using more than one can of paint for a space or mixing the paint to get the color you want, you need to mix enough paint together to finish your project or you could get different colors.
Now if you want this color but don’t want to mix in the white paint, try having the store lighten the paint. I would try lightning between 25-30% but because I have not done this I do not know the exact color you would get, sorry!
After I mixed my paint I added some floetrol, which is a paint conditioner that helps smooth the paint, then I painted 3 coats of the mixed paint. I followed the instructions on the can and let the paint dry in between coats, plus lightly sanded with #220 grit sandpaper between coats. After applying the last coat of paint, I let the cabinets sit for 7 days to let the paint cure. I then applied 2 coats of Polycrylic to give the cabinets an even stronger finish.
And here is where we are at with our cabinets after painting the cabinet bases.
How about a sneak peek on the cabinet doors?
We are currently in the process of finishing the base doors so in a couple weeks (I have been sick… or we would be closer on that) I will be attaching them to the cabinets, YAY!! What do you think of our kitchen remodel so far? Do you feel like it is taking forever or is that just me??
How are your cabinets doing? I just painted my cabinets with the same type of paint Behr Premium ultra- we painted cabinets white. I was wondering what type of polycrylic did you use? And does that really help? I love the color you chose it goes well with your space!
Thank you!
Our cabinets are holding up AMAZING! The only thing that I would have changed was the primer I used but the paint is great. As for the polycrylic, I would suggest using it because it gives the paint an extra protection plus easier clean up. The type we used was Minwax, here is a link so you can see what it looks like (ps. its an affiliate link): Minwax Polycrylic.