Kitchen cabinets... to paint or not to paint.

[Darvulia]

We have finally collected the keys to our new home!
Of course, now that the rose tinted glasses are off, we can see that it might need a bit more work than originally anticipated.
Firstly, the woodchip wallpaper (why would anyone think it's a good idea to go for it? It should be a criminal offence!).
Secondly... the kitchen. I've always wanted a cream/white kitchen with copper elements. Sadly, we can't afford a brand new one (and the current one is in such a good condition, it would be a shame to rip it out), so I thought we could simply paint the cabinet doors and drawers?
My DH parents think it's such a bad idea, because the current kitchen is immaculate, but I really want to make it ours...

I am a bit worried, because neither of us is a DIY expert, but so many people do it, surely it can't be that hard?
What do you think? Any tips you could share?

Thank you!

the woodchip wallpaper is put up to conceal bad plaster, so allow for repairing it when you discover how bad it is.

Consider changing the doors on the units. It will look better than an amateur paint job. There are companies selling doors on fleabay, or you could dismantle and remove a used kitchen from someone who is remodelling. Buy more than you need if second-hand so you have spares. You will have to take the unwanted units to the tip.

Don't buy vinyl-wrapped doors, it peels off.

p.s.

the doors you have are vinyl-wrap.

A few years ago I painted the melamine with wood doors and drawers on my ageing kitchen and it was a success but took about a week:
take all doors and drawer fronts off, remove handles etc
Thoroughly clean everything (I think the advice on my paint tins was to use sugar soap)
Put on a layer of melamine primer, leave to dry
Put on a layer of gloss, leave to dry
Add at least another layer of gloss, leave to dry
Also paint handles etc if appropriate, same procedure
Possibly paint cabinet sides and front, again same procedure. I think I had white cabinets that I left alone but some dark wood shelves and sides that took several layer to get to the pale yellow I was painting them.
I used a small roller and that gave a good finish. It did not peel or chip and we got another 7 years out of that kitchen till we could afford a proper refit.
I did it when I had a weeks holiday at home and was alone, and had about 15 doors leading against every available wall for drying.

I had my kitchen doors replaced - our builder made them out of simple MDF and I chose the handles and the paint colour! Very cost effective and looks good too.

Synecdoche can you give an idea of cost please? Thanks

Our kitchen looks about the same size as yours, perhaps a little smaller, and we had: a new lino floor fitted, new tiling done (and old tiles ripped out), new worktops fitted (and old removed), cupboard doors made and painted, extractor fan removed and new cupboard put in to replace it, new sink put in and everything else tidied up etc.

We bought all the different parts and paint, tiles etc ourselves and had them delivered, builders did all the work. We then painted the walls ourselves and took rubbish to the tip.

Total cost (including all the materials) was about £2,200. We're in the SE.

have a look here

yours look like modern flatpack, so the dimensions and hole spacing are probably standard (measure them extremely carefully)

doors are easy to swap if the hinge holes are in the right place. Drawer fronts need more careful measurement and marking. It might even be worth temporary fit with blu-tak before drilling your final holes.

good quality handles can make a big difference to the look. Try IronmongeryDirect for choice and value.

Op I painted my kitchen, it was transformed and cost about £30. Five years later it looks crap , I would repaint but the kitchen was old to start with and needs gutting. BUT I not bothered by a depressing looking but immaculate kitchen. That kitchen would seriously depress me in its current state, I would rather a slightly bad/maturer paint job to brighten it up and replace lino and paint the tiles...than live with it in its current state.

I think with the grove in the cabinets they would come up very nicely painted.

I've painted a kitchen before - what a difference it made. I agree with Piglet John, new handles make a huge difference.

Thanks Synecdoche. Sounds excellent.

Am now looking at EBay second hand units.

You might find replacement doors on ebay for example ckkitchens do a good range. You will also need plinth (kickboard) couple of end panels and some trim for the wall units. It will be a few hundred altogether but will transform the room, along with lovely copper handles of course.

I painted my doors about 6 years ago and they've had one recoat since, I was lucky that mine are solid wood, you could look for some doors on eBay etc that are easier to paint but others have had success painting on melamine.
I think it would brighten up the kitchen.
I am so glad I did mine and got compliments from a builder on my paint work :)
Hard work but worth it

Actually another place for doors/trims would be B&Q, I think they have the IT kitchen range in store. I should think it would be a day's work for a carpenter to change them over if you don't feel confident.

A dd and SiL painted some horrible dark brown melamine kitchen cupboards in their very dated 'new' house. They looked a million times better - it was specialist paint for melamine.

However it was only ever going to be a temporary thing until they were able to rip it all out and extend.

Not long ago I painted a whole wall of sound but horrible melamine fitted wardrobes and changed all the handles. Looked so much better, and cost £65 total instead of the £4000 we'd been quoted for new ones. Again specialist paint and a major job, but well worth it.