Is a painted kitchen a mistake?

[LaParisiennne]

Just about to pay a fortune for a new kitchen and going for factory painted units. I'm having a major wobble that despite looking beautiful it's going to be totally impractical and impossible to wipe down. Kitchen people are telling me it will be fine and is wipeable. Will it? I'm scared it will look grubby and awful after a few months.

We had ours spray painted. The key is the type of paint, we had a choice of three, and went for the one with a bit of acrylic in, which is slightly shiny but more hard wearing and water resistant.

Yes, definitely paint type - a nice weathered look is lovely but it’ll very quickly look very weathered if my painted chairs are much to go by. You’d like to think a kitchen manufacturer wood have this down.

I had a painted magnet kitchen and that paint didn’t wear well.

Also are you having that cottage small planks inset look (more space for dirt to get stuck) or all smooth?

All smooth, it's an in-frame slab look. I will check whether it has acrylic in. All they've said so far is that it's an eggshell finish.

Eggshell is more washable. If you do a bit of googling you might be able to find user reviews for that maker and eggshell paint?

The slab look should wear better so that’s good

There are few perfect options - we bought a done up place and the shiny modernist units are murder for finger prints

The manufacturer is quite small and not based in the UK so no reviews to go on. Was chosen based on the look which is fantastic but somewhat late in the game I'm now worrying about the practicalities! I will ask about acrylic. Thanks for the tip!

I agree with others that the paint you choose is probably the most important bit! I reckon painted cabinets actually give you a lot of flexibility as you can change the colour down the road if you want. Just don't go with Farrow and Ball paint--a friend of mine made this mistake and they're obviously a nightmare to maintain.

Is there a kind I should ask for? Does acrylic cover it or should there be a specific percentage of acrylic or type?

Does the door or frame have any joints that might crack? It's a common issue with painted kitchens.

I painted my kitchen on a farrow and ball eggshell, and it’s still looks great after 3 years.