How to Paint a Kitchen in Just a Few Hours

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This post brought to you by FrogTape®. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Thrift Diving.

You are watching: How to Paint a Kitchen in Just a Few Hours

Isn’t it funny that you never truly realize how much of a hot mess your house is until the threat of visitors looms overhead?

Suddenly, the dirt that blended into your line of vision is as noticeable as a huge zit in the middle of your nose.

That’s how my kitchen has been.

After all-it’s bad enough it was an outdated “school bus” yellow. But to make matters worse, I had begun repainting about 8 months ago and just sort of…..well, ran out of paint and never finished. After a while, I never even noticed. LOL

But something big was happening last weekend: I was having friends over, something I hadn’t done in years.

Yeah, yeah-I know: friends don’t come to see your house; they come to see you.

But I’m sorry-that just doesn’t fly with me. 🙂

Plus, all that hard work on my recent patio makeover was for one reason: to create an inviting space for entertaining family and friends. And doggone it, I was going to invite friends over before it was time to pack away the mosquito repellant and sandals!

But the get-together was coming fast. I’ve been extremely busy over the last couple weeks since setting a date. And I only had a few hours on the morning of the party to get as much done as I could before friends came over that afternoon! There was no time to waste.

So I thought I would share with you how I was able to get the whole kitchen painted in a few hours-just in time for the summer hangout with my friends!

BEFORE

Let’s just overlook the fact that nothing matches, too. LOL

But that’s for another makeover on another day soon, which I’ll share with you!

Now do you see why I had some hesitation about having friends over??!

Of course, they’ll love me regardless, but you still always want to put your best foot forward. And this was not my best foot forward! LOL

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER!

Now, with at least matching walls, my kitchen badly in need of a makeover was less of a glaring eyesore!

If I had had enough time before the get-together, I would have loved to have gotten the whole kitchen makeover done, but oh well. The rest will be coming up!

For now, just getting a uniform coat was the goal!

Here’s now I painted the kitchen super quick in just a few hours!

Materials

• Semi-gloss latex paint
• FrogTape® brand painter’s tape
• FrogTape® Delicate Surface painter’s tape
• 1-2 rollers and paint tray
• Paint brush
• Flathead screwdriver or drill
• Rags for cleaning up
• Paint stirs
• Solution for cleaning the walls
• Plastic to cover the floor (optional for messy painters!)
• Paint can opener
• Step ladder
• Painting clothes so you don’t ruin your good clothes
• A camera. Take “before” and “after” photos!

STEP 1 – Move all the bulky appliances to the center of the kitchen.

That is-if you trust yourself not to flick paint everywhere! 😉

Otherwise, remove it from the room entirely. Or, just cover it in plastic, which you can buy at any home improvement store.

Just be sure that you’ve got enough room to paint on the backsplash area.

STEP 2: Remove all the switch and socket covers.

I used to be lazy and just left the switch and electrical socket covers in place. And then I’d spend even more time trying to wipe paint off of them. 🙂 May as well just go ahead and remove them. It’s really the quickest and most clean method.

Be sure to place them in a plastic baggie so you don’t lose any of the plates or tiny screws!

STEP 3: Clear cobwebs and wash the walls.

Don’t paint over dirty walls. Just. Don’t. LOL

I know you want to jump right in and make over your room, especially if you’re short on time, but you want the best results. You won’t get the best results painting dust, spiders, or pieces of dried food from your kids! Wash the walls with a mixture of 50% water and 50% vinegar, or use a store-bought cleaner made for prepping walls for paint.

Read more : The 10 Best Paints for Cabinets of 2023 That Look Factory Finished

You might also want to give all those switch covers and electrical socket covers a good wipe-down, too. They get grimy from hands!

I used a duster to clear away the cobwebs.

STEP 4: Tape off the trim and windows with FrogTape®.

When I was a newbie homeowner, I had used painting tapes that have torn, bled, and have ripped paint off of the walls. But then I stumbled upon FrogTape® and it has consistently out-performed the competition and it’s what I use every time I paint now.

Not just because it’s the only tape with patented PaintBlock® Technology, which reacts with the water in latex paint and instantly gels to form a barrier against paint bleed giving you the sharpest paint lines possible. But also because this tape never tears on me, particularly when I’m removing it after painting! It makes clean-up so easy! If you ask any DIYer, they’ll tell you that FrogTape® is their favorite tape to use, hands-down!

While prepping to paint my kitchen, look what I found stuck on one of the cabinets. HA!

Old tape! I don’t think this was even painter’s tape! I think it was masking tape I used years ago when I was clueless. And here it is 6 years later, haunting me. LOL

It was stuck so bad that I had to pull out a razor just to remove it.What a pain!

FrogTape® would never do this.

Once it was clean and free of old tape and paint, it was ready for FrogTape® so I could protect the cabinet and paint that little slither of yellow paint in the crack.

I placed the FrogTape® in all the places where I wanted nice, clean lines or protection:

• On baseboards
• On window trim
• Ceiling edges
• Around cabinet edges
• On top of countertop backsplash
• Over top electrical socket cover and switch covers
• Any surface you’re protecting from paint

Once everything was taped off, I was ready to test paint various shades.

I was searching for the perfect soft green. I still don’t know if I’m sold on this shade of green, but trust me-anything is better than that bright “school bus” yellow!

STEP 4: Do a color test, and pour your paint.

I recommend you do a test area to see what shade/color you like best. Paint looks much different in the can than when it’s on your wall!

I was mixing and matching this soft green color because I didn’t want anything too dark. My kitchen gets a lot of morning sunlight, but not much sun during the late afternoon and beyond. So I didn’t want anything too dark that would make the kitchen feel like a cave.

Once I mixed them and found some shades, I chose my favorite and mixed a larger batch in a clean container.

STEP 5: Add two coats.

Most paints will require two coats, even if you have primer in the paint, but once you get the first coat on, the second coat is a breeze and is just filling in for coverage.

Be sure to use a roller that’s meant for your wall texture (e.g. smooth, semi-smooth, or rough). Most regular walls will use a roller for smooth surfaces.

With the FrogTape® lining the backsplash, it was easy to add a couple coats without worrying about it making a mess on the countertop.

STEP 6: Remove the FrogTape®.

Read more : How to Clean Your Interior Walls Before Painting

This is the part I love the most!

Once the paint is at least semi-dry, you can remove the tape.

Because of the PaintBlock® Technology, you should see clean lines as you pull back the tape!

No messy trim or baseboards!

What I like best, also, is that it’s a strong tape. So you can literally pull a huge piece off of your trim or door frames and it stays intact and it won’t rip your freshly painted edges. Love that!

STEP 7: Tape off with FrogTape® Delicate Surface

I usually save any trim and ceilings for last. But here’s where it used to get tricky!

Because once the walls are painted, in order to paint trim and ceilings, you now have to tape off over areas that you just painted. It used to be that doing this would rip off the new paint.

But with FrogTape® Delicate Surface tape, which is made especially to prevent peeling and damage, I placed it directly on the new paint after it was mostly dry so that I could touch up the ceiling edges.

And-OMG-it didn’t damage the new paint!

It didn’t peel off the paint!

This was the first time I had used the Delicate Surface tape so I was curious how it would perform. And it passed with flying colors! 🙂 I’ll definitely be adding this to my painting arsenal!

The good thing is that I didn’t have to wait hours for the wall paint to try before taping off over it. My friends were coming over soon and I needed this paint job done.

With the Delicate Surface tape, I could move quickly and not waste time fixing peeling paint or imperfections.

Loved that!

Cleaning Up

Wash out the paint brush in hot soapy water.

Toss rollers or wash out for future use, but first, wring out any leftover paint back into the container before washing.

Screw in your switch covers and electrical socket covers.

And you’re done in just a few hours!

BEFORE

AFTER!

The Best Time With Friends!

And it happened!

Yes, it was a rather small get-together, with just a few friends, but it happened!

We grilled outdoors…sipped wine…and had great conversation and debates!

And while I know that they didn’t care if my kitchen was a solid color or mismatched mayhem, it made me feel better and more relaxed to entertain. It helped ease my Homeowners Anxieties. LOL

This is what I have always wanted: a welcoming environment to spent time with people that make me smile.

Just wait until they come back next time.

Maybe the kitchen will be completely done by then! 😉

So What About You?

Have you ever used FrogTape® when painting your walls and trim to get the job done quickly without mess? Leave a comment below to tell me all about it! And if you’re looking for FrogTape® painting inspiration, follow them on Pinterest!

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Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens