The 6 best kitchen cabinet paints to refresh tired cupboard doors

The best kitchen cabinet paint can transform your kitchen design with a fresh new look – without the hassle and expense of tearing out your current cupboards.

You might be surprised at how impactful painting cabinet doors can be in helping you fall in love with your kitchen all over again. And it doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming either.

As long as you prep your cabinets and doors properly and choose the right paint, this task is within the skillset of any competent DIYer, and in less than half the time it would take to rip out an old kitchen and fit a new one. Below, you'll find some of the best kitchen cabinet paints to help you get a smooth, professional finish.

The quick list

Tight on time? We've created a short overview of the best kitchen cabinet paints, with quick links to further details.

The best kitchen cabinet paint overall

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If you’re looking to transform your wood, melamine, or MDF kitchen with a minimal amount of fuss, then this specialist cupboard paint from Johnstone's is just the ticket.

We love how you don’t need to use a primer or undercoat before applying this paint, which will save hours on your project. However, you will need to clean and sand down your cabinets to ensure you achieve a durable finish that stands the test of time.

The paint is self-levelling and is touch dry within an hour and you can add another coat after five hours. Once completely dry, you're left with a smooth, professional-looking satin finish. You’ll need a minimum of two coats for full coverage, or three for darker cabinets and doors.

The only downside is that there are just seven colour options available. If you can't find the shade you're after, Dulux Quick Dry Satinwood is a better choice.

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The best kitchen cabinet paint runner-up

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If you’re renovating your kitchen cabinets with a few coats of paint, you’ll need one that is durable, hardwearing, washable, and looks good. And that’s exactly what you get with this satin offering from Dulux.

It's very easy to apply and provides good coverage, but to achieve a strong finish, you’ll need to apply a couple of thin coats with a brush or roller. However, unlike the Johnstone's Revive Cupboard Paint mentioned above, you’ll need to prep and prime your cabinets and doors properly to achieve the best finish.

It may say it’s quick-drying on the tin, but it’s not as fast as you might expect or hope – you’ll need to wait six hours between each coat, but it becomes touch-dry in an hour. We were pleased to see that this paint has low VOCs, which is better for your indoor air quality at home.

If you're in a rush, the Frenchic Furniture Paint is a good alternative that dries in just two to three hours.

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The best matt kitchen cabinet paint

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This paint is specially formulated for kitchens and does a great job of transforming tired cabinets and doors. It’s easy to apply and typically requires two coats, although you may need to apply a third to achieve a durable, scrubbable finish.

Its flat matt finish is resistant to water, scuffs, and stains, which means that if you spill sauce or condiments on it, they’re easy to wipe clean – ideal for busy family kitchens.

There’s no need for a primer, so less prep time is required, and it works well on wood, laminate, or melamine cabinets and doors. The paint is touch-dry within an hour and ready for another coat in four hours.

However, it does take a week to fully harden, so you’ll need to avoid cleaning it until then. If that’s a concern, I would recommend Frenchic Furniture Paint instead.

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The best kitchen cabinet paint kit

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This kit comes with everything you need to renovate and transform your kitchen into a clean, contemporary space you’ll love.

While it does come with a premium price tag compared to the non-kit paints in this guide, you’ll get good bang for your buck, including a roller frame, two roller covers, a two-inch angled brush (ideal for edges and corners), and two 31oz tins (almost a litre each) of Nuvo Cabinet Paint.

The kit provides enough paint to cover 100 square feet of cabinets and doors – the perfect amount for small to medium kitchens, depending on what’s being painted.

The water-based modified acrylic formula bonds to wood and laminates, and it’s touch-dry in two hours. One downside is the limited colour range, but if it’s available in the shade you want, it’s a great, no-nonsense solution that doesn’t require priming.

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The best eco-friendly kitchen cabinet paint

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Frenchic paints are low in VOCs and are virtually odour-free, making them a great choice for the environmentally conscious and ideal for indoor painting.

The Lazy range is a chalk and mineral paint with a wax infusion, available in a full range of pastel colours. It is easy to apply, provides good coverage, and is self-priming, self-levelling, and water-resistant. This means you get a smooth, often brushstroke-free finish that not only looks good but is also wipeable, helping to keep your paintwork looking fresh for longer.

It is touch-dry within an hour and ready for another coat – which is recommended – within two hours in ideal conditions. However, you need to leave it for 48 hours to fully cure.

It is on the expensive side (costing £38.60 per litre), so those on a budget should opt for the Johnstone's Revive Cupboard Paint instead (£22.65 per litre).

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The best oil-based kitchen cabinet paint

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This four-in-one paint also functions as a primer, sealer, stain blocker, and finish, and adheres to all types of surfaces without sanding. This makes it an ideal choice for high-gloss and melamine kitchen cabinets – though we still recommend sanding first.

Coverage is typically lower than most water-based paints, so you’ll need to buy more, but it is available in five-litre tins. The paint can be applied with a brush, roller or pad, but for a smooth, professional finish, it works well with one of the best paint sprayers.

This low-odour paint has hundreds of colours to choose from, is touch-dry within an hour, re-coatable in around six hours, and hardens to a strong, durable finish in less than 24 hours.

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How to choose the best kitchen cabinet paint

Choosing the best kitchen cabinet paint for your kitchen will very much depend on what type of cabinets you have, what type of finish you want and of course the colour.

1. Paint type
Most kitchen cabinet paints are water-based, which is easier to apply and clean up. However, oil-based paints, like the Zinsser AllCoat Interior Paint in this guide, typically have a stronger finish and are less likely to chip.

Real wood kitchen cabinets and doors are the easiest to paint – a quick rub down and on your top coat goes. If you have melamine or gloss doors, you will need to prep them with a good rub and most probably a primer. However, once they've been prepped properly, you can choose whatever finish you want.

2. Finish
The finish you choose is very much a matter of personal taste, but gloss, eggshell, satin and matt are the most common choices.

"Kitchen cabinets are easier to clean if the paint has a sheen to it, so you can use either a gloss or satin finish paint depending on your personal preference," says Caroline Thornborough, Design Director of Thorndown.

"Gloss is most commonly used on wood and metal, working particularly well when paired with paler cabinet colours to reflect the natural light," adds Lucy Steele, Senior Brand Manager and Resident Colour Expert at Valspar Paint.

3. Colour
The final, and maybe most important, choice is colour. Are you looking for contemporary kitchen ideas or simply going white for easy matching? Whatever you want, just make sure that the paint range you choose has that colour.

“When selecting your paint colour, consider the style of your kitchen, and any existing decoration on your kitchen’s walls, floor, and ceiling," says Andy Simms, home services specialist at MyBuilder.

"White paints can make a room instantly feel and look brighter, and allow light to bounce around the room, which some may find preferable. Darker paints, however, can be more suitable, particularly in more traditional kitchens, and kitchens which already let in a lot of natural light.”

"When choosing the perfect paint colour, think about the mood and the purpose. Not just the function of the room but how you want to feel in it. Trends are great for inspiration; they often reflect the emotional mood of the wider world," adds Sara D’Souza, Content Strategist & Creator at Frenchic Paint.

Renovating your kitchen doesn’t have to cost a fortune – it could be as simple as a lick of high-quality paint to give it the refresh it needs.

For more expert advice, read our guide on how to paint laminate kitchen cabinets and browse these painted kitchen cabinet ideas.

Edited by Beth Murton.