Modern Blue Farmhouse Kitchen

January 13, 2021

A bland kitchen gets a dash of color and a sprinkle of modern farmhouse flair in this stunning transformation. Primer and paint are the key ingredients in this kitchen renovation, proving that you don’t always need to demo your dated wood cabinets to bring an entirely new look and feel into your space. Like a gourmet chef who understands the importance of properly preparing their ingredients before whipping up a main dish, professional painters know that proper prep work is key to ensuring a star-worthy renovation.

For this kitchen makeover, KILZ 3® Premium primer is the not-so-secret sauce that took these cabinets from flat to fabulous! A fast drying, low odor and very low VOC primer, KILZ 3 Premium provides exceptional adhesion and durability – ideal for high traffic and high touch surfaces including kitchen cabinets and drawers.  KILZ 3 Premium also ensures a mildew resistant primer coat, great for use in moisture prone areas like kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms.

Once the primer is properly applied and dried, it is time for paint! The upper cabinets are painted in a pure white, Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines® Trim & Cabinetry Paint in True White MAG008.  Available in 150 timeless colors personally crafted by Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines premium interior paint offers the hardness of a traditional oil-based paint in a water-based acrylic formula that is remarkably durable and easy to clean. The white upper cabinets serve to make the kitchen feel lighter, larger and more open. They also perfectly contrast with the inky blue lower cabinets – coated in the same paint line’s Silos District MAG120.

Wood shelves that once faded into the background now pop between the white and blue cabinets, creating the perfect place for color-coordinated glassware and table settings to be on display. Sleek black hardware completes the cabinet transformation and was the inspiration for the addition of a matte black pendant light and matching faucet to modernize the existing farmhouse sink.

Light wood floors and a sleek white subway tile backsplash complete the space, but it’s easy to see that primer and paint were key ingredients that transformed a tired kitchen into a modern masterpiece. If you’re hungry to complete a kitchen cabinet painting project of your own, read on below for step-by-step instructions!

Step 1:

Using a screwdriver, remove all cabinet handles and then remove the cabinet doors and drawers from the cabinet frame. As you move along, we recommend putting each screw back into its respective hardware piece, sealing it together with painter’s tape and labelling it. You’ll ensure the least amount of stress on the wood by putting each screw back exactly where it came from when the priming and painting is done!

Step 2: 

Sand the surfaces of the doors, drawer faces and cabinet frame. Do a first pass with 100-150 grit sandpaper then finish with a second pass of 180-220 grit sandpaper, always moving the sandpaper in the direction of the wood grain.

Step 3:

After sanding, wipe down all sanded surfaces with a damp cloth to remove any dust or residue and allow to dry. Next, tape around the cabinet body to protect any areas you don’t want to get primer or paint on.

Step 4:

Apply KILZ 3® Premium primer to the cabinet doors and frame using a brush, stirring the primer thoroughly before and occasionally during use. Allow 1-hour dry time.

Pro Tip: KILZ 3® Premium is a great primer choice for kitchen cabinets as it offers exceptional adhesion and durability. KILZ 3® Premium also ensures a mildew resistant primer coat, great for moisture prone areas like kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms

Step 5:

Once your primer is dry, apply Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines Trim & Cabinetry Interior Semi-Gloss Paint in Silos District to the lower cabinets and True White to the upper cabinets. Apply the paint with a brush, moving in smooth strokes in the same direction as the wood grain. Remove the painter’s tape before the paint is fully dry.

Step 6:

Once paint is dry, reattach hardware to doors and then reattach doors to cabinets.

Always remember to refer to our website kilz.com or product back labels for additional information on which primer is right for your project and detailed instructions on how to apply our products.