Navy Island, White Perimeter
Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue HC-155 on the island with Simply White OC-117 on the perimeter works with almost any white or grey quartz. An island painted on its own runs $650 to $1,400.
Typical finished jobs
Kitchen Cabinet Painting Before and After Ideas in Kitchener
Kitchener Elite Cabinet Painting & Refinishing has painted more than 1,700 kitchens, vanities and built-ins in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph since 2010. Each photo here shows a typical result for that kind of job, grouped by room and finish, with the colour, sheen and price range that kind of job usually carries.
The before is usually a familiar story: 1980s honey oak, 1990s builder melamine, a dark cherry vanity or a fireplace unit untouched since the house was built. The after comes down to three choices you make with us, which are the colour, the sheen and whether the oak grain stays visible.
Use the captions to start a shortlist of colours, then bring it to your free quote. We spray a sample door in your top pick so you can judge it in your own light.
- Written fixed quote
- WSIB covered crew
- 1-year labour warranty
Oak and cherry kitchens
Oak to Painted Kitchen Transformations
Oak to painted is the most common before and after in Kitchener, because Forest Heights, Country Hills and Stanley Park are full of 1970s and 1980s oak and cherry. Every one of these jobs starts with two rounds of degreaser and a coat of Zinsser B-I-N, which stops tannin from bleeding yellow through the new paint.
Honey Oak to White Dove
A typical 30-piece raised-panel oak kitchen painted Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 in satin, with the grain left visible. Medium kitchens like this usually run $3,400 to $5,200 before HST.
Filled Oak Grain in Chantilly Lace
The same style of oak kitchen with Aqua Coat grain filler on every door and drawer face, then Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65. Filling adds $35 per face and flattens most of the grain, though never all of it.
Red Oak to Revere Pewter
A warm greige such as Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter HC-172 suits oak kitchens where the beige or brown granite is staying. It bridges the old stone and the new paint, so the counters look chosen rather than left over.
Cherry to Saybrook Sage
Dark 1990s cherry painted Benjamin Moore Saybrook Sage HC-114 in satin, primed with B-I-N so no reddish haze ghosts through. Covering dark wood sometimes takes a third topcoat, and it is included in the price.
White Dove raised panel oak kitchen Kitchener 
Grain-filled oak kitchen in Chantilly Lace white 
Revere Pewter painted oak kitchen in Cambridge 
Saybrook Sage painted cherry kitchen in Waterloo
Whether to fill the grain is the biggest decision on an oak job, and our guide to painting oak cabinets shows what filling can and cannot do. Full-kitchen timing and prep are covered by our kitchen cabinet painting service.
Two-tone ideas
Two-Tone and Colour-Change Kitchens
Two-tone kitchens put a darker colour low and a lighter one high, or keep the contrast to the island alone. The second colour is a flat $250, and we spray both on sample boards so you see them side by side under your own lights.
Charcoal Lowers, White Uppers
Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal HC-166 below the counter hides scuffs from shoes and chair legs. White uppers keep a small or north-facing kitchen bright.
Evergreen Fog Throughout
Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is a soft grey-green that reads calm in daylight and warm under pot lights. When you choose a Sherwin-Williams colour, the boxes get Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel matched to the booth-sprayed doors.
Soft Black Island
Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore SW 7069 on an island with matte black pulls reads as a deep, soft black rather than a harsh one. A matte or satin sheen keeps fingerprints less obvious than semi-gloss.
Our two-tone kitchen cabinet service explains where to split the colours, kitchen island painting covers islands done on their own, and our cabinet colour guide lists the shades that perform best on cabinets.
Beyond the kitchen
Vanities, Built-Ins and Other Rooms
Painted cabinets outside the kitchen are usually 2 to 4 day jobs, and many are finished entirely in place. Bathrooms, laundry rooms and mudrooms take harder use than most kitchens, so colours here lean toward shades that hide water spots and scuffs.
Ensuite Vanity in Hale Navy
A single oak Shaker-style vanity painted Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC-154 in satin, with new brushed brass pulls. Single vanities run $650 to $1,100 and take 2 to 3 days over two visits through our bathroom vanity painting service.
Fireplace Built-Ins in Swiss Coffee
Builder oak cabinets and shelves on both sides of a gas fireplace, finished in place in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45. Our fireplace built-in painting jobs take 2 to 4 days and run $1,200 to $3,800.
Laundry Room in October Mist
Melamine uppers over a washer and dryer, bonded with INSL-X STIX and painted Benjamin Moore October Mist 1495. A typical laundry room cabinet painting job costs $1,100 to $2,600.
Mudroom Bench in Chelsea Gray
A bench, cubbies and boot cabinets painted Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168, a mid-tone that hides scuffs from wet boots. Mudroom cabinet painting is priced like a laundry room bank.
Hale Navy Shaker vanity in Waterloo ensuite 
Swiss Coffee fireplace built-ins in Guelph 
October Mist laundry cabinets in Cambridge 
Chelsea Gray mudroom bench in Elmira home
Closets, wardrobes and garages follow the same approach through our closet and wardrobe painting and garage cabinet painting services.
Plan your job
Planning Your Own Before and After
Good before photos get you an accurate quote in a day. Take them in daylight with the lights on, and include these shots:
- A wide shot of each wall of cabinets, plus the island if you have one
- A close-up of one door edge, so we can see the material
- The inside of the sink base, where water damage usually hides
- Any peeling, chips, swelling or loose hinges you already know about
| Typical job | Time | Price before HST |
|---|---|---|
| Medium kitchen, 21 to 35 pieces | 5 to 7 working days | $3,400 to $5,200 |
| Large kitchen, 36 to 55 pieces | 7 to 10 working days | $5,200 to $7,800 |
| Kitchen island on its own | 2 days | $650 to $1,400 |
| Single bathroom vanity | 2 to 3 days | $650 to $1,100 |
| Fireplace built-in or media wall | 2 to 4 days | $1,200 to $3,800 |
| Laundry room or mudroom bank | 2 to 4 days | $1,100 to $2,600 |
Door style, material, colour change and extras like interiors move a job up or down its range, and every rate is on our cabinet painting price list. The day-by-day sequence behind each of these jobs is on our cabinet painting process page.
Free quote
Start Your Own Before and After
Send a few before photos of your kitchen, vanity or built-in, and we will reply with a fixed written quote within 1 business day. Your colour consult includes a sprayed sample door, so you see your after before a single cabinet is painted.
- Colour, sheen and grain-fill options priced line by line on the quote
- One lead painter from the first day to the walkthrough
- A 1-year labour warranty against peeling, flaking and adhesion failure
- Shop
- 330 Gage Ave, Kitchener, ON N2M 5C6
- Monday to Saturday
- 7:00 am to 9:30 pm
- Sunday
- 9:00 am to 9:00 pm