2026 prices, all before HST
Painting an average Kitchener kitchen with 21 to 35 doors, drawer fronts and panels costs $3,400 to $5,200 before HST at Kitchener Elite Cabinet Painting & Refinishing. Smaller condo and galley kitchens start at $2,400, and large kitchens with an island and a pantry wall run $5,200 to $7,800.
We publish our prices because most cabinet painters in Waterloo Region don't, and a homeowner comparing quotes deserves real numbers. They come from more than 1,700 jobs since 2010 and include two rounds of degreasing, sanding, primer, a sprayed finish and the written 1-year labour warranty.
Your own number depends on piece count, door style, material and how big the colour change is. Send a door count and a few photos and you'll have a fixed written price within 1 business day.
By kitchen size
Count every door, drawer front and tall panel in the kitchen, then find your row. Each range covers both sides of every door, the boxes and face frames, site protection, all prep and primer, and two sprayed topcoats.
| Kitchen size | Typical layout | Pieces | Price before HST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Condo, galley or compact L-shape | Up to 20 | $2,400 to $3,400 |
| Medium | L-shape or U-shape, the most common Kitchener kitchen | 21 to 35 | $3,400 to $5,200 |
| Large | L-shape or U-shape with an island and pantry | 36 to 55 | $5,200 to $7,800 |
| Very large | Executive kitchen, butler's pantry or full-height walls | 55+ | From $7,800 |
A piece is anything with a face we spray: a door, a drawer front, a tall pantry door or a decorative end panel. The minimum for any job is $650 before HST.
Per piece
Per-piece pricing is the quickest way to check your own number, and it's how every kitchen quote is built. Doors cost more than drawer fronts because both faces and all four edges are sprayed.
| Piece | Price each, before HST | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet door | $110 to $150 | Both sides and all edges sprayed; hinges removed, labelled and refitted |
| Drawer front | $75 to $95 | Face and edges sprayed; removed and refitted |
| Tall pantry door or full-height panel | $160 to $220 | Pantry and broom closet doors, fridge gables and decorative end panels |
| Kitchen island painted on its own | $650 to $1,400 | Sprayed in place; see our kitchen island painting service |
Here's how it adds up. A kitchen with 18 doors, 10 drawer fronts and 2 tall panels has 30 pieces, which puts it in the medium range of $3,400 to $5,200.
Extras
Extras are listed line by line on your quote, so you can drop any of them without asking for a new price. These are the add-ons people ask about most.
| Add-on | Price before HST | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Second colour (two-tone) | $250 flat | Island, lowers or uppers in a second colour; see two-tone kitchen cabinets |
| Oak grain filling | $35 per door or drawer face | Aqua Coat clear grain filler; smooths oak cabinets a lot, never 100% |
| Cabinet interiors | $45 to $65 per box | Inside walls and shelves; see cabinet interior painting |
| Fill old hardware holes or drill new ones | $6 per hole | Two-part filler, sanded flush before primer |
| Blum soft-close hinge, supplied and installed | $14 per hinge | Clip Top Blumotion; see hardware and hinge upgrades |
| Installing your pulls and knobs | $4 per piece | Customer-supplied, or chosen from Richelieu's Canadian catalogue |
| Minor repairs | Usually $40 to $150 per item | Re-glue, swollen edge, split stile; see cabinet repair |
| Crown moulding, valance and light rail | Quoted with your kitchen | Sprayed on site with the boxes |
| Travel to Elora, Rockwood or Acton | $75 flat on jobs under $1,500 | No travel charge in Waterloo Region or Guelph |
Other rooms
Smaller rooms have their own ranges because protecting a room and setting up the sprayer takes about the same time for 6 doors as for 30. Built-ins are finished where they stand, so they're priced by the project rather than strictly by the piece.
| Room or project | Typical price before HST |
|---|---|
| Single bathroom vanity | $650 to $1,100 |
| Double vanity | $1,000 to $1,700 |
| Pantry cabinets | Per piece; tall doors $160 to $220 each |
| IKEA kitchen | Same per-piece pricing as any kitchen |
| Condo kitchen | Same per-piece pricing; most fall in the small range |
| Doors only | Per piece; $110 to $150 per door |
| Laundry room bank | $1,100 to $2,600 |
| Mudroom or entryway cabinets | $1,100 to $2,600 |
| Fireplace built-in | $1,200 to $3,800 |
| Entertainment centre or media wall | $1,200 to $3,800 |
| Living room built-ins and bookcases | $1,200 to $3,800 |
| Closet or wardrobe cabinets | $900 to $2,800 |
| Garage cabinets | $900 to $2,400 |
| Office cabinetry and dental or medical clinics | Quoted per job from photos or a visit |
| Commercial millwork | Quoted per job |
Price factors
Four things decide where your kitchen lands in its range: the pieces, the materials, the cleanup they need and the colour change. Access matters too, since a third-floor walk-up or a condo elevator adds carrying time.
Piece count sets the base price, and door style moves it within the range. A flat slab sprays in one clean pass per side, a Shaker adds four inside corners, and a raised panel or cathedral arch has deep profiles that need hand-sanding sponges and extra passes to coat evenly without runs.
Oak needs Zinsser B-I-N to stop tannin bleed, and grain filling is an extra if you want a smoother face. Melamine and laminate need a scuff sand and STIX bonding primer, and our guide to which cabinet materials can be painted covers each one.
Years of cooking grease and furniture polish like Pledge leave a film that paint won't stick to, so heavy buildup takes longer to cut. Failed DIY paint is sanded back to a sound layer at 120 to 150 grit, which adds hours, so mention it up front.
White over dark wood sometimes needs a third topcoat, which is built into the quote and pushes the job toward the top of its range. A second colour adds a flat $250 for the extra spray batch and colour match.
Compare options
Painting is the lowest-cost way to change how a kitchen looks, usually less than half the price of refacing and a quarter or less of new cabinets. It's the right call whenever the boxes are solid and the layout suits you.
| Painting | Refacing | New cabinets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost, average kitchen | $3,400 to $5,200 before HST | Usually $10,000+ | Usually $20,000+ installed, before countertops |
| What changes | Colour and sheen of the existing doors and boxes | New doors and drawer fronts, veneer over the boxes | Everything, including the layout if you want |
| What you keep | Boxes, doors, countertops, backsplash, plumbing | Boxes, countertops, backsplash | Usually nothing; countertops are often replaced too |
| Kitchen usable | All but about one day | Limited while doors are swapped | No, during tear-out and install |
| Time | 5 to 7 working days for a typical kitchen | Depends on new door lead times | Several weeks with demolition and install |
| Landfill | Nothing | Old doors and drawer fronts | The full set of boxes and doors |
Refacing and replacement figures are typical Waterloo Region quotes, not our prices. If you want a new door style without new boxes, our cabinet refacing and new door service pairs new doors with boxes painted to match.
Example jobs
These are the kinds of kitchens we see most often in Waterloo Region, with the ranges they usually fall into. Your own quote names your piece count and every extra line by line.
About 28 pieces of red oak, Zinsser B-I-N primer and Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117 in satin. That sits in the medium range of $3,400 to $5,200 before HST.
About 18 melamine slab fronts with STIX bonding primer and Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal HC-166. That's the small range, $2,400 to $3,400 before HST.
About 34 maple pieces with an island: Chantilly Lace OC-65 on the uppers and Hale Navy HC-154 on the island and lowers. Medium range, plus the $250 second-colour fee.
About 48 oak pieces including four tall pantry doors, sprayed in Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog SW 9130. That's the large range, $5,200 to $7,800 before HST.
Fast, exact quote
The quickest way to an exact price is a door count and a set of phone photos. It takes about ten minutes, and we reply within 1 business day.
Our free quote request has a full checklist of what helps. If you'd rather someone looked in person, we book in-home estimates until 9:30 pm Monday to Saturday and on Sundays.
Price FAQ
A few cost questions come up on nearly every quote call, and our cabinet painting FAQ answers the rest.
No, every price we publish is before HST. Your written quote shows the 13% HST as its own line so you can compare quotes like for like.
Yes, 25% of the quoted price books your dates. The balance is due on walkthrough day by e-transfer, credit card or cheque.
Because the work behind them varies: brushed or sprayed doors, one degrease or two, a store-bought enamel or a 2K polyurethane, and a written warranty or none. When you compare, check the primer named for your material, the number of coats, where the doors are sprayed and what the warranty covers.
No. Photo quotes, video calls and in-home estimates are all free, including evenings until 9:30 pm Monday to Saturday and Sundays from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Yes, $650 before HST. That covers a single vanity or a small island on its own.
Not inside Waterloo Region or Guelph. Jobs under $1,500 in Elora, Rockwood or Acton may carry a flat $75 travel fee.
Free quote
Count your doors and drawer fronts, take a photo of each wall and send them through the form. You'll get a fixed, itemized price with HST on its own line within 1 business day.