Reading a cabinet painting before and after: four real kitchens

What a cabinet painting before and after should show

An honest cabinet painting before and after is two photos of one kitchen, taken from close to the same spot, that let you compare the cabinets and nothing else. When something besides paint changed, the caption says so.

That last part matters because most kitchen updates aren't only paint. New counters, a new backsplash or new pulls can change a room as much as a new cabinet color, and a pair of photos can't tell you which change you're reacting to.

The photos can't show scope, either. Wisconsin's home improvement rule, ATCP 110.05, says a written contract has to describe the work to be done and the principal products and materials to be used. When a painter's gallery wins you over, the quote is where you confirm that your job is the same job. Our cabinet refinishing page lists what ours includes.

The Fixed-Point Test for any painted cabinets before and after

We read every pair with four checks. It's our editorial framework, not a measurement, and it works on a painter's gallery, a magazine makeover or a neighbor's phone.

1. Same room: find two fixed points, like a window, a column, a pendant or the range, in both frames.
2. Same view: is the camera in about the same place? A new angle can hide a corner or favor a better one.
3. Same light: daylight against daylight, lamps against lamps. A night before beside a sunny after flatters the after.
4. Same everything else: counters, backsplash, pulls, appliances and floor. Anything new should be named.

The table is our editorial guide, not a measurement. Here's a pair that shows the test at work.

This is our cleanest pair. The counters, backsplash and appliances stayed exactly as they were, and the glass uppers kept their glass, so the room, view and everything-else checks all pass. On light, look closely: the lights inside the glass uppers are on in the after and off in the before. That's a small difference, and it's the kind the test is built to catch.

Cabinet painting before and after: three more of our kitchens

Each pair below is one kitchen photographed twice, with the before first. Each one bends the test in its own way: more than paint changed, the camera moved, or the before was taken mid-project. Each is still a fair comparison once you know where to look.

When more than paint changed

This loft kitchen passes the room check easily: the round stone column, the double ovens beside the built-in refrigerator and the dark beam over the peninsula appear in both photographs. It also received new quartz counters, a new backsplash and black pulls as part of its update, so its project page tells you to look at the doors and drawer fronts for the refinishing itself. The dark counter on the left and the white quartz on the right are part of what you're seeing.

When the camera moves

Our maple kitchen was photographed from two different spots, so match features instead of frames. The pine tongue-and-groove ceiling, the skylights, the patterned runner and the granite are unchanged, which leaves the cabinets as the thing that turned the room.

A new angle isn't a trick; sometimes the after is shot from the spot that shows the work best. Wood type matters too. The USDA's Wood Handbook groups cherry and maple with the small-vessel woods, while oak's large pores can leave low spots that need filler for a smooth finish. If your doors are oak, read painting oak cabinets before you judge by a maple or cherry after.

When the before is mid-project

This before was taken mid-project, with paper and tape on the island. The three brass lantern pendants, the ribbon window over the sink and the chimney hood anchor both photographs. The kitchen was newly built in builder white, and repainting it in deep olive gave it color without replacing cabinetry that was brand new. When the old finish is paint, the prep changes; repainting painted cabinets explains how.

What painting kitchen cabinets changes, and what it can't

Painting changes the color and finish of your doors, drawer fronts and frames. Your cabinet boxes, counters, backsplash and layout stay as they are, which is exactly why a fair before and after keeps them in the frame.

Sheen changes the picture more than people expect. Dunn-Edwards' guide to selecting gloss says the same color in a different gloss appears as a different color, with higher gloss looking brighter and richer, and that higher gloss tends to highlight surface imperfections. Ask what sheen an after photo shows before you copy it; our post on the best paint finish for kitchen cabinets compares them.

If you want a new door style or a new layout, paint isn't the tool. Refinishing vs refacing and our guide to whether to paint or replace your cabinets lay out the options.

What a fresh after photo can't tell you

Most painted kitchen cabinets before and after photos are taken while the finish is new. Dunn-Edwards' bulletin on dry time and cure time says latex coatings can take 14 to 30 days to cure, so an after photo may show a finish that's still hardening. How it looks a year later depends on the prep under it and the care it gets.

Light is the other gap. The Department of Energy's lighting guidance says how the color of an object is perceived varies by light source, and that warm light around 2,700 K complements the wood finishes used in homes. A wood before under warm bulbs and a painted after in daylight aren't the same test, so judge a color by large samples in your own kitchen, morning and evening, as in how to test paint colors.

For the long view, read how durable painted cabinets are and how to clean painted kitchen cabinets without dulling the finish.

Take your own before photos

If painting is on your list, take the before photos now, so your own painted kitchen cabinets before and after passes the same four checks. They're also handy when you compare painting quotes.

1. Pick a doorway or corner you can find again, and note where your feet are.
2. Shoot the whole kitchen wide, then each wall, with the same lights on every time.
3. Add close-ups of a door, a drawer front and a corner, where wear shows first.
4. Write down anything else you're changing, like counters or pulls, so you remember what the paint did.
5. Take the same shots, from the same spots, at the same time of day after the job.

How we handle before and after photos at GK Painting

Every pair on our project pages is one room photographed twice. Where a kitchen also got new counters or hardware, the page says so, so you can see what the paint did on its own.

On a cabinet job, the doors and drawer fronts come off, get labeled, and are cleaned, degreased, sanded, primed and sprayed; the frames are finished in your kitchen. Most kitchens take one to two weeks, priced per cabinet with paint included. The written quote is the price, no extra charge if the job takes longer than expected.

George quotes every job himself, does the work and walks it with you at the end. If a problem comes from the quality of our work, like a finish that peels or didn't bond, we'll come back and make it right. We're based in Waunakee and work across Madison and Dane County. See our cabinet refinishing service, read our reviews, or ask for a free estimate.