Painting kitchens

The kitchen is the room that makes paint work hardest: cooking steam, splashes, grease, the sponge. On walls and ceiling our first choice is still washable Marble Matt Emulsion, over our Wall Primer; behind the sink or the hob, if you would rather have a smoother surface, Multi-Surface Dead Matt (5%), Eggshell (15%) or Satin (40%) work too. On cabinet fronts and the island we recommend Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Eggshell or Satin, over our Multi-Surface Primer; Gloss (85%) is an option for a lacquered look.

For colour, fresh greens such as French Green, Sprig and Copper Green, warm whites like Charterhouse and The Boltons and the cream of Lemon Salts give a kitchen the light it needs; a deep tone, Bond Street, Market Green or Deep Green, on the island or the base units gives it character.

Recommended finishes

Walls & ceiling

Marble Matt Emulsion

Also suitable: Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Multi-Surface Eggshell, Multi-Surface Satin, Multi-Surface Gloss

Cabinet fronts & island

Multi-Surface Dead Matt Multi-Surface Eggshell Multi-Surface Satin

Also suitable: Multi-Surface Gloss, Metallic Paint

Primer

Wall Primer Multi-Surface Primer

Wall Primer under the walls, Multi-Surface Primer under the cabinet fronts.

Our advice

Kitchens, done well

Degrease, take the doors off, pick the right finish for each surface: the recipe for paint that lasts in the hardest-working room in the house.

Doors off, sanded, degreased: half the job is done.

Prepare

Degrease before anything else

In a kitchen, grease is invisible but everywhere, and nothing sticks to it. Wash walls and cabinet fronts with a sugar-soap degreaser, rinse with clean water and let them dry. On laminated or varnished cabinet doors, sand with 240 grit to dull the surface, dust off, then apply our Multi-Surface Primer: that is what holds the colour on.

Remove handles, hinges and doors: everything paints better flat, and the result is in another league. Number the doors with tape so they go back in the right place, mask the worktop, splashback and appliances, and empty the drawers before painting their fronts.

French Green below, Pure White above, Charterhouse on the walls.

Paint

Eggshell on the units, matt on the walls

Apply two thin coats of Multi-Surface Dead Matt, Eggshell or Satin to the doors with a foam laying-off roller, tipping off with a synthetic brush along the grain. Thin coats dry better and never run; wait 3–4 hours before turning a door over. On the walls, two coats of Marble Matt Emulsion, our first choice even in a kitchen; behind the sink or the hob you can also carry the units' finish on.

Wait a week before refitting handles and wiping down: water-based paint reaches full hardness in seven days. For colour, an island in Bond Street or Deep Green under Charterhouse walls is a classic; French Green on the base units and Pure White above makes a small kitchen feel bigger.