Is Staining Kitchen Cabinets a Good Idea?

Staining your kitchen cabinets can drastically change the look of your kitchen while retaining the authentic wood quality. You can stain light colored cabinets to almost any color, mimicking a more expensive wood with a distinctive color like walnut or cherry. You can enhance the authentic natural wood color with a similar colored stain.

The process of staining your kitchen cabinets is similar to refacing or painting. First you must remove all of the hardware, a good idea is to keep it all together so that you don’t loose any of it before you are ready to put it back on. Then you must take the doors off of the cabinets and begin the staining process, don’t forget to always start by sanding your cabinets. This will give the stain a rough surface to soak into and allow it to adhere much better.

Why not try a stain that has a sealer in it so that you can cut down the number of coats and the amount of time this process will take. If the stain you love does not come with a sealer add a polyurethane, shellac, varnish or lacquer to seal in the color and make your new cabinets last longer! Even if you use a stain and sealer all in one you may still have to do several coats to get the intended effects.

The more coats you apply the darker the stain will become. When applying the stain apply it with the grain for the best affect.  Try highlighting groves by making them a darker color of the stain. The easiest way to do this is by applying the stain to the grove first before sanding. It will soak in and create a darker accent finish.

There are many different types of stains that you can choose from. The easiest is either the one step stain and finish or a gel stain. Both are user friendly and easy to do yourself requiring only a single coat. If you are more particular try the oil or water based stains that allow you to do multiple coats to give a darker color, this will also allow you to get a more exact finish.

If you are looking to enhance the natural color and beauty of your cabinets try a penetrating oil stain, which will protect the wood while bringing out its natural beauty. Staining your kitchen cabinets is a great way to change your kitchen aesthetic and it is easy enough to do yourself!