Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets: What the Quote Covers

You still like your kitchen’s layout, but the cabinet color is the part you would happily change. Painting can keep those cabinets in place, provided the boxes and doors are worth keeping.

So Merner’s Painting in Houston gives $3,250 to $5,750 for small through large kitchen cabinet painting jobs in one color, without add-ons. Its very large or highly detailed kitchens start at $6,000.

I will show you how its door-and-drawer pricing works, compare a New Jersey painter’s menu and separate the finish upgrades from the base job. These are local US prices, checked October 28, 2026.

How Much Is Professional Cabinet Painting?

Merner’s prices include one color on doors, drawer fronts, boxes and frames, along with materials and standard preparation. The company’s Houston kitchen-size bands are:

The Per-Door Price and the Job Minimum

Merner’s base rates are $85 per door and $65 per drawer front, with a $3,250 job minimum. Standard box and frame refinishing is included in that method; it is not just a price for detached fronts.

For an example with 24 doors and 10 drawers, Merner’s rates give 24 × $85 + 10 × $65 = $2,040 + $650 = $2,690. Its minimum brings that base job to $3,250 before any extras.

Count both doors of a paired cabinet individually. Merner’s method also counts a fixed false front under a sink with the drawer fronts because it still needs painting.

I would send the same inventory to each painter. A kitchen floor measurement alone will not tell anyone how many pieces need removing, preparing and finishing.

A New Jersey Painter’s Prices

CertaPro Painters of Livingston, New Jersey, publishes a different set of full-kitchen planning ranges:

CertaPro’s separate per-piece guide gives $120 to $180 per door and $70 to $110 per drawer. Confirm how a quote using those units covers the frames and other surfaces before comparing it with a whole-kitchen amount.

Do not add a full-kitchen price to the per-door prices. They are different ways of describing the work, and neither company defines kitchen sizes as an identical cabinet inventory.

What Is the Painter Actually Doing?

Merner’s base scope includes degreasing, sanding with dust extraction, kitchen protection and an on-site spray booth. Its listed materials include primer, finish and masking supplies.

The face frames and exposed cabinet sides are painted in place. Existing hinges and handle-hole locations are retained, and the parts are reinstalled and adjusted.

Ask the painter to identify the doors, drawer fronts, frames, visible sides, toe kicks and interiors on the quote. A fresh door face beside an untouched exposed panel may not give you the kitchen you pictured.

Also settle where the removed parts will be finished and dried, how the kitchen will be protected, and when you can use it again. Ask when the coating can handle normal cleaning and use after the parts are rehung.

Oak Grain, Interiors and New Handles

Painting oak does not automatically hide its grain. Merner’s offers grain filling at $25 to $40 per door or drawer front if you want a smoother appearance than paint over the existing texture.

For 34 fronts, that Merner’s add-on works out to 34 × $25 = $850 through 34 × $40 = $1,360.

Merner’s also separates these additions from its base rate:

At Merner’s, fitting owner-supplied handles into the existing holes has no extra charge. Different hole spacing creates extra filling and drilling work, so pick the hardware before the painting begins.

What Homeowners Paid

These DC Urban Moms accounts describe different finishes and amounts of carpentry. Their original dates help keep the older bills separate from today’s painter menus.

• On October 13, 2023, at 19:20, an owner paid $1,500 for hand painting a kitchen described as maybe 20 doors and eight drawers. The owner was preparing to sell.
• On October 18, 2023, at 10:30, another owner paid about $5,000, including carpentry to extend cabinets to the ceiling and add island trim.
• On July 26, 2019, at 21:47, a homeowner reported paying $4,500 a couple of months earlier for a medium kitchen. The company used a sprayer and substantial preparation and sanding.

The lowest bill is not the same project as the one with carpentry. I would compare the finish, preparation and included surfaces before deciding which quote offers what you want.

When Painting Is the Wrong Fix

Open the sink cabinet and check for swelling or damaged panels before choosing a color. Merner’s quotes repairs and carpentry separately and calls for water-damaged bases to be repaired before painting.

Painting keeps the door style and the cabinet layout. If you want new fronts on sound boxes, my cabinet refacing guide covers that work. New storage positions or damaged boxes may call for cabinet replacement.

For DIY, count the cleaning, sanding, masking, drying space and refitting as part of the job. A paint purchase alone does not give a useful comparison with the complete professional service.

Questions About Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Where These Prices Come From

US painter menus checked October 28, 2026. Homeowner reports retain their 2019 and 2023 dates.

• Merner’s Painting, Houston: piece rates, minimum, kitchen ranges, scope and add-ons.
• CertaPro Painters of Livingston, New Jersey: cabinet-painting pricing guide.
• DC Urban Moms: October 2023 cabinet-painting accounts and July 2019 cabinet-painting discussion.

I hope this helps you choose the finish and the amount of work your kitchen needs. If you have a painting quote or bill to share, email me at costcheckr@gmail.com.