The question we get most in kitchens is some version of: are these worth saving? Usually the answer is yes, and the test is simple — check the boxes, not the doors.
Open a cabinet and push on the sides and back. If the box is solid, square, and dry, painting is the better call. Doors and drawer fronts are the part you actually look at, and those come back with a smooth, even finish. If the boxes are swollen from a leak under the sink, sagging, or coming apart at the joints, no finish will fix that and replacement is the honest answer.
Layout is the other deciding factor. If you want to move the sink, add an island, or change the footprint, you are remodeling — painting does not change where anything sits. If the layout already works and you just hate the color, painting gets you a new-looking kitchen for a fraction of the price.
What the work actually involves: we remove and label every door, drawer front, and hinge, degrease surfaces that have absorbed years of cooking oil, scuff-sand everything so the finish has something to bite into, apply a bonding primer, and then the cabinet enamel. Degreasing is the step people skip at home, and it is the reason DIY cabinet paint peels off in sheets a year later.
The finish needs cure time. Paint is dry to the touch quickly, but a cabinet enamel keeps hardening for a couple of weeks. We rehang the doors and you can use the kitchen right away — just be gentle with the doors for the first stretch and the finish will hold up for years.
One realistic expectation: oak grain will still read through the finish. Painted oak looks like painted oak, not like new maple. If you want the grain completely gone, that is a grain-filling process and it costs more — worth knowing before you decide.
Thinking about your kitchen? Call or text (636) 450-0017 for a free cabinet painting estimate anywhere in St. Charles County or Greater St. Louis.