The Advantages of a Hand Painted Kitchen

When someone enters your kitchen for the first time, they’ll likely notice the colour and finish of the cupboards and furniture before anything else.

As a result, how you paint your kitchen is an important choice: it sets the mood and says a lot about a person’s taste and personality. And with kitchens playing such a pivotal and versatile role in the home, it’s important for the finish of kitchens to stand the test of time.

Hand-painted kitchens can add colourful character and artistic sparkle to a space. The craftsmanship involved in hand painting offers a natural and beautiful appearance, as well as a tactile feel, and the ability to touch up scuff marks means imperfections are fixed fast. 

We spoke with Martin King, a prized collaborator ofThe London Kitchen Company, who has been professionally hand-painting kitchens for over 40 years.

With heaps of experience under his belt, Martin gave insight into the art of painting kitchens by hand, how it compares to spray painting, and his tips for getting the perfect finish. 

Paint vs Spray

A spray-painted kitchen means cabinets and doors have been finished with multiple layers of paint in a factory with a spray gun. It’s usually chosen for a contemporary look, due to it’s smooth, no-fuss surfaces. 

Sebastian commented: ‘If I’m doing a minimalist flat-door kitchen then sprayed works best.’ 

Handleless Kitchens such as this design in Shoreditch work better with Spray paint. 

Sprayed kitchens appear more man-made (which works fabulously for flat door kitchens aiming for a perfect, factory finish). This is due to the machine application alongside the lacquer can make the finish look unnatural. 

In comparison, hand painted kitchens tend to complement natural materials - especially shaker, wooden kitchens which lean more towards a traditional appearance. Martin said:  ‘With beautiful materials such as oak, why would you want to make that look like plastic?”

By contrast, the application of paint by hand can enhance a kitchen’s appearance. Hand-painted kitchens use brushes which follow the natural grain of the wood. Using a paintbrush allows craftsmen to access smaller, hard-to-reach nooks in the surfaces. Martin explains, ‘With wooden fitted kitchens you can get small gaps in the grain - paint helps fill them to make it look complete.’

In recent years, the popularity of hand-painted kitchens has skyrocketed. Martin believes this is because ‘with hand painting it looks real, alive, you get that unique, bespoke finish which you can’t get with spray painting.’ He told us how he’s often asked to leave subtle brush strokes so it’s clear a client’s kitchens have been painted by hand: ‘in my experience you can hand paint something too good - people ask me for brush strokes because they love the bespoke look!’

An advantage of spray painting is that it tends to be the quicker option. Although in the long run, spray finishes can cause more headaches as surfaces cannot be easily repaired if they get knocked, scratched or chipped. As a factory finish, it’s not possible to sand down and re-apply paint to damaged areas, and instead would require going back to a workshop to be remade. Hand-painted finishes can be easily maintained at any time if anything happens with a tin of paint and a brush.

The Art of Hand Painting Kitchens

With more than four decades of experience, Martin discussed the skill and art required to paint a kitchen to a high standard. He walked us through his process..

‘I have a system in place. There’s a lot of work in the preparation. I use industrial wipes to degrease the cabinets. Once that’s dried, I’ll use a powerful extractor hoover to take off dust particles. Then I leave them on a rack to settle before using a tack cloth to take off all remaining dust.’

Next, I prime then paint the doors on a horizontal surface to make sure the paint is smooth. I then use a roller to even out the paint. Then I use a bronson champagne brush, and gently caress it across the surface… it’s difficult - if you put too much pressure on the brush laying off paint, you add too many brush strokes. There’s an art to it’.

Despite working in the industry for so long, Martin still displayed drive and pride in his work. He said ‘You need to love it because it’s so time-consuming. I have a desire to paint each kitchen better than the last. If it’s not right, I’ll do it again. I’d never let a door out of the workshop I’m not happy with. I’ve been doing this since 1981, and ever had a complaint in that time.’

Colour & Character

As bespoke kitchen specialists, we always advocate for going the extra mile to make our client’s kitchens feel personal to them. Hand-painted finishes are a way to provide depth to a space because no two kitchens will have exactly the same appearance.  

Although a good painter will leave a beautiful smooth finish, there is always more variation in the surface, and this gives the whole kitchen more character, helping to bring a room to life. 

Sebastian commented: ‘I usually recommend hand-painted finishes for shaker kitchens or more traditional designs...I see a hand-painted kitchen as fitting more into the fabric of the house, becoming a part of the furniture of the house itself, in the same way as the windows, doors or staircase. It gives it a permanence and a feeling of being an integral part of the whole structure.’

Moreover, hand painted kitchens provide more choice in finishes. Compared to spray, painting by hand has more opportunities to alter the detail of how glossy, matt, and tactile a finish is, as well as the particular shade of the colour choice. 

Martin said: ‘I mix my finishes, so when I do a kitchen it’s very unique to that particular client. Say you had a client who wanted stiffkey blue - and lots of people have the same... I mix my finish to make it bespoke to them”. 

Martin explained how there are various levels of finish - matt, gloss or eggshell. The art of hand painting requires managing the levels of each to get the desired result, for example adding more sheen for a shinier look. 

As for colour choices, hand painting offers almost unlimited possibilities. Unlike catalogue kitchens which usually offer a limited range, the versatility of bespoke kitchens let client’s personalities run loose. 

Martin commented: “I always try to encourage a client to be brave with colour… it makes or breaks a kitchen and the bolder the better!’ 

He discussed how important it is for clients to consider the amount of light coming into a kitchen, and how darker spaces should consider lighter shades to brighten a room.

According to Martin, contrasting shades are a good idea: for example, dark cabinets can be offset with lighter worktops or flooring for a more rounded appearance.

An important feature of hand-painted kitchens is, if you want to freshen up your space in the future, your kitchen can easily be repainted in a different colour. 

Maintenance & Design Flexibility.

Hand-painted kitchens are easy to maintain due to the ability to easily touch up scuffs -  but also due to their beautifully smooth, usually matt finish which can be easily cleaned and wiped. Compared to spray paint, which more easily chips, paint by hand is robust and provides a hard-wearing finish that can last as long as the cabinets themselves. 

Handpainting also gives The London Kitchen Company greater freedom in both design and installation, as we are able to use fixings, such as bespoke handles, that we couldn’t if the panels arrived pre-finished, as-sprayed panels do. 

Sebastian commented: ‘this greater freedom informs a lot of my thinking about design. I like to try to use finishes that are easily maintained, easily reproducible on site today and in the years to come. For example, I probably wouldn’t choose a pre-finished engineered floor for my house. I’d rather use unfinished boards and then oil them once they’ve been fitted. This means, same as with the kitchens, that this same process can be undertaken at any point it needs to be.’

Hand-painted kitchens can add a touch of individuality and timeless to your kitchen. Martin said: ‘Everything today is done for speed and cheapness… If you want to do something done properly which will last you years, have bespoke hand paint!’

Click here to book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your bespoke kitchen design.