Cabinet Painting › Berkeley
Cabinet Painting & Refinishing in Berkeley
A new-looking kitchen without new cabinets. We spray-paint or restain your existing cabinets for $2,500–$4,500 in an average kitchen, a fraction of what replacement costs, and your kitchen is back in use in 3–4 days.
Painting or refinishing: which is right for your kitchen?
Both keep your cabinet boxes and doors. The difference is whether you want a solid color or the wood grain.
Cabinet painting
Any solid color, sprayed smooth on wood, MDF or laminate. Best for dated oak, tired laminate, worn finishes and anyone who wants white, green, navy or a two-tone kitchen. $2,500–$4,500 for an average kitchen.
Refinishing and restaining
The old finish is stripped and the wood gets a new stain and clear coat. Best for solid wood cabinets you like but want lighter, darker or simply fresh. $80 per door.
What cabinet painting costs in Berkeley
Price depends mostly on the number of doors and drawers.
From $2,000
Small kitchen
Condo or galley kitchen, under 20 doors and drawers.
$2,500–$4,500
Average kitchen
20–35 doors and drawers, a typical Berkeley single-family kitchen.
$4,500+
Large kitchen
35+ doors and drawers, islands, tall pantry cabinets.
Per piece: $80 per door and $50 per drawer front. Restaining is $80 per door. Full breakdown in our cabinet painting cost guide.
How we paint kitchen cabinets
- Walkthrough and color. We count doors and drawers, check for water damage, and help you pick a color or stain.
- Protect the kitchen. Counters, floors and appliances are covered; doors and drawer fronts come off and are labeled.
- Clean and sand. Every surface is degreased (kitchen grease is the main reason paint peels) and scuff-sanded.
- Prime. A bonding primer goes on so paint grips stained, lacquered, laminate and previously painted surfaces.
- Spray the finish. Two sprayed coats for a smooth surface with no brush marks.
- Reinstall and adjust. Doors go back on, hinges are adjusted, and we walk you through care for the first weeks.
Berkeley kitchens we work on
Most of Berkeley's housing is early 1900s, and a lot of it went up after the 1906 earthquake sent people across the bay. Brown-shingle houses and Craftsman bungalows fill Elmwood, North Berkeley and Thousand Oaks, often with original built-ins and a kitchen that was redone once in the 1970s or 80s. Those later cabinets tend to be solid but plain, and painting them in a color that suits the house is a much smaller job than tearing them out.
In the Berkeley Hills and Claremont, larger homes from the 1920s onward have bigger kitchens, and restaining good wood cabinets can be the better fit if you like the grain. Around Southside, Downtown Berkeley and Le Conte, much of the housing is rentals and older apartment buildings. Owners there paint worn cabinets so a unit looks clean again between leases, since the work takes days rather than weeks.
- North Berkeley
- Elmwood
- Claremont
- Berkeley Hills
- Thousand Oaks
- Westbrae
- Southside
- Downtown Berkeley
- West Berkeley
- Le Conte
- Lorin
Painting vs refinishing vs replacing
If the cabinet boxes are solid and the layout works for you, painting or restaining gets most of the visual change of a remodel for far less. More in refinish or replace kitchen cabinets.
| Painting | Refinishing (restain) | Refacing | New cabinets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $2,500–$4,500 average kitchen | $80 per door | Higher than painting | Highest, plus counters |
| Kitchen out of use | 3–4 days | 5–7 days | 1–2 weeks | Weeks |
| Keeps your doors | Yes | Yes | No, new doors | No |
| Look | Any solid color | Wood grain, new tone | New door style | Anything |
| We do it | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Cabinet painting before and after
More examples and colors in our before and after guide and cabinet paint colors for 2026.
Cabinet painting questions from Berkeley homeowners
How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets in Berkeley?
An average kitchen (20–35 doors and drawers) costs $2,500–$4,500 to paint; smaller kitchens start at $2,000 and large ones run $4,500 and up. Per piece it's $80 per door and $50 per drawer front. Send photos for an exact quote.
How long does cabinet painting take?
A typical kitchen takes 3–4 days, from protecting the room to reinstalling the doors. Restaining takes 5–7 days.
Is there a warranty?
Yes. Cabinet painting comes with a 2-year warranty.
Will painted cabinets chip?
Paint chips when it goes over grease or glossy finishes without primer. We degrease, sand and prime every surface before two sprayed finish coats, which is what keeps paint on high-touch doors.
Can you paint laminate cabinets?
Yes. Laminate and melamine doors are deep-cleaned, scuff-sanded and primed with a bonding primer made for slick surfaces, then sprayed like any other cabinet.
Can I keep my wood cabinets but change the color?
Yes. Restaining strips the old finish and applies a new stain and clear coat, so you keep the wood grain in a new tone.
I own a rental near campus. Can you paint the cabinets between tenants?
Yes. Painting takes 3–4 days, so it usually fits in the gap between move-out and move-in. Send photos of each wall of cabinets and a rough count of doors and drawers, and we'll reply with a price, usually the same day.
We also paint cabinets near Berkeley
Also in Berkeley: bathtub refinishing.
Get a free cabinet quote
Tell us about your kitchen and we reply with a price, usually the same day.