Cabinet Painting › Oakland
Cabinet Painting & Refinishing in Oakland
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 Oakland
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 Oakland 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.
Oakland kitchens we work on
Oakland has some of the most varied housing in the Bay Area. West Oakland has Victorians from the late 1800s, while Rockridge, Temescal and the streets off Piedmont Avenue are full of Craftsman bungalows and brown-shingle homes from the early 1900s. Kitchens in these older houses have usually been remodeled at least once, and the cabinets from that remodel are often the part that looks most out of date.
Adams Point and Grand Lake have many 1920s apartment buildings, where owners paint cabinets between tenants. Glenview, Dimond and Crocker Highland are mostly 1920s–30s homes with smaller kitchens. Up in Montclair and the hills, houses run from the 1930s to mid-century, and parts of the hills were rebuilt after the 1991 firestorm, so you'll also find 1990s maple and cherry cabinets that paint or restain well.
- Rockridge
- Temescal
- Piedmont Avenue
- Grand Lake
- Adams Point
- West Oakland
- Montclair
- Glenview
- Dimond
- Crocker Highland
- Fruitvale
- Maxwell Park
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 Oakland homeowners
How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets in Oakland?
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.
What sheen should we choose for painted cabinets?
Most people choose satin, because it hides fingerprints and small marks better than gloss while still wiping clean. We'll go over sheen with you during the walkthrough and color choice.
We also paint cabinets near Oakland
Also in Oakland: bathtub refinishing.
Get a free cabinet quote
Tell us about your kitchen and we reply with a price, usually the same day.