The honest answer to "what does it cost" is: it depends — but not on anything mysterious. Cabinet painting is priced off a few specific things, and once you know them you can size up your own kitchen before anyone walks in the door. Here's exactly what moves the number, from an owner who quotes these jobs every week.
First, the good news: it's a fraction of replacement
Refinishing your existing cabinets — stripping, prepping, priming, and spraying them in a new color — costs a fraction of tearing them out for new boxes, or even of refacing (replacing the door fronts and veneer). If your cabinet boxes are solid, painting gets you the same fresh, factory-smooth look for far less.
That's the whole reason it's the most popular kitchen update we do. If you're weighing your options, refinishing vs. refacing vs. replacement breaks down when each one is the right call.
What actually drives the price
- How many doors and drawer fronts. This is the biggest factor. A small kitchen might have 15–20; a large one with an island can run 40+. More pieces means more prep, spray, and cure time.
- Cabinets only, or boxes too. Doors and drawer fronts alone is one price; including the visible cabinet boxes and end panels (the full look) is more.
- Condition and material. Solid wood, MDF, and previously painted cabinets take a finish predictably. Heavy grease, water damage, or failing old paint adds prep. (We don't do laminate or thermofoil — we can't guarantee a lasting finish on them.)
- Oak grain. Oak can be left textured (less prep) or filled smooth before priming for a contemporary, factory-smooth look (more prep). Your call — and we walk you through it in painting oak cabinets: hide the grain or keep it.
- Color change. A dramatic change (dark oak to bright white) may need an extra coat versus a similar-tone refresh.
What's always included
Every cabinet project is owner-supervised and includes: doors and hardware removed and numbered for exact reinstall, a bonding primer, premium cabinet-grade enamel (Sherwin-Williams satin or semi-gloss by default; Benjamin Moore Advance on request), a sprayed finish in a controlled area, full cure time so it doesn't chip at the edges, and a 2-year workmanship warranty. Licensed, bonded, and insured (TN #12728).
Curious how a kitchen turns around without your cabinets out of action for a week? See how long cabinet painting takes — and why a sprayed, fully cured finish outlasts a "done in a day" brush job in spray vs. brush.
Get your real number in a few minutes
Because the price tracks your actual kitchen, the fastest way to a real figure is our free in-home estimate — I count the doors, check the condition, and hand you a detailed printed quote within about five minutes of the walkthrough, no obligation. Want a ballpark before that? Try our painting cost calculator, or read more about how we work on the cabinet painting page.
Cabinet painting cost, answered
How much does cabinet painting cost in Chattanooga?
There's no single number, because the price tracks your actual kitchen — mainly the number of doors and drawer fronts, whether boxes are included, the condition and material, whether oak grain is filled smooth, and how big a color change you want. What's consistent is that painting your existing cabinets costs a fraction of refacing or replacing them. The fastest way to a real figure is a free in-home estimate.
Is painting cabinets cheaper than replacing them?
Yes — significantly. Refinishing your existing cabinets costs far less than tearing them out for new boxes, and less than refacing (replacing the door fronts and veneer). If your boxes are solid, painting gets you the same fresh, factory-smooth look for a fraction of the price.
What's the biggest factor in the price?
The number of doors and drawer fronts. A small kitchen might have 15–20; a large kitchen with an island can run 40+. More pieces means more prep, spray, and cure time. After that, whether the visible boxes are included, condition and material, oak grain filling, and the size of the color change all move the number.
Do you paint laminate or thermofoil cabinets?
No. We focus on solid wood, MDF, and previously painted cabinets — the materials we can guarantee a lasting finish on. Laminate and thermofoil need specialty bonding systems we don't promise long-term results with, so we decline those rather than do work we can't stand behind.