San Francisco Kitchen, 2018

New cabinets change a kitchen, but they can also make the walls around them look tired or wrong. This San Francisco kitchen had just been fitted with new IKEA cabinets, and the walls needed a color that belonged with them.

Choosing the color on the wall, not the chip

Before anything was painted, swatches went up on the walls so the homeowner could see each option next to the new cabinets, in the room’s actual light, at different times of day. A color on a paint chip and the same color on a wall across from a window can look like two different paints. Seeing them in place is the only reliable way to choose.

Color theory does a lot of quiet work in a kitchen. The wall color has to agree with the cabinets’ undertones, warm with warm and cool with cool, or the room never quite settles. Kitchens also tend to do better on the lighter side: lighter colors keep the space bright and make it feel clean, which is exactly how a kitchen should feel.

Preparation

The painting itself is the short part. The preparation is most of the job:

• Holes and dings patched with spackle and sanded smooth
• Outlet covers, switch plates, and anything removable taken off; everything else taped off
• Every edge taped, so lines at the cabinets, ceiling, and trim stay crisp
• Primer wherever the color change was substantial, so the new color comes out true instead of fighting what’s underneath
• At least one full finish coat, more if the color called for it

Walls got a matte finish, and the trim stayed white.

Letting it dry right

While the paint dried, the kitchen was kept clear and ventilated. That’s less convenient for a day, but paint that cures without dust, cooking steam, or hands on it lasts longer and looks better.

A standard job, done carefully. The new cabinets finally look like they belong in the room.

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