How much does cabinet painting cost in Memphis?

Dario’s price tool gives a ballpark in about 30 seconds. Tap the kitchen, add any bathroom vanities, and it shows a range: about $1,500 to $3,000 for a typical sprayed kitchen and $250 to $500 for each bathroom vanity, with paint included.

Those ranges run a little on the low side on purpose. The exact price comes in writing after the free visit, and it can land a bit above a range when the cabinets need more prep. Dario looks at the cabinets with you, then writes up the doors, drawers, boxes, prep, coats and days line by line, with a start day and an end day. The estimate is free and yours to keep. The sections below show what moves the number.

Published cost guides disagree about cabinet painting because they count different jobs. HomeAdvisor puts the average at $942, with a range of $425 to $1,466. This Old House lists $900 to $3,500 for a whole kitchen. Fixr’s average is $4,000, with most kitchens at $2,500 to $6,500, and it says an oversized kitchen with a complex layout or an island can pass $10,000. They also give per-unit prices: Fixr says $70 to $125 per door and $30 to $110 per drawer front, and Fixr and HomeAdvisor both price cabinets at about $3 to $10 per square foot.

You will also see this job priced as cabinet refinishing. HomeAdvisor’s refinishing guide gives $1,992 to $4,495, with an average of $3,117, and Fixr gives $2,000 to $4,500 for a standard kitchen. Those guides include stained finishes as well as painted ones, and Fixr says refinishing suits solid wood or some plywood cabinets. At Dario’s Painting, refinishing means painting: see cabinet painting and refinishing in Memphis for the steps.

Most of a cabinet painting price is labor, so anything that adds surfaces or prep adds to the number. Here is what moves it.

If you are searching for cabinet refacing, you are choosing between three jobs. Painting changes the color and finish and keeps your doors and boxes. Refacing puts new doors and drawer fronts on the existing boxes, with new veneer over them. Replacing means new cabinets. Dario paints cabinets; refacing and replacing are other trades, so the numbers below are here to help you compare, not to quote.

HomeAdvisor says refacing costs 30% to 50% less than replacing. Painting is usually the least expensive of the three because you keep the doors and the boxes, though the ranges overlap and the guides disagree, so a written price for your own kitchen beats any average.

Paint is the cheaper fix when the boxes and doors are solid, the layout works and what you mostly want is a new color. Many Memphis kitchens have solid wood cabinets that are sound but dated, and those are good candidates.

Paint is not the fix when the boxes are swollen from a leak, the doors are warped or falling apart, or you want a different layout. Laminate or thermofoil that is peeling or bubbling is worth a look at the visit too, because paint cannot hold a surface that is coming off. If you want new door styles rather than a new color, that is refacing, and a cabinet company does it. Dario tells you at the visit which one your kitchen needs, even when the answer is not paint. For the do-it-yourself steps, see how to paint kitchen cabinets.

Dario’s written estimate lists doors, drawers, boxes, prep, coats and days line by line, with a start day and an end day, so you can set it next to any other quote. More in our list of questions to ask a painter.

Start with the price tool. It takes about 30 seconds and needs no sign-up or phone number. For the exact price, book the free visit: Dario walks the kitchen with you for about 30 minutes, checks the cabinets and writes the price down. Visits are on weekdays from 11:30 to 1:30 and on Saturdays from 7am to 6pm. Prefer the form? Request a free estimate and Dario calls you back, usually within the hour between 7am and 7pm.