Almost new cabinets

After the baby blue walls and light pink tile, the one thing that I was most anxious to part with from our inherited Easter themed bathroom were the boring old, marked up cabinets. The cost for a new double sink vanity and cabinets even with DIY installation would have been around $1500.

GASP!

Waaay out of our budget, so instead we decided to give our existing ones a face lift with quick sanding and paint job.
Which takes us to our first "how to" of bathroom remodel week....

Cabinet Remodel DIY

Step 1
Removed the cabinet doors and drawer covers from the vanity.

Step 2
Sanded the entire unit, doors and drawer covers with a 150 grit sand paper.I used an electric sander to speed up the quite tedious process, but had to switch to the old fashion way (my own two hands) to make sure I smoothed out ever nook and cranny. The wood should feel completely smooth and free from any gloss or shine when it's sanded enough. Be patient and thorough, this step makes a huge difference later on!

Step 3
Use a damp towel to wipe down the unit, doors and drawers after you finish sanding until it's clean from any dust particles from sanding that will show through the paint.

Step 4
Slap on your first coat of paint making sure not to clump the paint in any of the corners or edges.

Don't forget to do the floor boards that go around the vanity!

Step 5
This step is the doosey! Back to the sanding...
Once the wood is coated with paint (might take two coats), re-sand the entire thing by hand this time using a 320 grit sand paper.

Ah! Are you kidding me?

Nope.

This will get rid of brush strokes and make the finished product much smoother and professional looking.

It'll also give you a chance to smooth out any of the corners or edges that the paint might have clumped in.

Step 6
Give 'em all one last coat of paint making sure your brush strokes go in the same direction.

Step 7
Put it all back together and admire you're almost new cabinets!

Unfortunately, this is all you can get for "after" shots, because we just can't spoil the whole package until we're completely done!

Total cost:
Less than $25 for 1/2 gallon of left over paint from our master bathroom remodel, brushes and sand paper.


Also...I'm too excited about this little story that I'll run the risk of bragging just a teensy bit here....

Last night, our neighbor, who happens to be a professional painter, came over to look at our progress last night. You see where this is headed right??

Guess what he asked us?

Where we bought our new cabinets from?!!

EEEE!!! He couldn't tell they were the old ones re-painted?! Best compliment ever without him even knowing it :)