Kitchen cabinet painting in Dublin is the cheapest way to make a tired kitchen look brand new. If the carcasses and layout are sound but the doors are dated, scratched or a colour you’ve grown out of, you don’t need to rip the whole thing out. We prep them properly and hand-paint them in the colour you want — usually for a fraction of what a new kitchen costs.
Dublin Deco Painting has been doing this since 2017. We’re a family-run, fully insured Dublin painting and decorating company, and hand-painted kitchens are one of the most popular jobs we do. Every quote is free, and we reply within one working hour.
What we paint
A hand-painted kitchen covers everything that gets a fresh face:
- Cabinet doors and drawer fronts — the parts people actually see and touch.
- End panels, plinths and cornices — so nothing is left looking old next to the new finish.
- Carcasses and shelving where they’re on show (open units, glazed doors).
- Islands and freestanding units in the same or a contrasting colour.
We work on timber, MDF, melamine and laminate doors. Shiny laminate and melamine need the right bonding primer to hold paint long-term — getting that wrong is the usual reason a DIY cabinet job peels within a year.
Hand-painted kitchens in Dublin, done in your own home
We hand-paint. That means a bonding primer matched to your doors, then hard-wearing cabinet and trim paint applied with fine-finish brushes and high-density foam rollers and laid off so the coat sits even and consistent under kitchen lighting. It’s how high-end bespoke kitchen makers finish their own furniture, and it’s a premium finish in its own right.
Working by hand also changes what the job does to your house:
- Your doors stay on their hinges. Nothing is dismantled and nothing goes off to a workshop, so you’re never left without a kitchen.
- No sealing off the whole house. We mask and sheet the surfaces we work around inside the kitchen, and that’s as far as it goes — the rooms beyond stay exactly as they are.
- Easy to repair years later. A knock or a scuff can be touched up locally and blended in, rather than the whole kitchen having to be redone.
- Fine in an occupied family home. Kids, pets and a kitchen that still has to feed everyone are all workable around.
Durability comes from the prep and the primer underneath, not from how the paint gets onto the door. That’s where we spend the time — and it’s the whole difference between our work and a weekend job with a tin of gloss:
| Professional hand-painted job | Typical DIY job | |
|---|---|---|
| Prep | Degreased, filled, sanded and keyed | A quick wipe and a light rub down |
| Primer | Bonding primer matched to the door material | Whatever’s left in the shed, or none |
| Paint | Hard-wearing cabinet and trim system | General-purpose gloss or wall paint |
| Application | Thin coats, cut in with a fine-finish brush and rolled out | Thick coats straight from the tin |
| Durability | Years of normal family use | Chipping around the handles within months |
The hand-painting process
A durable kitchen finish is mostly prep. Skip it and the paint chips off handles and edges within months. Our process:
- Protect and mask — dust sheets over the floor, worktops, tiling and appliances masked off, handles and knobs taken off.
- Clean and degrease — kitchens carry years of cooking grease; paint won’t bond over it, so we cut it all back.
- Sand and fill — we key every surface, fill chips and dings, and create a sound base for adhesion.
- Prime — the correct bonding primer for your door material (this is the make-or-break step on laminate and melamine).
- Hand-apply the topcoats — multiple thin coats of hard-wearing cabinet paint, brushed and rollered on so each coat sits flat and even, with a light sand and full drying time between coats.
- Cure and finish off — we let the paint harden, refit the handles and any new hardware, and check every door and drawer closes properly.
Durable finishes
Kitchens are wet, greasy and high-traffic, so we use professional cabinet and trim paints built to take it — moisture-resistant, washable and tough around handles, edges and the area near the hob and sink. Matt, satin/eggshell and gloss sheens are all available; satin and eggshell are the most popular for hiding fingerprints and wiping clean.
Turnaround
Most kitchens are done in 2 to 4 days depending on the number of doors and how much prep they need. You keep using the kitchen for the most part — we work around you and clean up every evening. We’ll give you a realistic, fixed timeline before we start, not a vague guess.
Popular cabinet and kitchen-press colours
Irish kitchens are leaning two ways at the moment — bright timeless neutrals and deep statement tones:
- Whites, creams and off-whites for a bright, open kitchen.
- Light and warm greys — still the safe, sellable choice.
- Navy, charcoal and deep green on islands or lower presses, often with a neutral on top.
- Sage, muted blue and soft taupe for a softer, more natural feel.
A two-tone kitchen — darker base presses, lighter wall units — is one of the most requested looks. For a full rundown of shades that work in Irish kitchens, see our guide to the 7 finest kitchen cabinet paint colours.
Best paint for kitchen cabinets in Ireland
There is no single “best” tin — the right paint depends on your door material and the finish you want — but a kitchen is the wrong place to cut corners on coatings. We use professional-grade cabinet and trim systems built for kitchens: a bonding primer matched to the surface (timber, MDF, laminate or melamine), then a hard-wearing, washable topcoat that stands up to grease, steam and daily wiping.
Irish homeowners often ask for specific ranges, and we’re happy to work with them. Colourtrend and Fleetwood are the Irish brands we’re asked for most, and we can also match Dulux, Farrow & Ball and RAL colours. What matters far more than the label on the tin is the prep and the primer underneath — that’s what stops a painted kitchen chipping around the handles a year later.
Is it worth painting kitchen cabinets?
For most Dublin kitchens, yes. If the carcasses, hinges and layout are sound and it’s only the look you’ve grown tired of, hand-painting gives you a near-new kitchen for a fraction of a replacement, with a fraction of the mess and no ripping out of worktops or tiling. A hand-painted finish done with proper prep typically holds up for years of normal family use, and when it does eventually want attention it can be touched up or recoated in place.
The times it isn’t worth it: if the units are water-damaged, swollen or falling apart, or the layout genuinely doesn’t work for you. We’ll tell you honestly which camp your kitchen is in when we quote — we’re not going to talk you into painting a kitchen that should be replaced.
Cost to paint kitchen cabinets in Dublin
Repainting is dramatically cheaper than replacing. Painting a kitchen typically runs €500–€1,800 versus €5,000–€15,000+ for new units. For how this sits against other jobs, see our Dublin painting & decorating price guide. Guide prices for a professional, hand-painted job:
| Kitchen size | Cabinet doors | Guide price |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 10–15 doors | €500–€800 |
| Medium | 15–25 doors | €800–€1,200 |
| Large | 25+ doors | €1,200–€1,800 |
What moves the price within those ranges:
| Factor | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| Premium, high-durability paint | +€100–€300 |
| Big colour change (dark to light) — extra coats | +€150–€250 |
| Heavy prep — filling, sanding, repairs | +€200–€400 |
| New handles, knobs and hinges | +€100–€500 |
| Specialty finishes (glazing, two-tone) | +€300–€600 |
Every kitchen is different, so the only accurate figure is one we quote against your actual doors. Send us a few photos and we’ll come back with a fixed price — no obligation.
Why Dublin Deco Painting
- Hand-painted by tradesmen — proper cabinet paint, thin coats, worked out by hand for an even finish with real depth.
- Proper prep and the right primer for your door material, so it lasts.
- Tidy and respectful — dust sheets down, masked off, cleaned up daily.
- Fully insured, family-run, since 2017 — Google 4.9★ from Dublin homeowners.
- Free quotes, reply within one working hour.
We cover Dublin city and county and the commuter belt into Kildare, Meath and Wicklow — from Dublin city centre apartments to family homes across South County Dublin and North County Dublin. A freshly painted kitchen also pairs well with a wider refresh — see our interior painting and furniture painting services.
Thinking about updating your kitchen? Get a free, no-obligation quote or call 085 178 2117 — we’ll tell you honestly whether painting is the right call for your cabinets.
