Cost guide · Updated for 2026
How Much Does Kitchen Cabinet Painting Cost in Kelowna?
Painting kitchen cabinets in Kelowna typically costs $4,000 to $8,500 for an average kitchen, or about $120 to $200 for each door and drawer front. Those are the 2026 ranges Pacific Painting Kelowna works within, including degreasing, sanding, primer, a sprayed enamel finish and rehanging every door. They are typical ranges, not a quote, and your real number comes from a written, itemised estimate after we count the fronts and look at the boxes.
Our painters have worked in Okanagan homes for more than 15 years, and cabinets are one of the most common upgrades homeowners, landlords and home sellers ask us to price. We see everything from solid oak kitchens built in the 1990s to MDF shaker doors in newer homes around Wilden, Kettle Valley and Lake Country. Each type has its own prep, and prep is where most of the money goes.
This guide explains where your kitchen is likely to land in the range, which details push the price up or down, and how painting stacks up against refacing or replacing. We also cover the kitchens where painting is the wrong call, because a finish over a failing cabinet is money wasted. Expect us to revisit these numbers each year as material and labour costs move.
Typical Price Ranges by Kitchen Size
Cabinet work is priced by the number of doors and drawer fronts, because each one is removed, cleaned, sanded, primed and finished on both sides. Kitchen size is really a shorthand for that count.
| Kitchen | Typical door and drawer count | Where the price usually lands |
|---|---|---|
| Small kitchen or condo galley | About 15 to 25 fronts | The lower part of the $4,000 to $8,500 range |
| Mid-size family kitchen | About 25 to 40 fronts | The middle of the range |
| Large kitchen with an island or pantry wall | 40 or more fronts | The upper part of the range, and some go above it |
| Kitchen island on its own | Counted by fronts, plus end panels | $120 to $200 per front |
| Bathroom vanity or laundry cabinets | Counted by fronts | $120 to $200 per front, often added to a kitchen job |
All figures are in Canadian dollars and include primer, enamel and materials. The per-front figure is a quick way to estimate, while the cabinet boxes, face frames, end panels and crown are measured as part of the full quote.
What Drives the Price
Two kitchens with the same number of doors can be quoted very differently. These are the reasons why.
Door and Drawer Count
Every front is handled several times: removed, labelled, cleaned, sanded, primed, sprayed twice, cured and rehung. More fronts means more labour, more spray-booth space and more hardware to track.
Flat, Shaker or Raised Panel
Flat slab doors are the quickest to sand and spray. Shaker doors add inside corners that need careful caulking, and raised-panel doors have deep profiles that take the most hand sanding and the most time to coat evenly.
Oak Grain Filling
Open-grain oak shows its texture through paint. If you want a smooth, modern look, the grain is filled with a water-based grain filler and sanded flat, which adds a full extra stage. Some clients prefer to keep the texture and skip that cost.
Colour Choice and Two-Tone
White over oak or cherry needs a stain-blocking primer, such as Zinsser BIN, because wood tannins bleed yellow through latex. A two-tone kitchen, with darker lowers or a contrast island, adds a second colour setup and more masking.
Interiors and Shelves
Most quotes cover the outside of the boxes, the door edges and both sides of every door. Painting the inside of the cabinets and shelves adds a lot of time and is priced as a separate line.
Hardware Changes
New handles with different hole spacing mean filling the old holes and drilling new ones before primer goes on. Soft-close hinge upgrades are easiest to fit while the doors are already off.
What a Fair Cabinet Quote Should List
Cabinet quotes vary wildly because some painters roll a coat over the doors in place and others take them to a spray setup. Ask every company to spell out the following.
- Whether doors and drawer fronts come off and are sprayed, or are brushed and rolled in place.
- The degreasing and sanding steps, and the primer by name, including a bonding or stain-blocking primer where needed.
- The topcoat product and sheen, ideally a cabinet-grade enamel such as Benjamin Moore Advance or a urethane-modified waterborne enamel.
- Number of finish coats, whether interiors are included, and how hardware is removed, stored and reinstalled.
- How long you will be without doors, and how long the finish needs before normal use.
Our cabinet painting service explains our full spray process step by step. If you are pricing other rooms at the same time, our Kelowna painting cost guide covers walls, ceilings, trim and exteriors.
Painting vs Refacing vs Replacing
Painting kitchen cabinets vs replacing them is usually a question of whether the boxes and layout are worth keeping. Here is how the three options compare.
| Painting | Refacing | Replacing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $4,000 to $8,500 for most kitchens | Usually well above painting, driven by new doors and veneer | Usually far more again, often with new counters and plumbing work |
| What changes | Colour and finish; same doors and boxes | New doors and drawer fronts, veneer over the boxes | Everything, including layout |
| Typical timeline | About one to two weeks, plus a few weeks of gentle use while the enamel hardens | Often weeks of lead time for doors, then several days on site | Weeks to months of design, ordering and install |
| Disruption | Kitchen usable most days; doors off for part of the job | Moderate | Kitchen out of service, often with counters and backsplash torn out |
| Best when | Boxes are solid and the layout works | Boxes are solid but the door style is wrong | Layout, storage or the boxes themselves are the problem |
For most solid-wood and MDF kitchens with a layout that works, painting gives the biggest change for the money. Refacing makes sense when you want a completely different door profile, such as slab doors on a raised-panel kitchen.
When Painting Isn't Worth It
We would rather tell you on the walkthrough than take a job that will fail. These are the kitchens where we suggest putting the money toward new cabinets instead.
Swollen Particleboard
Particleboard that has soaked up water under the sink or beside the dishwasher swells and crumbles at the edges. Paint cannot rebuild it, and the swelling usually keeps spreading.
Peeling Thermofoil
Thermofoil is a vinyl film heat-pressed over MDF, and it often lifts beside ovens and toasters. Once it starts to delaminate, any paint on top lifts with it, so those doors need replacing.
A Layout That Does Not Work
If you are always short of counter space or the fridge does not fit, new paint will not fix how the kitchen works. That budget is better spent toward a remodel.
Cheap Laminate and Damaged Boxes
Melamine and laminate can be painted with a bonding primer, but they never wear as well as painted wood. Sagging shelves, broken hinge holes and water-damaged box bottoms are signs the cabinets are near the end of their life.
Common Questions About Cabinet Painting Prices
Is it cheaper to paint kitchen cabinets myself?
The materials are cheaper, but the prep, spray equipment and cure time are where DIY cabinets go wrong. Rolled doors often show brush marks and chip at the edges within months. If you do it yourself, use a bonding primer and a true cabinet enamel, not wall paint.
Does the price include new hardware?
No. We remove, store and reinstall your existing hardware, or install new handles and hinges you supply. Filling and redrilling for different hole spacing is listed as its own line on the quote.
How long does painted cabinetry last?
With proper degreasing, a bonding primer and a cabinet-grade enamel, painted cabinets hold up for many years of normal use. Edges around the sink and the busiest drawers wear first and can be touched up with the leftover paint we leave you.
Are painted cabinets covered by a warranty?
Yes. Our written 1-year labour warranty covers peeling or flaking caused by our workmanship. It does not cover chips from impact or normal wear on high-use edges.
Keep exploring
Services this guide relates to
Cabinet Painting
How we remove, prep, spray and rehang cabinet doors for a smooth, durable finish.
Read morePainting Costs
Typical prices for every other room and surface in the house.
Read moreColour Consultation
Choose a cabinet colour that works with your counters, floors and light before you commit.
Read moreContact
Call 778-946-5725, email us or request a free painting estimate online, 7 days a week.
Read more
Free cabinet estimate
Get a Cabinet Quote
Email info@pacificpaintingbc.com with photos of your kitchen and a door and drawer count for a quick ballpark, or book a walkthrough for a written, itemised quote. Most quotes arrive within one business day.
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