Hand Painted Kitchen - Maintenance?

B

BTBL

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Hi

We are currently building a new home and trying to decide on a kitchen. I really like the look of the hand painted kitchens, but I have a couple of worries...
We have 2 small kids. What is the story if cabinets get a mark or scuff? Can they be just wiped clean or are you talking about having to touch up with a bit of paint?
I have seen some spray painted or lacquer finish kitchens. These look like they would be easier to wipe clean, but if they do get a resilient mark on them can they be touched up or would you have to get a replacement

If anyone has first hand experience of this I would really appreciate the feedback ( as opposed to the speal you get from sales person in showrooms)

Thanks
 
Re: Hand Painted Kitchen - Maintenance??

If you have kids, go for the low-maintenance option every time. End of story.
 
Re: Hand Painted Kitchen - Maintenance??

A friend got a hand painted kitchen....looked nice and rustic at the begining, but it got very tatty looking very quickly.

Concur with kids = low maintenance
 
Re: Hand Painted Kitchen - Maintenance??

Hi,

I have a pale cream hand painted kitchen for last 3 years it was originally pine and I got it sanded down and handpainted, my kids were 3 and 5 when I got this done, they are now 3 years older. Mine is still in very good condition, a wash done very so often and it comes up like new. Worst comes to the worst you can always get it painted again in 5 or 10 years.
 
The thing to remember when getting Kitchen units hand-painted is that they generally need to be re-painted on average every 5-6 years. Obviously, this depends on varying factors like the colour, quality of original job and wear & tear on the units.
 
I guess if it is every 5-6 years I can handle that. My worry is that you would have to be doing touch ups every time a toddler has sticky jam or spaggetti bolognaise fingers???

Most hand painted kitchens that I have looked at seem to be a mix of tulip wood and MDF. I have come across one showroom that uses poplar. Does anybody know is one better than the other?
 
Hi All, we are replacing our kitchen after 20 years - eek! we got 2 quotes from a reputable company in Limerick, they were dearer than b & q and cash and carry kitchens but the flexibility we are getting is fantastic and that means a lot to us. Our dilemma is this: A cream, painted solid wood (poplar) kitchen will cost us €8k while an equally good looking foil wrapped mdf kitchen is €7k. The €8k is not a problem but our youngest is a 10yr old boy and there is always a ball or stuff going on in the kitchen/hall etc. We want the kitchen to be useable and not to be worried about every scratch. The worry is that if we go for the foil wrap we will regret it and say that we should have gone the extra grand!

Does anyone know anything about foil wrapped mdf?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

F
 
Yes, if you have a choice between a poplar (hardwood) kitchen and foil wrapped (propably MDF) I would definitely say go with the poplar. A solid hardwood has to be better than foil wrapped. Foild wrapped doors can't handle heat (i.e radiant heat and steam... so doors above kettle get wrecked). 8K sounds like good to great value for a hardwood hand painted kitchen but 7K isn't such a great deal for foil wrapped...

Poplar and tulipwood are the same thing. It is a relatively cheap straight grained hardwood with not many knots that takes paint well... it is also available in wide boards up to 15" wide. Much easier for door construction.

I would have thought that a good paint finish should be easy to keep clean. I have heard of some people having problems with eggshell finishes (most popular for kitchens) but I haven't experienced them.

You can get the look of handpainted and the easy clean of a lacquer by having the cabinets sprayed in a solid colour using AC lacquers. But hand paint on two primer coats first... this leaves brushmarks which come through the lacquer.

For a poplar kitchen I would expect the carcases to be made from pine, not MDF. It is very common for hardwood kitchens to have pine carcases. Search for DeVOL to see really high quality poplar / pine handpainted kitchens.
 
Thanks for the advice, we opted for the foil wrapped mdf today and to be honest we are happy with our decision. The main issue I have with the poplar is not that it scuffs or even scratches but I have been told that it actually dents if it gets a bad enough bang, so re-painting will not sort out the dent. Of course the doors may never be dented but we want to be able to enjoy the kitchen as well just use it. The kitchen people sell a lot of the foil wrapped units and they dont give much trouble! they would say that, wouldn't they - but I do trust them, they put in wardrobes over 10 years ago and they are as good today as the day they put them in. Thanks again...
 
Anything will mark if it gets a bad enough bang.
I agree with Joe. I agree with Joe 1k is not a lot extra for a good solid kitchen.
The other problem with foil wrapped doors is that the doors under the kitchen sink will get wet and start to unwrap within a couple of years. At least with solid doors you can fix them with glue.
Since you`ve decided to buy foil wrapped doors the best solution for you is to make certain that you keep those doors under the sink dry.
 
Would it be a totally nuts idea to buy a couple of extra doors to stick in the attic in the event of an unwrapping?
 
Assuming the doors unwrap under the sink due to moisture absorption which I think they will, it`d probably be wise to get the solid kitchen instead.

Failing that yes buying extra doors for a fail safe would be wise especially since batch Nos. and colours change over time. Just be sure to buy the right size door and have handle holes pre-drilled before if you`re not handy.
 
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