Painting instead of refitting in Saffron Walden
The 2021 Census shows 2,139 households in the town paying off a mortgage and 2,666 owning outright. For many of them, ripping out a sound kitchen makes little sense when the carcasses are solid and the layout works. Painting changes the doors, end panels and plinths and leaves the worktops, plumbing and appliances as they are.
Graham looks at the doors first. Painted timber, solid wood and MDF all take paint well with the right preparation; some foil or high-gloss finishes don't, and he'll tell you so at the visit.
Spraying, brushing and finishes
Flat slab doors suit our Graco Ultra cordless airless handheld sprayer, while framed doors in a period kitchen in the town centre may look better brushed. You can watch Graham using the sprayer in our decorating videos. We finish in eggshell or satin from Tikkurila, Farrow & Ball or Dulux.
If you have timber worktops, they can be sanded and oiled with Osmo in the same job. Built-in dressers and wardrobes can be painted to match; see our interior decorating page.
Saffron Walden at a glance
- 25 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 33 minutesOSRM routing
- 65%of homes are owner-occupiedCensus 2021
- 29%of households own with a mortgageCensus 2021
- 17%were built 1983 to 1999VOA Council Tax stock
- 24%were built since 2000VOA Council Tax stock
- 80%are houses rather than flatsCensus 2021
How we approach kitchen cabinet painting
For a Saffron Walden kitchen we remove handles and label the doors, degrease every surface with extra care around the cooker, and sand with Mirka dust-free sanders. Chips are filled, a Zinsser primer suited to the existing finish goes on, then two coats of woodwork paint. Worktops, tiles, floors and appliances are masked before any spraying. The full method, products and FAQs are on our kitchen cabinet painting page.