Two years ago, I gazed at beautiful, new cabinets and dreamt about the day when I could create the kitchen of my dreams. Instead, I went to my Good “Enough” Plan B, and knew that updating my knobs would suffice until new kitchen cabinets came further up on my budgeting list. Yet, even when I priced out new knobs, I knew that still wasn’t an option, so I decided to spray paint my cabinet knobs and it was more than a Good “enough” thing, it was a great thing.

Two years have passed, and I though it was time to give you an update on how the knobs are doing because I highly recommend this quick and easy DIY update. The inexpensive $1 store paint  has held up perfectly. I am still amazed. The others, I just recently repainted because they were all starting to show lots of wear. I have been thinking of why some held up so well, while the others didn’t. I know it’s the not the quality of the paint, because Rustoleum is my favorite, so the only other factor would be that I painted the silver ones on a muggy day, and then it started to drizzle. Even though they barely got wet, they did get wet, so I know that had to be the difference.

I have since spray painted many other knobs, and while it’s not a fool proof forever fix, it’s a wonderful option.

I give it my 100% Good “enough” Things seal of approval!

Continue reading my original post below for all the details on this frugal DIY wonder.

There is some great feedback in the comments about an easy way to to “hold” the knobs while painting.

During my recent painting adventure, many of you saw my kitchen vlog post where I painted my basic white laminate island tourquise, but let me show you another quick, cost effective way to liven up your kitchen cabinets for less than $5.

Why, oh why, did it take me so long to spray paint my kitchen cabinet knobs (or “pulls” for the decorators out there)? It took all of thirty minutes and makes such an amazing difference. Seriously, if you have those infamous 80’s and 90’s “in your face, gold brass knobs” take a minute and update them.  You’ll add a fresh, perfect punch to your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom….where ever you have outdated hardware (and trust me, my whole house if full of it).

Since I had my appliances installed, the brass knobs were really fighting with the stainless steel. Having matching stainless has tremendously changed the whole look of my kitchen. It has pulled everything together beautifully, but now my old gold knobs really clashed.  Purchasing some cool, new alternative hardware is a amazing way to make your cabinets feel new to you. There are so many fun choices, but I would still need to purchase forty kitchen pulls making it a small investment, but an investment non the less. By just giving them a quick coat of chrome paint, I revolutionized the feel of the cabinet for less than $5. Yes, that is the kind of frugal fabulousness I love.

before kitchen cabinets_opt

Here’s the before…you can see that I am sanding the top molding for a quick paint touch up. With the dishwasher and appliance cabinet right next to each other, this area gets a lot of finger touching. 🙂

spraypainting cabinet knobs_opt

I used Rustoleum chrome for the job, but I encourage you to ask the paint professionals what brand to use on hardware. They have special stuff, I am sure. 🙂

If you don’t have a garage to protect your pulls from the elements, I highly suggest you use something to keep the paper from blowing up and sticking to the paint. Hmm…ask me how I know.

I also warn you that if you do this on a windy day,  there’s a chance that a few bugs, dog hairs or anything else may blow in the direction of the project. Again, ask me how I know.

Rushing a paint projects has been my MO. Never again. Make sure the pulls are totally dry or when you go to screw them on you may get small finger prints embedded on the still tacky wet paint. Again…ask me…:)

matching kitchen appliances_opt

So why procrastinate? It’s amazing the difference. And yes, I am just loving how it matches my oven almost as much as I relish cooking in it. It’s been a true treat.

If you watched the vlog, I shared how my daughters begged me to paint the knobs blue for Easter. Why not? When changing the look is that easy, it was fun to be able to make them happy with such a little thing. Some of you suggested keeping the top cabinet pulls silver and leaving the bottom ones blue. I may play around with that. Thanks for the great ideas.

So what exactly did I do?

I took all the hardware off and washed them. Then I lightly sanded the tops. If you are doing larger pulls, then hit the whole surface….I didn’t. 🙂   Next, apply a clean metal primer  in order to have the color adhere the best.  Let that dry and then spray on your chosen color.

I am sure that I will need to touch these up every once in awhile, but I have a feeling changing out my hardware could become a new addiction. The key now is to wait…and let it cure for up to three days. I did not do that and I regret it. The ones I “rushed” felt a bit tacky. The ones that sat patiently are perfect. Applying a final coat of polyurethane coating to protect the pulls from wear and tear is recommended by good painters (which I am not.)  If they are just “for show,” then I would skip it.  Like I said, rushing a painting job is no longer my MO (but it was for this project). Again, ask at your local Home Depot or Lowes for the best kind to use if it’s going to get a lot of use. They’ll tell you if the polyurethane is worth it or not.

This project, along with “shopping the house with some spray paint,” now becomes one of my best recommendations for what to do in less than an hour.  Scour your house and unscrew any old hardware you fine. Go splurge with a “Lincoln” and have some fun making things new (to you.) This is just another great way to decorate on a dime. 🙂