Paint Kitchen Cabinets with Jolie Paint – Easy DIY – Sage Green Cabinets

Painting my cabinets with Jolie Paint was one of the easiest DIYs with the most impact. Oh, the magic of a fresh coat of paint. Here I’m sharing my experience using Jolie Paint and all my tips for painting your own cabinets with a smooth long-lasting finish. This post is not your typical DIY How-to. I’ll be structuring it with my best tips for taking on this project along with my experience and review of the Jolie Paint.

SPOILER ALERT – I love Jolie Paint!

When I first renovated my kitchen I went with a black cabinet. I loved the modern look in my 1960’s home as it fit the midcentury feel really well. I was inspired by Chris Loves Julia’s kitchen here and I ran with it. After two years I still felt like the kitchen didn’t feel like ME. I didn’t hate it, but I wanted to give it my own personal style. I had started seeing green cabinets popping up online and fell in love. I needed to make this transformation on a budget since I had already invested so much in the kitchen. Jolie Paint was just the solution!

BEFORE

WHY JOLIE PAINT IS THE BEST PAINT FOR YOUR CABINETS

Jolie Paint is a great solution for painting your cabinets because there is almost no prep involved. The paint goes on with a smooth finish and they offer an amazing variety of colors.

I was introduced to this paint by my friend Mattie at The Rustic Warehouse. I had used it on a couple of small furniture pieces already. I loved the color choices and that it required almost no prep. I couldn’t imagine sanding all of my cabinets in my kitchen down. I would have never been able to complete the project. I also love that the paint is nontoxic and had no fumes. With a little one in the house, this was super important to me.

I chose the color, Sage. I also considered Eucalyptus and even thought about mixing my own color but after testing sage on a door with the top coat I knew it was the winner.

USE A PAINTBRUSH, ROLLER, OR SPRAY PAINT ON THE CABINETS

I used all 3 tools on this project so I do have insight into each. The Jolie Brushes are worth the investment for sure. I used the brushes at the start of this project and would definitely recommend them on a piece of furniture, but this tool simply wasn’t fast enough for me. I next moved onto a roller. It gave a very smooth finish but the coverage wasn’t as great as the brush.

THE WINNER: Paint Sprayer. I used the Wagner Flexio 3000 on this project and I was able to complete the entire space so quickly and it looked so professional. I didn’t start with the sprayer simply because I was trying to be quiet and work on this project during my little girl’s nap time. I know you DIY mommas understand. I also didn’t want to take the time to tape off and prep as extensively as I needed to protect my floors and walls from overspray. At the end of the day, the prep was well worth it and my baby slept through the noise so it all worked out.

The Wagner Flexio 3000 does add another investment to this project ($150), but being able to completely transform your kitchen for under $500 is a total win to me. If your budget can’t swing the sprayer I would use both the brush and the roller.

HOW TO PREP YOUR KITCHEN FOR PAINT

Empty the cabinets and clean. I used Krud Kutter Degreaser and taped off the area. Taping was honestly the hardest part of this project because it was so darn time-consuming. I also taped off my cabinet hardware. I didn’t want to take all the doors off the cabinets so I decided this was the best route for me to finish the project. I was able to get the outside and inside of the doors and cabinet boxes really easily with the sprayer even with the doors on. The Jolie Cabinet Guide has more insight on this if you need help deciding if this is the best route for you.

HOW TO MAKE SURE THE PAINT DOESN’T CHIP OR SCRATCH

The Jolie Varnish is perfect for projects that require greater durability. It can also be applied with a paint sprayer or a low nap roller. I used the low luster which still gives a nice soft sheen. The Varnish takes 30 days to cure and harden. I was careful for that first 30 days. After I cleaned the cabinets like I normally would.

You’ll notice in the video that I sprayed the varnish. I loved the look of the sprayer much more than the brush or roller with the varnish, but the sprayer did create a varnish cloud through my house for about 30 minutes after I used it. I suppose that’s why Jolie suggests using an AIRLESS sprayer if you’re going to use a sprayer on the varnish. Luckily there was no residue or sheen on anything but the cabinets so it all worked out no matter how dramatic it looked in the video lol

I lived with this kitchen painted for almost 6 months before publishing this video and blog post. It held up PERFECT and my family is pretty rough. We’ve got 3 dogs and one toddler who LOVES opening and closing cabinets. Both the paint and varnish made these cabinets family-proof!

FINAL TOUCHES TO THE KITCHEN REFRESH

I decided to add a cabinet feature for the vent hood. It made such a huge difference and was a better fit for the style. I had it built by Cameron of The Hungry Saw if you’re in the DFW. I also had my friend Mattie come over and help me style my open shelves. Sometimes it’s nice to have a second pair of eyes on a project and I definitely needed that here. Even designers need the help of a designer from time to time. You can find Mattie online at @RusticVivoDesigns for more inspiration.


So if your kitchen feels dated or you simply regret the color choice you made some time ago as I did, don’t fret! Jolie has so many great color choices whether you’re going classic white or a fun pop of color like the Sage I used. You can also head to their Instagram to see fun mixes they make.

I hope this post inspires you to DIY and transform your house into a home you love. I love to hear from you so if you have any questions or comments on the project I’d love to hear below. You can find more green cabinet inspiration in this blog post here where I share lots of great examples along with my top green paint choices.

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