Once you’ve chosen your cabinet wood and door style, you face another defining decision: do you paint the cabinets or stain them? This choice fundamentally changes the look and feel of your kitchen, and it affects maintenance, durability, and cost in ways that aren’t always obvious upfront.
Neither option is universally better. Each has genuine advantages and trade-offs, and the right answer depends on your design goals, your daily life, and how you feel about maintenance over the long haul.
Key Takeaways
- Paint gives you unlimited color options and a smooth, uniform finish. It hides wood grain completely and works best on maple or birch.
- Stain lets the natural beauty of the wood show through, creating warmth and character. It works best on species with attractive grain like oak, cherry, or walnut.
- Paint is 15 to 20 percent more expensive than stain due to additional coats and prep work.
- Stain is easier to touch up than paint when scratches or chips occur.
- Paint shows wear differently than stain: paint chips and reveals the wood underneath, while stain wears gradually and blends more naturally.
Painted Cabinets: What to Know
How paint works on cabinets
Painting kitchen cabinets is a multi-step process that goes well beyond a simple coat of color. A quality paint job involves sanding the wood smooth, applying a primer coat, sanding again, applying two coats of paint (with sanding between coats), and finishing with a protective topcoat. Most custom shops use spray application for an even, factory-quality finish.
Paint completely obscures the wood grain, which is why species choice matters less for painted work. Maple is preferred because its tight grain produces the smoothest surface. Birch is a good budget alternative. Painting over a coarse-grained wood like oak is possible but not ideal, as the grain texture can telegraph through the paint over time.
Advantages of paint
Unlimited color options. Any color you can imagine is available in a cabinet paint: white, sage, navy, charcoal, or a custom match to a specific swatch. This flexibility is paint’s most compelling advantage.
Clean, uniform appearance. Painted cabinets have a consistent, polished look with no variations in tone, no grain patterns, and no color shifts over time.
Works with any kitchen style. Farmhouse (white or cream), modern (matte black), coastal (soft blue), traditional (deep green): the color choice drives the style direction, and paint accommodates all of them.
Easy to update. Cabinets can be repainted without replacement. It’s not trivial, but it’s far less expensive than new cabinets and lets you refresh the kitchen’s look completely.
Disadvantages of paint
Shows chips and wear visibly. When paint gets nicked, the bare wood or primer underneath is immediately noticeable. Touch-up paint can help, but matching the exact color and sheen is tricky.
Can crack at joints. Wood expands and contracts with humidity changes. On painted cabinets, this movement can cause hairline cracks where stiles meet rails on five-piece doors. It’s cosmetic, not structural, but it bothers some homeowners.
Higher cost. Additional prep, multiple coats, and longer finishing time make painted cabinets 15 to 20 percent more expensive than stained.
Shows fingerprints and smudges. Lighter colors show grease; darker colors show fingerprints and dust. Semi-gloss sheens are easier to clean but show imperfections more readily.
Stained Cabinets: What to Know
How stain works on cabinets
Stain penetrates the wood surface and changes or enhances its color while leaving the natural grain visible. The stain is then sealed with a clear topcoat (lacquer, polyurethane, or conversion varnish) for protection and sheen control.
Unlike paint, stain doesn’t hide the wood. It works with the grain, enhancing the natural patterns that make each piece unique. This means wood species choice matters enormously. A beautifully grained cherry or walnut looks spectacular under stain. A plain piece of maple may look flat. For more on how each species takes stain, see our wood species comparison guide.
Advantages of stain
Showcases natural wood. If you’ve invested in cherry, walnut, or white oak, staining lets that investment show. The grain becomes a design feature adding warmth, depth, and character.
More forgiving of wear. The natural grain and color variation help disguise minor scratches and scuffs rather than highlighting them.
Easier to touch up. A stain marker in a matching color blends damage into the surrounding grain almost invisibly. Much simpler than matching a paint chip.
Lower cost. Fewer coats and faster application mean 15 to 20 percent savings on finishing costs.
Natural warmth. Stained wood brings organic warmth that paint cannot replicate, aligning perfectly with the current trend toward natural materials and textures.
Disadvantages of stain
Limited color range. Stain colors are tied to the natural wood spectrum: lighter (natural, honey, golden) or darker (espresso, ebony). You can’t achieve sage green or navy blue with stain.
Wood variations are visible. Natural inconsistencies in grain, mineral streaks, or color differences between heartwood and sapwood all show through stain. This is part of the appeal for some and a frustration for others.
Color changes over time. Cherry darkens significantly. Walnut lightens slightly. Even oak shifts tone over years. These changes are natural but can be unexpected.
Cost Comparison
| Factor | Painted | Stained |
|---|---|---|
| Finishing cost premium | 15 to 20% higher | Baseline |
| Recommended wood | Maple, birch (moderate cost) | Cherry, walnut, oak (varies) |
| Touch-up cost | Higher (difficult to match) | Lower (stain markers blend well) |
| Full refinishing | $3,000 to $7,000 | $4,000 to $9,000 |
| Long-term maintenance | More visible wear | Ages more gracefully |
The net cost depends heavily on wood species pairing. Painted maple cabinets are typically comparable in total cost to stained oak, even with the paint premium, because maple and oak are similarly priced. Stained cherry or walnut costs more due to the higher wood price. For a complete breakdown, see our custom cabinet cost guide.
Durability: How They Hold Up
Both finishes are protected by a topcoat, so raw durability is similar. The difference is how they show wear.
Painted cabinets look pristine when new but show age through chips, joint cracks, and discoloration near handles. Annual touch-ups help, but perfection is hard to maintain in a working kitchen.
Stained cabinets age more gracefully. The grain pattern disguises minor wear, and over time they develop a gentle patina that many homeowners find appealing. However, water damage is more visible on stained surfaces if moisture penetrates the topcoat.
For both finishes, clean regularly with a damp cloth and mild soap. Avoid abrasive cleaners. Our cabinet maintenance guide covers detailed care routines.
The Third Option: Combining Both
You don’t have to choose one for the entire kitchen. Many homeowners combine finishes for a layered, curated look:
- Painted perimeter cabinets with a stained wood island
- Painted uppers with stained lowers
- Stained cabinets with a painted range hood surround
- An all-stained kitchen with painted glass-front display cabinets
The key is choosing paint and stain tones that complement each other. White or off-white paint with a warm wood stain is the safest combination. For more on combining colors, see our cabinet color trends guide.
How to Decide
Is the wood itself important to you? If you’ve invested in cherry or walnut for its beauty, stain lets it show. If wood species is secondary to color, paint gives you more control.
How do you feel about visible wear? If minor chips will bother you, stain is more forgiving. If you prefer a pristine uniform surface and will maintain it, paint delivers that look.
What’s the design direction? Modern, colorful, or eclectic kitchens benefit from paint’s flexibility. Warm, natural, organic kitchens suit stain.
A custom cabinet maker can prepare sample doors in both finishes for comparison in your kitchen’s lighting, which is the most reliable way to decide. Browse our directory to find professionals near you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you paint over stained cabinets?
Yes. Clean, sand (or deglaze), prime, and paint. It’s labor-intensive but much cheaper than replacing cabinets. Going back to stain from paint requires stripping the paint entirely, which is more difficult.
Do painted cabinets yellow over time?
Oil-based paints can yellow, especially whites. Modern water-based paints and acrylic lacquers resist yellowing. Confirm your cabinet maker uses a non-yellowing finish for light colors.
Which is better for humid climates?
Paint provides a slightly better moisture barrier. In very humid regions, painted cabinets may be less prone to seasonal expansion cracks. The difference is modest since both are topcoated.
Can I stain maple cabinets?
You can, but results are mixed. Maple’s tight grain doesn’t absorb stain as dramatically as open-grained woods. Light stains look beautiful; dark stains can appear blotchy. For dark stained cabinets, cherry, walnut, or oak produce richer results.
What sheen level should I choose?
For paint, semi-gloss is most common: durable and easy to clean. Satin looks more modern but shows cleaning marks. For stain, a satin topcoat is the most popular, balancing wood visibility with practicality.
Last Updated: February 2026