How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets in Atlanta, GA? [2026 Data]

Painting kitchen cabinets in Atlanta, GA, costs $775 on average, with most homeowners spending between $376 and $1,227, depending on the size of your kitchen, the cabinet material, and even the type and color of paint. Painting over darker cabinets with a lighter color costs more in primer and prep work, and for historical Atlanta homes, you’ll need to pay for permit fees and get your project approved before starting any work.

Kitchen Cabinet Painting Cost Factors 

Kitchen cabinet painting costs in Atlanta, GA, depend on what type of paint you need for the existing cabinet material as well as how many cabinets you have or the size of your kitchen. Other factors, like prep work and repairs, also influence the project total.

Kitchen Size

On average, painting kitchen cabinets costs between $5 and $10 per square foot, or between $30 and $60 per linear foot. This price includes all the supplies, materials, and labor you'll need to get the job done. Here’s a breakdown of the cost to paint cabinets based on kitchen size:

Cabinet Material

Kitchen cabinets come in a variety of materials, with some requiring a slightly different approach to achieve a smooth, uniform coat of paint. Here’s a look at the individual costs for each type of cabinet material:

Type of Paint

There are many different types of paint available, with per-gallon rates ranging anywhere from $20 to $80. A gallon of paint costs $15 to $60 for a standard brand or $50 to $100 for a designer brand. Each gallon covers between 350 and 400 square feet. There are slight cost differences between the different types of paint per gallon.

You can also choose between the different types of paint finishes, commonly known as sheens. The shinier the paint, the more you’ll pay. Pros recommend semi-gloss and high-gloss, the two highest sheens available, for kitchen cabinets since they’re the most durable options and the easiest to clean.

Painting Method

Even when you hire an interior painting pro to paint your kitchen cabinets, you’ll still have to account for how a chosen painting method will impact the cost. You can hire a pro to paint with a brush, roller, or sprayer.

Hiring a pro to brush paint can save you money on paint costs, but you’ll spend more on labor since brush painting takes more time and energy. On the other hand, spray painting can save you money on labor since it takes less time. However, you’ll likely end up spending more on high-quality paint. 

Paint Color

If you're planning to switch from a darker color to a lighter color for your kitchen cabinets, your best option is to sand or strip off the existing paint. However, if you're short on time or your cabinets are already in good condition, budgeting $45 per gallon for a good primer is essential to ensure proper coverage.

Kitchen Layout and Cabinet Composition 

Some contractors might charge a different way based on the specific sections of your cabinets. For example, you could expect to pay $100 per cabinet door. For drawers, it might be closer to $25 per drawer. And if you're looking to paint an entire cabinet, the cost can range from $75 to $150 per cabinet.

Your unique kitchen layout can also affect how much you pay to paint your kitchen cabinets. Complex kitchen layouts with tight, hard-to-reach spaces can make the job tedious, which can also raise the price. 

Prep

While you can do the following steps yourself, it can be a lot of work. If you’re willing to spend a bit more and hire a professional cabinet painter, you could save yourself some time and energy.

• Stripping: Sandpaper costs $5 to $10, and a chemical stripper ranges from $7 to $50

• Removing appliances, doors, and drawers: All you need is a screwdriver

• Site prep: Drop cloths and cleaning agents cost under $20

Repairs

While you’re refreshing the look of your kitchen cabinets, you’ll also want to budget for the cost of repairing the cabinets if needed, which falls between $140 and $500. This will cover basic repairs such as broken hardware, loose hinges, scratches, and peeling paint. 

Hardware

The cost to install new cabinet hardware is less than $100 in most cases, but costs can go as high as $1,000 or more for designer or antique varieties. If your hardware is in good shape, this isn’t a necessary cost.

However, selecting new cabinet hardware can modernize your cabinets and beautifully complement your new paint color, so it may be worth the extra investment if you’re going for a brand-new look.

Interior Painting Pro Costs

Painting kitchen cabinets is a labor- and time-intensive process that involves disassembling cabinets, making repairs, stripping away old finishes, sanding and smoothing the surface, then expertly applying paint. Altogether, it takes 20 to 40 hours even for pros to complete this project, meaning DIYing would take even longer. Not to mention that any mistakes could become eyesores that ultimately hurt the value of your home.

Instead, it’s best to budget for the labor costs of hiring pros. A cabinet refinishing pro in Atlanta will get the job done as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality.

Labor

In Atlanta, labor costs for painting kitchen cabinets are $40 to $100 per hour, per worker. But most companies will charge based on other factors, such as kitchen size or number of cabinets, doors, and drawers. In total, labor accounts for 80% of the total cost to paint kitchen cabinets.

Permits

For most cabinet projects, whether repairing, replacing, or painting, you won’t need a permit in Atlanta. The exception is if your home is in a historic or landmark district, such as Grant Park and Druid Hills. In that case, you’ll need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city’s Office of Design, Historic Preservation Studio. These special permits have fees of $10 to $200, depending on property and project specifics.

Additional Pros to Consider Hiring

Cabinet refinishing pros can help you achieve the kitchen of your dreams. However, you can also consider working with other pros, like an interior designer to find which paint colors work best with your home or a handyperson to make cabinet repairs or swap hardware, to get the job done.

• Interior designer cost: $1,980–$11,910

• Painter cost: $1,000–$4,200

• Handyperson cost: $180–$660

Does Painting Kitchen Cabinets Increase Home Value?

In Atlanta, a small kitchen refresh, such as painting your cabinets, can offer an impressive 70% to 80% return on your investment. It can also save you thousands on the cost to replace your kitchen cabinets. 

While painted white cabinets are popular just about everywhere, other bold options are also trending in Atlanta. Think navy blues, deep greens, or even two-tone cabinets where the bottom cabinets are one color and the top are a different, yet complementary, color. You could get the best of both worlds by opting for classic white cabinets on top and a bolder cabinet color for your lower cabinets.

How Angi Gets Its Cost Data

Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects. 

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