SFGate

julie77777 P.S. Will install satin nickel hardware and new (inside) hinges.

studio10001 The difference will be in the prep. Your sides need a specialized primer, of which there are a few. Ask at your local paint department.

llittlef21 We are in the process of painting our low end builder-grade kitchen right now. The ends of our cabinets look like that too. I found a site online and ordered doors that match the ones we have now, and will put them on the ends of the cabinet to dress them up a bit. They face out into the kitchen/family room so they are very visible. I am pretty sure they are wood, but very plain. They haven't arrived yet so hopefully they will be a good match! I've seen this done on much fancier kitchens. The 2 doors I ordered were $80 (one for the bottom and one for the top). I figure it is much less money than a whole remodeled kitchen.

llittlef21 ps- we are switching to the hidden hinges and putting on hardware too :)

sierra90 We recently painted our cabinets with rustoleum kit. Our sides were the same- they had faded terribly and looked like contact paper... Prepped them like the cabinets and painted them. They look great!

llittlef21 ok, i have to comment again. :) The biggest reason we are paining our cabinets is because the previous owner had done the light paint with glaze (which I believe is what the Rustoleum thing is) and it looked horrible. Oak has a ton of grain and there is glaze in every tiny cranny. I don't know what the official stance is on glazing oak but I would never do it!

Susan Flowers I cut and added 1/4" plywood to the sides of mine then painted...very easy and the edge trim of the front panel covers the front edge...

julie77777 Appreciate all these comments! Good to hear what some possible options are.... thanks!

homedreamer I redid a bathroom vanity with the same issue. I used the Sherwin Williams Adhesion Primer before painting, and it worked great! Word of warning ... during the first coat (of primer) I panicked because my mini foam roller just seemed to slide around on the laminate part, which wasn't an issue on the real wood. But it all looked just fine after two top coats of paint.

julie77777 SW Adhesion Primer - thanks for that suggestion, homedreamer. I also have this same problem with my two bathroom vanities,but don't have the time or $$ to worry about those for at least a couple of years :) How long ago did you paint your vanity and are you pleased with results / performance?

homedreamer I painted it 2-3 years ago and it still looks great. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I was just staring at another builder-grade vanity in my house this morning thinking that it's time to start doing some improvements upstairs ... :)

Cindy Quinton I can attest that the SW adhesion primer is awesome, and you can have it tinted the same color you are painting, I used a spray gun, and it was great, but I did paint some areas with a brush, and it only takes the lightest coat of this product to work. I painted all of my 1980 something oak cabinets a light color (neutral ground), and then glazed with a mixture of SW glaze and a dark clay brown. Painting and glazing takes some studying and a ton of attention to detail or you end up with a mess like above. But I feel that mine turned out great.

Cindy Quinton One last thing. I added some appliques on the ends of my cabinets because I have an enormous area with a table and seating area that face the kitchen. This is a great option, and inexpensive, if you are glazing or not.

Cindy Quinton Mine looked like this before.

studio10001 Nice, Cindy. That is the kind of result that makes prep and practice worthwhile. I second the spraygun idea - and don't forget a tackcloth!

julie77777 nice! thanks much for info and tips - Cindy, homedreamer and studio! Cindy, your kitchen looks great!!