Both paint and stains are great ways to update your kitchen cabinets!

Pros of Paint: Dixie Belle Paint offers a clean, crisp look and allows you to get creative!

Paint is for those DIYers who prefer a sleek, clean finish. Great for those who don’t want to show the character marks or imperfections often found on stained wood.

If you’re looking for that pop of color, Dixie Belle Paint is your best friend. Paint sticks to the surface vs settling into the wood grain like stain does. Paint allows way more freedom to play with colors and hues, and it is great for customizing the perfect space. Dixie Belle Paint was formulated with high quality ingredients while taking out the need for sanding or priming!

Photo by: Charity Fowler Ogle

Cons of Paint: Paint is thicker then stain, therefore it does not absorb into the wood the way that stain does. If you want to cover the wood grain, knots, or scratches, paint is the way to go. It will hide all character features on the wood. Paint is also harder to touch up then stains. Paint touch ups can be tricky, but are easier with painted brushed finishes. Painting with darker colors will show more dust then white or lighter colors.

Pros of Stain: Stain will showcase the natural beauty of your wooden cabinets. Stain won’t steal the spotlight from the woods natural character, it will help emphasize it.

It is thinner then paint so it will settle into the grains and imperfections of the wood, stain ultimately will enhance the natural beauty of the wood. Stain is easier to touch up, it tends to blend better. A lot goes along way, can be more cost effective because of this.

Dixie Belle Paint offers two types of Gel Stains: Voodoo Gel Stain which is water based, and No Pain Gel Stain which is oil based.

Cons of Stain: Stains are received differently on wood than paint, this also depends on the type of wood you are working with. We recommend painting a test area first.

If you are working with Fiberboard or Pressed Chip Board, the stain will certainly look different then painting on Oak. Staining wood can also require sanding in preparation for the application.

Stains will show ALL your woods blemishes, and can look in-consistence if you have uneven grain. If working with No Pain Gel Stain we recommend working with gloves, this gel is harder to clean vs paint if it spilled. Learn more here.

Photo by: Dena Shaw of Dena Laine’s Furniture and Specialty Finishes!