How Much Does Cabinet Painting Cost in Memphis?

The cabinet painting cost in Memphis usually lands in the national range of $2,000 to $6,500 for an average kitchen, according to HomeGuide’s 2026 cabinet painting cost guide. That works out to about $30 to $70 per linear foot of cabinetry. Your final figure depends on the number of doors and drawers, their condition and the finish you choose.

Cabinet painting means cleaning, sanding, priming and recoating the cabinets you already have, instead of replacing the boxes or covering them with new doors and veneer. It keeps your layout and countertops in place and changes the color and finish of the wood or MDF underneath.

The same HomeGuide data breaks the range down by kitchen size. A small kitchen with 70 to 100 square feet of cabinet surface runs about $1,000 to $3,500. A large kitchen with 200 or more square feet runs about $5,000 to $10,000. Those are national figures, so treat them as a planning range rather than a Memphis price list.

Memphis kitchens vary a lot. A postwar ranch, a newer build in Cordova and a two story home in Germantown can all have very different cabinet counts and ceiling heights. The sections below explain how painters turn those differences into a number, so you can read any quote with confidence.

Most painters price cabinets by the door, by the linear foot or as one kitchen total. HomeGuide lists national averages of $70 to $125 per door, $30 to $110 per drawer and $120 to $190 per cabinet, with materials and labor included.

A per door price is the easiest to check. Count every door, drawer front and decorative panel, then multiply. As a simple illustration using those national rates, 20 doors and 10 drawers would come to roughly $1,700 to $3,600 before cabinet boxes, end panels or an island are added. That example only shows the math; it is not a quote.

Linear foot pricing measures the run of cabinets along the wall. It works well for long, simple runs. It can hide detail, though, because a glass door, an appliance panel or a tall pantry takes more time than a plain slab door of the same width.

Some painters quote by the square foot of paintable surface instead. HomeGuide puts that rate at $3 to $15 per square foot nationally. Whatever method you see, ask which surfaces are included: door backs, cabinet box interiors, toe kicks, crown molding and the island are common gaps between two quotes.

Labor drives most of the cabinet painting cost in Memphis. HomeGuide reports that labor makes up 80% to 85% of the total project cost, with materials and paint at $400 to $1,000 and painting labor at $1,600 to $5,500 for an average kitchen.

That labor share makes sense when you look at wages. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual wage for painters, construction and maintenance was $49,400 in May 2025. Cabinets need many hours of careful prep per square foot, far more than an open wall, so time is what you are mostly paying for.

Several job conditions push the number higher:

Grease is a quiet cost driver in many kitchens. Doors near the range collect a film that paint will not bond to, so a proper quote should include degreasing before any sanding. Skipping that step is one reason cheap cabinet jobs peel within a few years.

Yes, in most cases painting is the lowest cost option when the cabinet boxes are sound. HomeGuide compares cabinet painting at $2,000 to $6,500, refacing at $5,000 to $13,000 and full replacement at $4,500 to $15,000 on a national basis.

Refacing replaces the doors and drawer fronts and covers the boxes with veneer. Replacement removes everything and starts over. Both make sense when boxes are water damaged, sagging or badly laid out. Painting makes sense when the boxes are solid and you like the layout but not the color.

Replacing only the doors is another middle path; HomeGuide lists it at $2,200 to $6,600. That can suit dated door styles on good boxes. For a deeper look at that decision, read our guide on whether to paint or replace your cabinets.

A quick test helps. Open each door and press on the shelves and the box sides under the sink. If the material is firm, dry and square, painting is usually the better value. If it is swollen, soft or delaminating, put that money toward repair or replacement first.

Cabinet grade paints cost more and take longer to cure, and both show up in a quote. HomeGuide notes that newer alkyd paints cost 15% to 20% more but are more durable, which is why most professionals use them on cabinets.

Benjamin Moore describes its ADVANCE Interior paint as one that “offers a premium furniture-like finish created to withstand wear and tear.” The same Benjamin Moore guide says “The optimal cure time for ADVANCE Interior paint is three to five days,” and notes that some paints “can take up to 16 hours to dry” between coats.

Sherwin-Williams describes its Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel as an “Interior/exterior waterbased urethane modified alkyd with the look and feel of an alkyd/oil finish.” Products in this class level out smoothly and harden over time, which is what a kitchen door needs.

Those dry and cure windows add days to the schedule, and days add labor. West Tennessee humidity can also slow drying, so a careful painter plans for it rather than rushing coats. If you want to compare the two brands in our climate, see Sherwin-Williams vs. Benjamin Moore for Tennessee humidity.

They can, mainly because of lead paint rules. The EPA states that approximately three quarters of homes in the United States built before 1978 still contain some lead based paint.

Under the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in homes built before 1978 must be certified and use lead safe work practices. Sanding old cabinet finishes counts as disturbing paint. Containment, cleanup and testing add time, which can raise the cabinet painting cost in Memphis for an older kitchen.

Memphis has plenty of homes built before 1978, from Midtown bungalows to postwar ranches. If your cabinets are original to an older house, ask each painter how they will test and handle the existing finish. A clear answer is a good sign; a shrug is not.

Compare what each quote includes before you compare the totals. We use a simple five point check we call the Cabinet Quote Check:

It also helps to price your own time honestly. HomeGuide estimates the DIY cost at $200 to $600 for paint and supplies, but says painting 200 square feet of cabinets yourself takes 30 to 60 hours. For many households that is several weekends without a working kitchen.

If one quote is far lower than the rest, check the five points again. The gap usually sits in prep or product, and those are the two things that decide whether the finish lasts.

Middleton Painting has served Memphis and Shelby County since 2009 and offers professional cabinet painting for kitchen and bathroom cabinets. We are licensed and insured in Tennessee, carry general liability and workers’ compensation, and back every project with a 5 year workmanship warranty.

We use Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore products and provide a free written estimate that spells out counts, prep, product and schedule. Homeowners across the area, from Germantown and Collierville to Bartlett, Cordova and Lakeland, rate us 5.0 stars from more than 150 Google reviews.

If your project also includes walls or trim, our interior painting crew can plan both together. Germantown homeowners can also read our kitchen cabinet painting guide for Germantown.

Start with a count of your doors and drawers, a note on their condition and a color idea. Use the national ranges above as a guide to the cabinet painting cost in Memphis, then get a written quote that passes the five point check.

When you are ready, request a free estimate or call (901) 352-0202. We reply within one business day.