
South Hampstead
A homeowner in South Hampstead had a structurally sound but aesthetically dated kitchen with oak-effect thermofoil cabinet doors that looked tired after 12 years. The matching bathroom vanity unit was equally dated. A full kitchen replacement had been quoted at £35,000, which was well beyond the client's budget. They wanted a dramatic transformation to a contemporary dark kitchen aesthetic, plus a refreshed bathroom, without the disruption and cost of ripping everything out. The kitchen remained in daily use by a busy household, so the work needed to proceed in stages with the kitchen functional each evening.
Thermofoil (vinyl-wrapped) doors are notoriously difficult to paint as standard primers will not adhere — specialist adhesion promoters and preparation were essential.
The busy household needed a functional kitchen each evening, requiring doors to be temporarily refitted at the end of each working day.
Converting the client's garage into a temporary spray booth with full dust extraction and ventilation required careful setup to achieve a flawless finish.
We used our professional HVLP (high velocity, low pressure) spray system to deliver a factory-smooth finish on all cabinet doors and drawer fronts. Each door was carefully removed, labelled, and taken to our on-site spray station set up in the client's garage with full extraction and dust filtration. The thermofoil surfaces were prepared with specialist adhesion primer designed for non-porous substrates, then spray-applied with two coats of premium 2-pack polyurethane lacquer in Farrow & Ball Railings — a sophisticated dark blue-black that transformed the kitchen from dated oak-effect to a striking contemporary aesthetic. While doors were being sprayed, we hand-painted the visible carcass edges and plinths in situ using the same colour in brush-applied format. The bathroom vanity received identical treatment. All existing hardware was replaced with new brushed brass handles and knobs selected by the client. Each evening, we temporarily refitted enough doors to make the kitchen usable, removing them again the following morning for the next coat.
Remove all doors and hardware, label everything, set up garage spray station, degrease, abrade, and apply adhesion primer.
Two coats of 2-pack polyurethane lacquer in Railings with appropriate flash-off and curing times between coats. Hand-paint carcass edges in situ.
Refit all doors with new brushed brass hardware, spray bathroom vanity, touch up any areas, final quality inspection with client.
Complete kitchen and bathroom cabinet transformation in just 5 working days
Total cost of £4,500 versus £35,000+ for kitchen replacement — approximately 90% savings
HVLP spray finish indistinguishable from factory-produced cabinets with zero brush marks
New brushed brass hardware perfectly complemented the Railings colour scheme
Client described the result as having a brand-new designer kitchen for a fraction of the price
"I genuinely cannot believe these are the same cabinets. The Railings colour in that perfect spray finish looks like a £30,000 kitchen. And having the bathroom vanity done at the same time made the whole house feel updated. Best money we have ever spent on the house."

Kitchen cabinets spray-finished in Farrow & Ball Railings

Bathroom vanity with matching Railings finish

Brushed brass hardware detail on spray-finished doors
Give your kitchen or bathroom a fresh new look without the cost of cabinet replacement.
Transform your kitchen for a fraction of replacement cost. Professional HVLP spray painting for modern units; artisan hand painting for Plain English, Tom Howley, and in-frame heritage cabinetry.
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