Well I have had painted white cabinets for 12 years now and mine look just the way they did when they were first painted. They were also painted with just interior latex paint. Love them.

Sassy - how nice of you to mention me! Our cabinets are painted, no glaze. I believe the paint is 20% gloss (we didn't want super glossy), and there is an overcoat which makes it a bit shinier and protects it.

If you're planning on selling in just two years, what do your local realtors think? I'd be v. interested to hear what trends they're seeing in your house's (proposed price) range and what buyers at that price point expect / want. That would probably inform my choice.

That being said, I've a white-white kitchen, in a v. flat finish. LOVE it! It's true that in general painted cabs don't hold up as well as stained, but some stained cabs look like crap -- go figure. What's the finish your cabinet maker will be using? We've a catalyzed lacquer finish which makes them much tougher ... but nothing's truly impervious.

my cabinets just went in they are white. I asked for extra paint...it is a 2 part paint like an epoxy. I have no idea how they will hold up but the builder I am using has used this guy for years and years.

We have very white Brookhaven perimeter cabinets. I do not know how they will hold up because we haven't moved in yet but Woodmode and Brookhaven are known for their beautiful finishes. They are just so simple and clean looking that it makes me happy to just look at them. The installer left a cabinet care kit in a drawer but I haven't looked at it yet but I'm guessing it has some sort of touch up pen or paint for just in case. When I looked at glazed cabinets I felt they looked dirty as you have said and I just couldn't bring myself to get something that I never felt would look crisp and clean to me. Sometimes I think the glazed shows better in magazines than in person or maybe it's just the OCD in me that makes me want to have the white white look. HTH.

I used my last kitchen -- white cabinets with golden glaze -- for six years before moving. They looked as good when we left as they did when we moved in. No chipped paint at all. We did white again -- but haven't moved in yet!!

Hi Sassync:
Same here....no glaze just paint, although I don't know the exact formula since they are Wood-Mode cabinets. If it would help you, I could ask about the specific finish; it does have a subtle soft sheen but definitely not glossy in any way. I anticipate that there could be a little nick eventually here or there, but we were given a touch up kit(which of course I hope we never have to use!). By the way, the one piece of advice I was given about cleaning white cabinets is never use cleaners with orange extract since they might discolor the cabinets.

I love white kitchens. This will be my fourth white kitchen. In our new house, they were painted off site, then repainted (had some issues with the cabinet guy). A friend who really knows says pre-catalyzed lacquer is the way to go. I don't think this is what we will have--but ours is similar. I am not a fan of glaze--for me--but do like it on other kitchens I have seen. Good luck. To me white is a classic that doesn't go out of style.

Sassync, I wonder if the designer is trying to help themselves and the cabinet maker out by steering you towards a glaze. I just had white painted cabinets installed and they had to come back and remove the panel by my refrig because it was a different color, even though they were all painted with the same number of coats and with the same batch of paint.

Our cabinet maker used the catalyzed lacquer as well but when he was here putting up trim he told my husband that even though he loved how our cabinets turned out, that white was his LEAST favorite cabinet to make. He said that it's always a challenge to get the whites to all look right, even though you use the exact same paint and make sure it's mixed properly each time. He said "if you guys had gone with a glaze you would have never had the problem with that one panel being different." They knew from the beginning that I wanted simple white cabinets, and they turned out great and I know will hold up because I've seen work that he did 20 years ago that still looks great.

If it's what you want, don't settle for less, but I'm betting they would love for you to go with a glaze to make their lives easier! If they are done properly there shouldn't be any difference between painted and glazed, and just plain painted!

Kat :)

I think white with out glaze is a classic. I have has painted cabinets for 8 years (two diff. houses) with no problems. My personal opinion is that the glazed look will go out of style and become the "pickled" look of the eighties.

Good Luck!

i agree with flseadog. glazed looks better in pictures and magazines. i was set on glazed, but in the end they always looked dirty. my cabinets are custom made and i tried the glazing two times with different techniques and glaze mixtures. it just did not set well with me at all each time. i finally came to the realization that i just don't like glazed white cabinets in person. Not white anyway. Now green, blue, red, black, etc.. or any other color, i think they look great. it definitely adds alot of depth, but just not white.

my cabinets are painted with the BM waterborne impervo latex paint. they are creamy white. i have my island painted in sage green and it is glazed with black.

Glazing doesn't have to look "dirty"... think about a white/light glaze over barely off-white cabinets. We just purchased bisquit color cabinets with a coconut glaze and it looks really cool IMO.
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The glaze/no glaze is a personal choice. It does sound like you need to see it up close, as opposed to pictures to get a real idea though.

I think the straight painted is more classic, but the next owner will almost certainly gut the kitchen anyway (they nearly always do, don't they? even now?) so please yourself.

I will say that I love my painted-by-hand with a brush kitchen and would never consider any other way. It's perfect for ME. The fact that it is easily changeable and repairable is key. I understand other people's needs though.

My contractor/painter said he could paint over my flat finish with a coat or two of sealer that would make it more durable and only make it a tiny bit glossier. That's also something to consider.

Good luck!

One of my neighbors has white cabinets in her 1995 built house. They've stood up to 3 young kids with no problems; kids that love to climb up onto counters to see what mom is doing. She did tell me that she was told that the previous owner requested the maximum number of protective topcoats put on to protect them. Wish I knew how many coats that was but I don't (we're getting ready to paint our GO cabs to a soft cream).

Another neighbor just refaced her white kitchen cabs with dark cherry. It looks good but boy did it make her kitchen look darker (dark brown granite counters, too). Her issue wasn't wear - they were still in great shape - but the dust that gathered in the grooves and corners that was hard to clean out. I've heard some say that glaze masks this.

btw, the first neighbor I mentioned didn't have the dust issue and they both have raised panel doors.