I am so incredibly happy with how my stupidly cheap kitchen makeover turned out. Literally everything was purchased on Amazon, and I did it all myself on random weekends while very pregnant (safely, of course). If I could do it, you can, too!

The whole thing (minus the kitchen gadgets--just the makeover) cost around $500 and was chosen for cost, looks, and simplicity of application (very pregnant, very impatient).

I'm attaching the before and after images, and I'll talk about the individual part relevant to this review. Here is the list of all remodeling purchases:

1. General Finishes Antique White Milk Paint, Gallon +General Finishes Water Based High Performance Polyurethane Top Coat Semi-Gloss Gallon

2. d-c-fix 346-0478 Decorative Self-Adhesive Film, Rustic, 17.71" x78" Roll

3. KINGO HOME Commercial High Arch Stainless Steel Single Lever Brushed Nickel Pull Down Sprayer Kitchen Faucet, Kitchen Sink Faucet with Dual Function Spout Sprayer

4. Mosaic Peel & Stick 10" x 10" Backsplash, Kitchen, Bathroom, DIY Wall Tiles - Set Of 6, Black And White

5. Achim Home Furnishings VFP2.0SS40 Tivoli II Achim Home Imports Silver Spruce 6" x 36" Self Adhesive Vinyl Floor Planks Planks/60 Square Feet, 40 Pack, Piece

6. Brilliant Evolution BRRC135 Wireless LED Puck Light 6 Pack With Remote Control - Operates On 3 AA Batteries - Kitchen Under Cabinet Lighting

Love this paint. I'm extremely happy with how my kitchen cabinets turned out. This was a spur of the moment decision, to paint the cabinets. At some point I just couldn't stand them anymore, but getting a new kitchen wasn't something we ever intended to do in this house. I thought about getting new doors for the cabinets, but that seemed like the type of effort no one was going to tolerate. I was 7 months pregnant and reached the end of my limits, and ordered this paint, the semi-gloss top coat, and a heavy duty respirator. Over the weekend when my husband was away, I painted my kitchen; three base coats on Saturday and two top coats Sunday morning.

I used a degreaser on the cabinets and let that dry. Honestly, not sure if that did anything, they looked and felt the same after. But well, it says to do that. I then painted them with a brush not really paying too much attention, since I knew it needed at least one more coat (turns out, three total did the trick). Then I painted it again with the foam brush, and that's definitely the way to go. The paint went on much smoother with the foam brush. Finished it off with the top coat (using the foam brush from the start, two coats), and the kitchen immediately looked so much better. This started my desire to fix the rest of it, because my brand spanking new white cabinets looked dumb with the horrible dirty-beige countertop, so I slapped some stickers on it "in the meantime". The floor was just depressing, so I slapped some stickers on that, too. Some more stickers on the backsplash, and I'm so happy with the result!

Also, the paint didn't smell bad at all (actually, didn't smell much in general). So that was an added bonus!

HVLP gun + GF milkpaint is a match made in heaven. I use a cheap Husky gun with a drilled-out 2mm tip and this stuff looks awesome on solid hardwood or ply. I can see how brushing it would cause some coverage issues, but it really sprays nicely.

Water based, fast drying time, completely covered oak kitchen cabinets in 2 coats. No sanding required, just wiped on a deglosser to clean and prep cabinets prior to painting. Then 3 coats of polyurethane and presto...brand new cabinets!!! Also added picture of a banister we painted with the dark chocolate milk paint. It is almost as dark as the General Finishes Java gel stain and much easier to work with. We used both the gel stain and milk paint with great results. We feel the milk paint is easier to work with. Also recommend General Finishes polyurethane. Much more protective than the minwax we used on first project.

Painted the product on my cabinets that were laminated and no problem. Tried brushing it on and realized I needed to use foam brushes (a must.) Overall - had 18 doors and trim and only needs 4 quarts - awesome coverage. Small suggestion - if you have access to a sprayer use that for the doors - and use the foam for the trim.

We bought our house a couple years ago and we had the builder grade honey oak cabinets in the kitchen but I really wanted something a little more classy and warm. I did A LOT of research before I finally decided to go with General Finishes Dark Chocolate Milk Paint. I have a very large kitchen with 34 cabinet doors and 10 large drawers so I decided to get a full gallon and apply three coats each. I bought my paint from a wood working store about 30 miles from my house but my husband is a luthier so he always has a reason to go down there. The people at the store didn't know too much about the paint so I just had to trust my research and not let them sway me into using chalk paint or glaze. I am SO happy I stuck to my decision and didn't get talked into anything else because I am in love with my kitchen now!

After all was done, I ended up with just under half a gallon of the milk paint left and was really surprised at how much coverage I got out of the paint. I did both the front and backs of all the cabinet doors and, of course, all the frames too. I took the doors off the hinges and sanded them down lightly before wiping clean and applying the first coat and did all the frames before mounting the doors back on. I put three to four coats of the milk paint on everything.

I used a good foam brush (or several of them) as suggested by the manufacture and I followed all their drying and reapplying directions. This was not something I wanted to redo after a few months of wear so I made sure I was doing it right the first time. I had doors everywhere for a couple of weeks while I let them all get good drying time in. Thankfully, I was able to find space in my house where they could be stored without my children's little fingers leaving their marks on them.

I did completely empty all my cabinets before lightly sanding down the frames. I used that time to then wipe them all out nice (we had been in the house two years at that point so it couldn't hurt to give them a little attention) and then I put everything back in them before painting the frames. I didn't paint the inside of the cabinets but left them the original color. I went back and forth on this but after some more research and just general asking around this seemed the best, and easiest, way to go.

I finished off all my painted areas with General Finishes Clear Top Coat. That stuff is also amazing! The paint is so thick but it doesn't clump or dry unevenly. I did three coats of the top coat on everything. It added a beautiful sheen to all my doors, drawers, and frames and is a great protectant!

It has been a year since I finished the kitchen now and everything has held up beautifully! We have three children and host very often, not to mention that I spend most of my time cooking and baking, so our kitchen gets a lot of wear but I haven't had to go touch up any of the paint. Nothing seems to be worn or rough and I am a super perfectionist so things like that would stand out to me like a sore thumb.

I added some pictures below so you could see the difference and little bit of the process. You can see in one image the cabinets before the top coat was applied and a couple of the other pictures show you the original wood over the new painted wood. Also, one picture has just a single coat of the milk paint verses the final result of three coats and two top coats. Don't worry about the right bottom cabinet on side. I had found some mold behind it in that area and behind the dishwasher so I ended up tearing the wall apart and rebuilding it and then replacing the cabinet with a new one. It had nothing to do with the painting process. I did some other things to the kitchen to improve the look other than just the paint too. I raised the molding up higher and added trim to cover the seals, I added bead board to the island and all the cabinet ends, I added molding around the island and to the bottom cabinet ends, as well as replaced all the hardware. People are amazed when they come over and can't believe the transformation and that I did it all myself. I have a whole new kitchen and the complete project only cost me about $400.