Should walls be painted before New Brunswick cabinets arrive?

Paint the walls before cabinets are installed — it's almost always the right call, and it'll save you time, frustration, and touch-up work later.

Once cabinets are mounted, you lose access to the wall space behind and between them. Trying to cut in paint around cabinet boxes after installation is tedious and rarely looks clean. Painting first means you can roll the entire wall freely, and any minor overlap behind the cabinets won't matter since it'll be hidden anyway.

The Practical Sequence

The ideal order for a New Brunswick kitchen renovation is: demo → rough-in work (electrical, plumbing) → drywall and priming → paint → cabinet installation → countertop template → countertop installation → backsplash → flooring trim and transitions. Notice that flooring and backsplash typically come after cabinets — but wall paint comes before.

One important caveat: paint the walls, but don't paint where the backsplash will go. That section of wall (typically 18 inches between the countertop and upper cabinets) will be tiled or covered, so painting it is wasted effort. Some painters tape off that zone and leave it primed only.

NB-Specific Timing Considerations

This matters more in New Brunswick than people realize. Cabinet lead times here range from 1-2 weeks for stock cabinets (big box stores) to 4-8 weeks for semi-custom and 8-16 weeks for custom-built cabinets. That waiting period is actually your painting window — get the walls done while you're waiting for delivery. If you're working with a contractor, confirm the delivery date and schedule your painter (or your own painting days) in that gap.

NB's dry winter heating is also worth thinking about. If your renovation runs November through March, interior humidity can drop to 15-25% with forced-air heat running. Fresh paint actually cures better in lower humidity, so winter renovations have an advantage here. Just make sure the space is heated to at least 10°C for proper paint adhesion and curing.

Practical Tips

Do a full prime coat on any new drywall or patched areas before your finish colour — skipping primer on fresh drywall causes uneven sheen and poor coverage. Use a kitchen-appropriate paint with a satin or semi-gloss finish, which handles moisture and cleaning far better than flat paint in NB's humid summers. Mark your stud locations on the floor with tape before painting so you're not hunting for them after the walls are done.

DIY or hire a pro? Painting walls is one of the most accessible DIY tasks in a kitchen renovation — prep work (sanding, filling holes, priming) is where most homeowners cut corners, so take your time there. If you have high ceilings, awkward soffits, or complex trim, a professional painter will be faster and cleaner.

Need help finding a kitchen renovator to coordinate the full sequence? New Brunswick Kitchens can match you with a local contractor for free.