Wood staining.
ColorUp provides wood cabinet refinishing and staining across Greater Houston for compatible solid oak, white oak, walnut, and maple. We strip the existing coating, repair suitable wood, apply the approved stain direction, and seal it with a professional Renner Italia clear topcoat.
Cabinet painting, refinishing, and refacing in Houston
Wood cabinet refinishing is the right fit when compatible solid wood is worth preserving and the grain should remain visible. The existing coating is removed before the approved stain and clear topcoat are applied.
| Service | Typical planning range | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet painting | Starts at $2,500; most projects $3,500–$9,500 | Keep the boxes, doors, and layout |
| Wood cabinet refinishing | $4,500–$9,500 | Keep compatible solid wood and visible grain |
| Cabinet refacing | $5,000–$12,000 | Keep sound boxes but change the door profile |
Final pricing depends on cabinet count, condition, repairs, finish direction, hardware, and the written scope. ColorUp serves Houston, Kingwood, The Woodlands, Humble, Spring, Katy, Cypress, and nearby communities from its Kingwood studio.
See completed Houston-area cabinet projects or review the full cabinet painting cost guide.
Compare the tone. Keep the profile constant.
These eight photorealistic Shaker samples keep the door shape consistent so you can compare stain depth without confusing it with a different profile. Final approval still happens on your cabinet species, in your kitchen light.
Wood that looks like wood. Sealed for a Houston kitchen.
When the underlying wood is worth saving — solid oak, white oak, walnut, or maple — staining brings the grain back instead of hiding it under paint. We strip every door to bare wood and start clean.
Bare wood, every time.
Doors and visible boxes are chemically stripped to remove every existing coating. Sanded smooth, grain re-opened, ready to take color cleanly — no muddy mid-tones from old finish bleeding through.
Color matched to your kitchen light.
Aniline dye for depth, wiping stain for tone control. Three sample doors brought to your kitchen so you can see honey, walnut, and ebony tones in your light before we commit. No orange undertones.
Italian clear topcoat. Three coats.
Sealed with Renner Italia clear, the same 2K-grade topcoat we use on painted projects. Three hand-leveled coats — ready for daily use the night we finish, with simple care while the finish continues to cure.
For solid wood. Only.
Staining only works on solid hardwood — oak, white oak, walnut, maple, cherry. If your existing cabinets are MDF, particleboard, thermofoil, or veneered, we’ll tell you on the consultation and recommend painting or refacing instead.
When the wood is solid, staining is the most authentic restoration available. The grain pattern shows. The species reads true. The finish ages with the wood, not on top of it.
Range covers many 25–40-door solid-wood kitchens. The written estimate identifies stripping, repairs, approved stain sample, clear-coat system, and project warranty. Heavy old varnish and damaged grain raise the strip-and-prep portion.
What people ask before they say yes.
Staining is the most particular of our services — underlying wood quality matters, and the finish is more visible. Here’s the short version of what we cover on the consultation.
How do I know if my cabinets are solid wood?
Open a door and look at the inside edge: solid wood shows continuous grain through the thickness; veneer shows a thin face glued onto MDF or particleboard underneath. We confirm substrate on the in-home consultation before quoting.
Will the new stain match the original color?
We can match an existing stain closely, but never identically — wood ages and oxidizes, and a fresh stain on prepped wood always reads slightly different. Most clients use the restoration as an opportunity to lighten or darken the kitchen entirely.
Can you fix damaged or water-stained wood?
Yes. Localized water stains, chips, and minor splits are repaired during the strip phase. Severely damaged or rotted wood (sink base, leaky window cabinets) is replaced with matching new doors before staining begins.
How long does the stain hold up?
With the Renner Italia 2K topcoat, expect ten-plus years before the finish needs attention — longer than most painted finishes, because solid-wood stained surfaces don’t telegraph the small scratches that show on glossy painted ones.
Got real wood? Let’s bring it back.
We confirm the substrate and sample direction before the stain scope is approved. Tell us what you have and we’ll recommend the next useful step.