Everyone knows that if you want to sell your home, the one place that could make or break the deal is the kitchen.  That’s why kitchen remodeling is always on the top of the list when it comes to making any kind of home improvements.  Just about any money you sink into the kitchen will come back to you in resale value.  However, a complete kitchen remodel can run you an easy $50,000 with a large chunk of that going on new cabinets.   I know personally my brother did a kitchen remodel 2 years ago and the total cost was roughly $37,000.  Of that total amount, $11,000 was for full cabinet replacements.  Right there you can see that the cabinets alone almost accounted for 30% of the total remodeling project cost.  I figure if he would have done a little shopping around and was willing to accept his old cabinet structures, he could have checked cabinet refacing prices and probably saved 4 thousand dollars. If you’d like to make changes to your own kitchen but don’t have a large budget to play with, perhaps you should consider a cabinet reface instead.

A cabinet reface is when you keep the main existing cabinetry but change out the doors, drawer fronts and hardware to give it a fresh, new look.  Obviously, this also means refinishing the rest of the cabinets side boards and floor boarding to match the new door faces.    If the bones of the cabinetry are in good shape and sturdy, this would be a great option for you to get a new look while saving half or more on the costs of replacing the cabinets.  This is a particularly cost effective solution if you have built-in cabinets as they are even more expensive to replace.

This type of project can be done by a handy person but remember to allow enough time to get it done.   I suggest getting quotes from professionals first, and then factor the value of your own time to complete such a job.  A fair warning upfront… It will take a lot of work to refinish the cabinet bases and people have a tendency to misjudge how long that will take.  The doors and drawer fronts you will either be able to pick up at a nearby home store or you can order from a specialty company.  These are easy enough to install – just be sure to measure accurately.  It won’t improve the look of your kitchen if the doors are unevenly installed or won’t close properly.

Also remember in your cabinet refacing project to take your time in choosing the new hardware for your kitchen cabinetry.  There are so many styles of knobs and handles to choose from these days that it can be hard to pick just one.  One way to be sure that your whole kitchen ends up with a nicely polished, finished design is to choose hardware that matches up to your rest of your kitchen’s style.   Country, modern, art deco, etc.   All these styles of design have matching hardware that looks good and can be found at reasonable pricing locally or online.

A cabinet reface is a great way to add new flair and style to a kitchen without having to spend a huge amount of money.  Not only will the kitchen be more welcoming for you to use it, the reface will also help to boost the resale value of your home at a fraction of the cost of all new cabinetry.