The Pros and Cons of a New Body Surface for Your Kitchen Shelves
Are you considering giving your kitchen counter a new look? Among the various remodeling ideas available, refacing your kitchen cabinets is one of the best ways to renovate your kitchen and give it a refreshed look.
You may be wondering what exactly it entails, the costs involved, and whether it’s worth it. Read on to learn all about cabinet refacing, whether it’s a worthwhile investment of time and resources, and how much you should expect to spend on refinishing cabinets versus refacing.
Well, is it Worth It to Reface Kitchen Cabinets?
Remodeling your kitchen can be expensive, but getting a new look for your kitchen cabinets can save you money. The kitchen cabinets are a significant part of your kitchen’s look, and replacing them can take up half of the entire remodeling budget.
With this, replacement kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts with solid wood doors can make a big difference. You can also cover the exposed cabinet face frames with matching wood or plastic veneer and then paint the cabinets. This will completely transform your kitchen’s look at a significantly smaller budget.
It takes only two to four days, and though no walls come down and no windows are added, the bright new surfaces can significantly change your kitchen’s appearance.
You can even reconfigure the cabinet boxes to accommodate modern features such as wider and deeper drawers, a garbage drawer, and soft-close hardware on cabinet doors and drawers.
Should you ever choose to sell your house, kitchen cabinet refacing can be a great selling point. It uplifts your kitchen and makes your house look more appealing to buyers — both of which may justify an increase in the selling price. The cost to reface kitchen cabinets could prove to be a valuable investment in your home.
The Pros
Cabinet refacing has advantages and limitations, and it’s best to consider these first before beginning your project.
Retains a kitchen’s layout: If your kitchen layout meets your needs and you’d like to keep it, refacing is an ideal option.
Style options: Refacing provides varied veneer options for both natural woods and laminates.
Cost-effectiveness: Refacing provides a new look for almost half the cost of new custom cabinets.
Green remodeling: It offers a more environmentally friendly option because it eliminates the disposal of cabinet boxes into landfills. Considering that most cabinet boxes are made of MDF (medium-density fiberboard), which contains formaldehyde, a hazardous chemical, retaining these cabinet boxes by opting for cabinet refacing is the more eco-conscious way to go. Retaining the same cabinets also has the save-a-tree value of eliminating the need to construct new cabinet boxes.
The Cons
Cost control: Although cabinet refacing is generally less expensive than springing for entirely new cabinetry, the costs associated with cabinet refacing can add up, especially if you’re replacing hinges and hardware. This may make it so that the cost becomes comparable to a complete cabinet renovation.
Potential challenges: While possible, a do-it-yourself option can be challenging because, although installing replacement cabinet doors and fronts is relatively easy, veneering is an acquired skill that may be best left to a professional.
No space upgrade: If your current cabinets don’t have enough storage space, refacing may not be a good option, as cabinet-box interior dimensions, countertop space and layout go unchanged during a project.
