Kitchen Cabinet Remodel – Reface Or Replace?

If you’d like to update your kitchen but aren’t sure you want to take on a full remodel, one possibility is to give the room a new look with a kitchen cabinet upgrade. Depending on your budget and design needs, you can do this by either refacing or replacing them. By refacing your cabinets, you can improve their appearance without modifying the underlying structure. Alternatively, you can start from scratch with a whole new cabinetry system.

Refacing Kitchen Cabinets

The simplest and most cost-effective way to give your kitchen a facelift is to reface your kitchen cabinets. This may be the best choice if you are content with the overall arrangement of the cabinets and if their basic structure is still sound. Refacing cabinets entails replacing doors and drawer fronts, as well as covering the frames of the cabinet faces in a coordinating color or material. Refinishing kitchen cabinets is a swift and inexpensive way to update your kitchen.

Replacing Kitchen Cabinets

In some cases, it may be necessary to replace all of your kitchen cabinetry. A well-designed cabinet system can enhance your kitchen’s efficiency and appearance as well as your home’s market value. To determine whether replacing your cabinets is the best option, check whether any of the following apply to you.

Weaknesses or Structural Issues

Unsound cabinets can become a threat to the members of your household, as well as to any items inside them, should the unit fall. Old cabinets, or those that have sustained mold, water or termite damage, may have become weakened.

Inconvenient Kitchen Layout

Poorly arranged cabinets can make cooking a meal feel like running a marathon. A well-designed cabinetry system features easily accessible, unobstructed cabinets whose positioning makes sense in relation to your sink, refrigerator, oven and dishwasher. Properly located cabinets make cooking easier and your kitchen a more enjoyable place to be.

Cabinets are Non-Functional

If you can’t reach the items in the back of your corner cabinets, they are not useful or functional. In a functional kitchen, you should be able to make use of all available space. Cabinets that are non-functional due to their height or having to too much or too little depth only take up precious real estate you could be using to free up some much-needed counter or shelf space. Kitchen cabinet redesigning allows you to regain control over your cabinets and make them work for you.

Accessibility Issues

If you can’t access items in your cabinets without straining or accidentally hurting yourself, it might be time to install new or custom cabinetry and have the hardware tailored to you or your family’s accessibility needs.

If any of these situations apply to you, replacing may be a better option than refacing. A local remodeling professional specializing in kitchen cabinet redesigning and other remodeling needs, such as custom bathroom cabinets, can find just the right design and products to help you meet your custom cabinetry needs. Turn your kitchen design dreams into a reality, beginning with the cabinetry.

~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2010

By Laura