How to Choose Between Redooring, Refacing, and Painting Your Cabinets

Is your kitchen feeling dull? Perhaps the layout still works perfectly, but the style is stuck in a past decade, or daily wear and tear has taken its toll. If you're currently searching for “new kitchen cabinets near me” or at least looking for a significant visual upgrade, you're in the right place!

At Kitchen Tune-Up Denver CO, we specialize in transforming kitchens with less mess and stress. For homeowners looking to make a big change to the look and feel of their kitchen without the expense of full custom cabinetry, our three most popular services are cabinet redooring, refacing, and painting. But how do you decide which one is right for you? Let's break down the pros, cons, and what to expect from each.

 

Cabinet Painting

What it is: This involves giving your existing cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and visible cabinet boxes a brand new color. 

Pros:

• Most Budget-Friendly: Generally the most economical option, perfect if you're on a tighter budget.
• Unlimited Color Options: Kitchen Tune-Up Denver, CO offers a nearly endless palette to choose from, allowing for highly personalized and trendy looks (like those popular two-toned cabinets!).
• Quick Transformation: Depending on kitchen size, painting can be completed relatively quickly, often within a few days to a week.
• Eco-Friendly: Reuses your existing materials, reducing waste.

Cons:

• Style Remains: While the color changes dramatically, the door style remains the same. If you dislike the current style, painting won't change that.
• Durability: While professional painting offers a durable finish, it can be more susceptible to chipping or wear over time in high-traffic areas compared to refacing materials.
• Condition Matters: Best suited for cabinets that are structurally sound and have relatively smooth surfaces. Significant dents or damage will still show through unless repaired meticulously beforehand.

Why choose cabinet painting? Choose cabinet painting if your cabinet boxes are in great shape, you love your current door style, and your primary goal is a fresh new color to modernize your kitchen on a budget. It’s excellent for adding a pop of color or brightening a dark space.

Cabinet Redooring

What it is: This service involves replacing all your existing cabinet doors and drawer fronts with brand new ones, while leaving your existing cabinet boxes intact. The new doors can be matched to your existing cabinet box color, or the boxes can be painted to match the new doors.

Pros:

• Style Change: This is your opportunity to completely change the style of your doors.
• Faster & Less Disruptive: Quicker than refacing as less on-site work is required, often completed in just a couple of days.
• Cost-Effective: A great middle-ground option that’s more affordable than refacing but offers more of a style change than painting.
• New Hinges & Hardware: New doors often come with new, soft-close hinges, and it's the perfect time to update your knobs and pulls.

Cons:

• Box Color Match: If you choose a significantly different color for your new doors, the existing cabinet boxes will either need to be painted to match (adding to cost and time) or you'll be limited to colors that complement the existing boxes.
• Interior Remains: The interior of your cabinets, including shelves and drawer boxes, remains as is.
• Condition of Boxes: Your existing cabinet boxes must be in good structural condition.

Why choose cabinet redooring? Redooring is ideal if you're happy with your kitchen's layout and the condition of your cabinet boxes, but you desperately want to update the door style and get a fresh, cohesive look without a full reface.

Cabinet Refacing

What it is: Cabinet refacing is a more comprehensive update. We replace all your cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and then apply a matching new veneer to all the visible exterior surfaces of your existing cabinet boxes. This creates the look of entirely new cabinets without changing the layout or incurring the cost of a full tear-out.

Pros:

• Complete "New Cabinet" Look: Provides a seamless, factory-fresh appearance that's virtually indistinguishable from new cabinets.
• Wide Material & Style Choices: Extensive options for door styles, colors, finishes, and new hardware.
• Increased Durability: New, high-quality materials are used on all visible surfaces, offering excellent longevity.
• Less Disruption than Replacement: Your kitchen remains largely functional during the process, and it avoids the demolition mess of a full remodel.

Cons:

• Higher Cost: More expensive than painting or redooring, though still significantly less than a full cabinet replacement.
• Layout Remains: Cannot change the kitchen's layout or the internal structure of the cabinets (though internal organization accessories can be added).
• Condition of Boxes: Requires your existing cabinet boxes to be structurally sound.

Why choose cabinet refacing? Cabinet refacing is perfect if you want a complete aesthetic overhaul, including a new door style and a cohesive new finish throughout your kitchen, and you’re satisfied with your current kitchen layout. It delivers the "wow" factor of new cabinets at a fraction of the price and time.

Ready to Decide?

Choosing the right option between painting, redooring, and refacing depends on your vision, budget, and timeline. The best way to make an informed decision is to see the possibilities firsthand and get expert advice tailored to your unique kitchen.

Contact Kitchen Tune-Up Denver CO today for a free in-home consultation! We'll help you explore door styles, finishes, and organization accessories to bring your dream kitchen to life. Let's make your kitchen feel brand new again!