Cabinet refacing has been my favorite technique to use in kitchen design projects lately because it is so transformative and cost effective. As you probably know, undertaking a kitchen cabinet remodel can be an extremely pricey investment. It certainly increases the beauty and value of your home, but sometimes spending thousands of dollars on new units is not feasible or wise. The kitchen cabinet refacing cost is far less than replacing all of the units because you are able to keep the bases and just replace doors and add trim and detail work where desired. This is what we did in this gorgeous traditional-style kitchen. You would never know that underneath the gorgeous panelling and rich paint palette are ordinary old pine cabinets.

A lot of our clients have been requesting a cost effective way to redecorate their kitchen while maximizing their tax refund check. I always recommend cabinet refacing because it costs far less than gutting the kitchen and purchasing all new units, but it completely changes the look of the entire space. Before we gave these units a facelift, this kitchen featured outdated pine cabinets and a formica countertop. The homeowners really wanted to replace the Formica with this gorgeous (and costly) marbled granite, so we encouraged them to consider refinishing kitchen cabinets to save money. They immediately jumped on board, so we replaced the existing doors with this more contemporary leaning shaker style faces in various shades of grey. We thought that the contrasting light and charcoal grey finishes would accent their modern kitchen design ideas quite well and give it a nice timeless feel.

I have been suggesting cabinet refacing to so many clients lately because I feel like it is by far the most cost effective way to upgrade your kitchen dramatically without spending a ton of money. Cabinet refacing cost far less than gutting the entire space and replacing the old units with brand new ones, but it does give a totally different look to the space. Before we refaced these cabinets, they were a very 1990s pine style with very little trim or detailing that made them stand out. For this client who wanted a French Country kitchen, we opted for a classic white paneled door with bronze hardware to cement that classic rustic style. White units like these are the best kitchen cabinets to add to your home for resale because they go with nearly any decor style whether it be contemporary or traditional like this one.

My neighbors have been telling me all about cabinet refacing after they just redid their entire kitchen without having to replace all of the units with brand new ones. These pictures show their new design after their contractor completed the cabinet refinishing. Before they did this project their units were finished in a deep cherry color that made the kitchen seem very dark and cave like. With the gorgeous wood paneled ceiling that incorporates a ton of trim and exposed beams, the combination of dark cabinets was quite overwhelming to the space. But lightening them up by sanding and re-staining them made a world of difference and makes the whole space seem brighter. I am definitely going to do some more research into kitchen cabinet refacing as I am considering it for our own home.

I bet that you wouldn't believe that we were actually able to achieve this gorgeous traditional style on a budget all thanks to cabinet refacing. I am a firm believer that you should save your money to splurge on a few high end items rather than blowing it it on a bunch of smaller inexpensive pieces that do not make a "wow" statement. By saving money repainting kitchen cabinets white (as opposed to the dark espresso stain they were before), we were able to purchase this gorgeous crustal chandelier and the stunning marble backsplash that I have been seeing in the Restoration Hardware catalogs. Similarly, replacement kitchen cabinet doors on a few units flanking the stove, again, elevated the style of the space but cost far less than what it would have to swap out the entire unit,

If you are trying to renovate your home without spending a lot of money, I would definitely encourage you to look into cabinet refacing. We thought that painting kitchen cabinets in our lofty home would be much more economical because, as you can see, all of the units were built custom to fit in the unusually large and tall layout of our space. It would be a shame to spend so much money to replicate these same cabinets when the bases were in relatively gapped condition. We simple picked out our favorite kitchen cabinet ideas and took them to our contractor to work with his carpenters to determine a technique to utilize our old units to recreate the design. I could not be happier with what they came up with -- it looks like a completely different kitchen.