Is Refacing Your Kitchen Cabinets a Good Idea?

Should you consider refacing the cabinets in your kitchen instead of getting all new cabinets?

The answer is always a definitive NO! The reasons for not refacing are varied and discussed here in detail.

Cabinetry over 20 years old will have inferior drawers, tracks, and hinges.

This is true even for older expensive custom cabinets. In the last few years, inexpensive well-made cabinetry has become available at a fraction of the cost it once was. These less expensive cabinet lines use the top-of-the-line drawer boxes, tracks, and hinges, and contains no particle board. Buying all new cabinetry in one of these well made less expensive lines can cost only 25% more than refacing the existing kitchen.

Almost without exception older kitchens are poorly designed. Kitchen design was not as sophisticated in years past and most kitchens prior to 1995 were not designed by experienced kitchen designers.

A few of the undesirable design elements used in older homes include:

• Soffits over wall cabinets.
• Using 30″ or 42″ high wall cabinets. Experienced kitchen designers now avoid these sizes.
• Different width cabinet doors on either side of a cooktop or window.
• Having a stove at the end of a countertop or under a window which is dangerous and against building code.

Refacing a kitchen just reproduces problematic design features and leaves outdated drawers and tracks untouched.

Refacing a kitchen with design problems and then proceeding to purchase expensive countertops, appliances, flooring, and fixtures will cost nearly as much as a new kitchen and leave an elephant in the middle of your renovated room.

Another problem with refacing is that homes are becoming less formal.

For example, nearly 60% of all the kitchens Main Line Kitchen Design sells involve combining the kitchen and dining room. Many large homes being built today include a first-floor office but not a formal dining room. Refacing your kitchen without doing the renovation that new home buyers are looking for could be a big mistake. When the time comes to sell your home, the new buyers might rip out the kitchen that was just refaced.

Below is a conversation between Doug Mottershead and Paul McAlary the owner of Main Line Kitchen Design about kitchen cabinetry.

Selecting quality cabinetry and making practical renovation decisions is what good kitchen designers help with.

Here’s a related article another error when purchasing cabinetry:

Amish Custom Cabinets. Handmade or Homemade?

https://www.mainlinekitchendesign.com/general/custom-cabinets-handmade-or-homemade/

We look forward to helping you make the sound decisions that will increase your home’s value and make it all that it can be.

Paul, Julie, John, Tom, Ed, and Stacia

Main Line Kitchen Design