Your cabinet boxes are probably fine. It's the doors, the drawer fronts and the finish that are dating your kitchen. Refacing replaces everything you see and leaves the structure — and your countertops — where they are.
What refacing actually involves
Every door and drawer front comes off and gets replaced. The exposed faces of the boxes and the visible end panels are covered in veneer matched to the new doors. New hinges, new drawer slides, new handles.
When it's finished, there's no visible difference between a refaced kitchen and a replaced one — because every surface you can see is new. What's different is that your counters never came off and your sink never moved.
- New doors and drawer fronts in your choice of style and finish
- Matching veneer on all exposed box faces and end panels
- New soft-close hinges and drawer slides
- New handles and knobs
- Optional: new crown moulding, toe kicks, glass inserts
Why people choose it
Replacement means demolition, hauling the old boxes out, lifting the countertops, and a kitchen that's unusable for weeks. Refacing is two to four days, your counters stay put, and you keep your sink and appliances through the whole job.
It also wastes less. If the boxes are solid — and in most kitchens built in the last thirty years they are — tearing them out to replace them with equivalent boxes is spending money to end up in the same place.
When refacing isn't the answer
We'll tell you when it isn't. Refacing needs sound boxes: if they're water-damaged, sagging, or made of particleboard that's started to swell, you're better off replacing them.
It also can't change your layout. If the plan involves moving the sink, taking out a wall or reconfiguring the run, that's a replacement job. We do those too — but we'd rather say so upfront than reface a kitchen that needed more.
Choosing a finish
Shaker remains the safest choice and it's what most people land on. Raised panel reads more traditional, slab reads more modern. Painted finishes in white, off-white and grey are the most common; wood veneers and two-tone combinations have both picked up.
A two-tone kitchen — a different colour on the island than on the perimeter — costs no more than a single finish and is the easiest way to make a kitchen look designed rather than ordered.
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Common questions
- What is cabinet refacing?
- The cabinet boxes stay where they are. Everything you see gets replaced — new doors, new drawer fronts, new hardware — and the exposed box faces and end panels are covered in matching veneer. The result looks like new cabinetry without tearing out the existing structure.
- How long does refacing take?
- Most kitchens are done in two to four days. Compare that to a full replacement, which means demolition, countertop removal, and a kitchen you can't use for weeks. With refacing you keep your counters, your sink and your appliances in place.
- Is refacing cheaper than replacing cabinets?
- Usually yes — you're not paying for new boxes, demolition, disposal, or the countertop removal and refit that replacement requires. But the gap narrows on high-end door styles, and on a kitchen that needs a layout change refacing isn't the right answer anyway. We'll tell you honestly which one your kitchen needs.
- Can any kitchen be refaced?
- Not every one. Refacing needs sound boxes — if they're water-damaged, sagging, or particleboard that's swelling, replacement is the better call. It also can't change your layout. If you want to move the sink or take out a wall, that's a replacement job. A walkthrough settles it quickly.
- What door styles are available?
- Shaker, raised panel, slab and glass-front, in painted finishes, wood veneers and laminates. Two-tone combinations — a different colour on the island than the perimeter — are popular right now and cost no more than a single finish.
- Do you reface cabinets in my area?
- Glenview, Northbrook, Wilmette, Winnetka, Skokie, Evanston, Morton Grove, Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Niles and the surrounding north suburbs, plus Chicago. We work across Illinois.
Wondering whether your kitchen should be refaced or replaced?
(773) 709-8829 · Request a consultation
Glenview, Illinois · Serving Chicago and the north suburbs · Monday–Friday 8am–6pm