If your cabinets are old and outdated, and you’re thinking about making some style changes you may be considering replacing your cabinets. Before ripping out your current kitchen cabinets and getting into a complicated remodel project you may want to consider refacing, resurfacing, or refinishing your current cabinets. Refacing, resurfacing or refinishing are more economical alternatives to replacing them entirely, especially if you’re already happy with the layout of your kitchen the way it is.
What is the difference? As mentioned above, when you are refacing your cabinets, you are putting new material on top of the existing cabinet frames and replacing doors and drawer fronts. When refinishing cabinets, all you are doing is changing the finish, or color, of the existing materials.
Refacing:
Refacing and resurfacing them basically mean the same thing, it is a process of replacing all doors, drawer fronts, moldings and refacing the existing cabinet boxes with a real wood veneer( face frames, end panels and toe kicks), often drawer boxes are replaced as well.
With refacing you can choose any door style and color (solid tone or stain), minor repairs to the existing cabinet can be done, you are able to add additional cabinets, a peninsula or an island, once the new cabinets are refaced they will blend in semlessly with the old.
Refinishing:
If your cabinets are in great shape and you like the door style, that’s where refinishing comes in. Refinishing is usually the most affordable and quickest way to bring life back into dreary cabinets. It’s vital that the cabinets are in good condition since refinishing includes paint stripping, sanding, and staining or painting. Staining your wooden cabinets can give the illusion of any type of wood you want. You can go from whitewashed to a deep cherry wood color. It is, however, hard to go from a very dark to very light. Painting is another option; you can basically go with any color form standard off the shelf to custom.
Keep in mind that if you have oak cabinets, they are unfortunately a poor candidate for refinishing. If you refinish them in a solid color, the grain will show right through the paint, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done and everyone’s tastes are different. If a refinisher tells you a different story, give them one of your doors or make them get a sample oak door and finish half of it to show you that the grain can really be hidden.
