Keep what works
Refacing
Everything you can see gets replaced: new doors, new drawer fronts, and new quarter inch solid wood on every exposed cabinet surface.
Your boxes, layout, countertops, backsplash, and flooring all stay where they are.
Making the call
Cabinet Refacing vs Replacing
We do both, so we've got no reason to talk you into either one.
The short version: if your cabinet boxes are structurally sound and you like where everything sits, reface. If the boxes have failed or you want to change the layout, replace.
The difference
What actually changes in each case
The visible result can look equally complete either way. The difference is what stays in place and what you're free to change.
Start here
Sound boxes and a layout you like point to refacing. Failed boxes or a new layout point to replacing.
Start fresh
Replacing
The old cabinets come out and new ones go in, built to your room's dimensions. The entire layout is on the table.
Countertops usually come off and often get replaced to suit the new configuration.
What actually changes
Same finish. Different foundation.
A Crown reface looks every bit as new as a replacement. The difference is what's being rebuilt behind the doors, and how much of the room has to move with it.
The finish
What you see can
be the same
With either path
Choose from the same door styles, wood species, and finishes. The doors and drawer fronts are new in both cases, and the finish comes from the same department.
What that means
Refacing isn't a smaller menu or a lower-grade look. It changes the scope of the work, not the quality of the finish.
The structure
The cabinet box is the dividing line
With refacing
Solid cabinet boxes stay in place. Crown rebuilds the visible faces with new doors, drawer fronts, and quarter inch solid wood surfaces.
With replacement
The old boxes come out and new cabinetry is built for the room from the inside out.
The room around it
The impact reaches
beyond the cabinets
With refacing
The layout, countertops, backsplash, and flooring stay in place, so the work stays focused on the cabinetry.
With replacement
New layout possibilities open up, but countertops usually come off and nearby surfaces can be disturbed in the process.
Choose refacing
Reface when the bones are good
If all five of those are true, refacing gives you a kitchen that reads as new for less money and less upheaval.
- Your cabinet boxes are solid, with no water damage or failure
- The layout works and you don't want to move anything
- Your countertops and backsplash are staying
- You want the project done with less disruption to the house
- You're fine keeping a half inch overlay, which is what refacing allows
Choose replacement
Replace when the boxes or the layout have to go
Refacing a failing box is money spent on a nice face over a bad problem. If the structure is going, replace.
- The boxes are water damaged, sagging, or coming apart
- You want to change the footprint, move a wall, or reconfigure the room
- You need cabinet sizes your current boxes can't give you
- You're already replacing countertops, flooring and appliances anyway
- There's a spot in the kitchen that's never worked and refacing won't fix it
The money
Why refacing costs less
You're not paying to rebuild what still works.
Keep the boxes
When the structure is sound, it stays in place instead of being rebuilt from scratch.
Skip the tear-out
Refacing avoids the demolition, disposal, and reconstruction that a full replacement requires.
Preserve the room
Countertops and surrounding finishes can usually stay in place, keeping the project focused on the cabinetry.
Typical Kansas City project
$18,000–$30,000
A Crown reface gives you the same new doors, wood, and finish. The sound cabinet structure behind them stays in place.
Helpful answers
Common questions
Is refacing just putting a sticker on old cabinets?
That's what a lot of refacing is, and it's why the word has a reputation problem. Most companies apply a thin laminate or a vinyl film over your existing frames. We apply quarter inch solid wood, milled in our own plant. It can be sanded and refinished years from now, the same as any wood cabinet.
Will a refaced kitchen look as good as a new one?
The doors and drawer fronts are new and identical to the ones on our custom work. The finish is done in the same department. What refacing can't change is the layout, so if what bothers you is where things are rather than how they look, refacing won't solve it.
Can I change my door style when I reface?
Yes. The door style, wood species and finish are all completely open. It's only the overlay that's fixed.
How long does each one take?
Refacing runs eight to ten weeks from finalized design to delivery, then under two weeks of work in your house. A custom build runs ten to twelve weeks after design, and it's more disruptive while it's happening.