Should You Reface Kitchen Cabinets Or Replace Them?

Are you tired of your dated, tired-looking kitchen? Yearning for a fresh, modern design?

Many homeowners struggle with not feeling completely in love with their kitchen, but everyday life, tight budgets, and lack of knowledge about the options available, often leave many people to just live with their current design, rather than loving their space. Refacing your kitchen, rather than completely ripping out and redesigning the space, is both easier on the purse strings, and can take as little as 2-3 days to complete, leaving you with the kitchen of your dreams in no time!

In this article, you will find a break down of what the difference is between refacing and replacing your kitchen, what exactly refacing is, as well as other details and pro’s and con’s from our kitchen experts to help you decide which option is best for your home.

The benefits of refacing kitchen cabinets

Refacing your kitchen is the process of removing the front surfaces of your cabinets, such as the existing doors and drawer fronts, and simply replacing with new, leaving the existing cabinets in place. Providing you with a kitchen facelift, without the stress of replacing everything.

Refacing doesn’t need to be limited to just replacing the doors & drawers. If you’re wanting to achieve the look and feel of a new space without replacing all the cabinetry, or some of the cabinets are a bit worse for ware or you’d like to make small adjustments to your layout, we can help!

Needing to replace a couple of cabinets doesn’t mean you need to rip out all the units and start again. We can simply remove and replace where necessary, and keep your existing cabinets and shelving in place. And this doesn’t only apply to the cabinets, your kitchen makeover can include as little or as many updates and upgrades as you like, from new worktops, splashbacks,   appliances, and even adding or modifying storage solutions.

Refacing your space will not only save you time and money but will also help to minimise the impact the kitchen and home renovation industry has on the environment. For more information on what we are doing to be more environmentally friendly, please see our commitment to sustainability.

Refacing is perfect for customers who are happy with the layout they know and love, but just aren’t content with the design. It provides a cost-effective solution as refacing can cost up to 50% less than a fully fitted kitchen. This is due to less materials and labour time being required. This reduced labour time also means these kitchen makeovers can often be completed in as little as 2-3 days, causing minimal disruption to everyday life.

Finally, deciding to keep the existing cabinets significantly reduces the impact your renovation will have on the environment, not only does replacing unnecessary elements increase wasted materials, but also the carbon footprint left behind during the production of the replacements.

But don’t be fooled, just because you’re keeping your existing kitchen layout, this doesn’t mean your transformation can’t be dramatic! From traditional shaker style to something sleek and modern, changing your door handles, or even opting for a maximalist brighter colour.

The limitations of refacing kitchen cabinets

Although you’ll be able to upgrade most aspects of your space, refacing does come with its limitations, especially when it comes to the layout of your kitchen. If you don’t get along with your current cabinetry placement, whether that be the fridge being too far from the oven, an unused breakfast bar, or just the general need for more storage, refacing might not be the best option for your makeover.

Kitchen revamping explained

Revamping your kitchen is the process of completely removing all doors, cabinets, worktops, flooring and appliances, until you are left with an empty room, ready to start fresh and replace every aspect to build a whole new design.

Revamping provides you with an opportunity to completely redesign the space, making it a highly customisable route. During a full renovation, you’re able to redesign the layout of your kitchen, add new features like lighting, integrated appliances etc, and not to mention the freedom when it comes to the cabinets you choose.

The benefits of revamping your kitchen

The key benefit of a full revamp is the freedom to design your kitchen without any limitations. You will have pretty much complete creative freedom, and the ability to customise all areas of your space. Many customers opt to improve functionality with the layout or appliances, or by adding additional features, such as additional space and smart storage solutions.  

The drawbacks of revamping

The main drawback for most customers is the cost, fully revamping a kitchen can often come with a hefty price tag due to the labour required to remove and dispose of the previous fixtures, the base costs of all new cabinets, flooring, worktops and any other elements, and then the labour costs to have this all refitted. Most full renovations cost between £18k - £44k, depending on the size and design.

The other common negative to revamps is the potential project timeline, with all the work causing significant disruption to everyday life, and potentially leaving the homeowner without a functioning kitchen for potentially weeks on end.

So, what should you pick?

A complete replacement kitchen will provide you with creative freedom, but depending on your budget and preferred timeline, this may not always be the best option.

The decision between replacing and refacing will depend on your needs, what is the main cause that led you to consider upgrading your space? If this is mainly for aesthetic purposes, whether your preferences have changed or you’re just looking for something new, then you would probably want to opt for refacing. This option will save you time and money, without causing a compromise on what you want. However, if it’s the layout you’re struggling with, a full revamp may be the route to go down.

We hope this guide helped provide some clarity on the differences, but if you’re still not sure what option Is best for you, our kitchen design experts are on hand to help discuss your options further, and provide suggestions based on your needs.

You can download our most recent brochure here to start looking at all our amazing kitchen styles- or click here to book your free appointment with our design specialists.