Cabinet Door and Cabinet Refacing Considerations

If you've been aching to remodel your home, but you're afraid of the cost, consider a refacing project. Cosmetic alterations to cabinets can go a long way in substantially changing the look and feel of your kitchen, dining room, office, bathroom, or just about any other room in the house. Perhaps the biggest benefit of refacing cabinets is that it allows you to make significant changes to a room while maintaining its current layout. You'll also avoid the major time and budgetary commitments of a full remodeling project.

There are seemingly countless options for to design, style, and detailing when refacing cabinets. Regardless of which aesthetic you choose, though, you need to start with what you have. Before you can reface your cabinets, you need to remove old doors, peeling coats of paint, and moldings from all surfaces. Then, you need to sand down all those surfaces so that you are, in essence, starting with a blank canvas.

You'll also need to prepare drawer boxes for new drawer fronts. Whether you're working with three-sided or four-sided drawer boxes can affect the amount of prep work that will need to be done, but both styles present multiple refacing options.

While refacing allows you to work on a much smaller scale than a full remodeling project, it still requires elements of design and construction. This means it's not always a simple task for the lone do-it-yourselfer. There are professionals who can consult with you regarding design options, as well as installation. Bringing in a pro for a refacing job should still cost you far less than remodeling.

If you want a truly fast and easy refacing solution, veneers are probably for you. Veneers can cover existing doors on cabinets and drawers, and you will not have to remove anything. Most veneers are "peel-and-stick," and are designed for simple application.

If you've grown tired of the appearance of a room in your home, refacing enables you to give your cabinets, drawers, and surfaces a new life in a short period of time and for a relatively small amount of money. Consider refacing before you commit to changing a layout, gutting a room, and embarking on an arduous remodeling project.