How to Maximize Your Kitchen Cabinet Refacing Project

by Joe Cooper
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

Refacing your kitchen cabinets is simply one way to make your kitchen new again. By completing a few extra, and fairly simple, kitchen renovations, you can get a bigger bang for your buck.

Invest Wisely in Your Kitchen

Investing in your home, and especially your kitchen, is not always a sure thing. A recent CNN Money article reports that homeowners reaped eleven percent less return on investments in their kitchen remodels in 2006 than 2005. Remodeling can be tricky, so it's important to be strategic.

Spending the average $30,000 to $50,000 it takes to transform your kitchen isn't the only option. Refacing your kitchen cabinets can save you around half the costs of new kitchen cabinets, and there are other improvements you can make (some that cost next to nothing). Here are a few suggestions:  

• Counter Storage: Using your counter as storage can be a great way to step up your kitchen cabinet refacing project. Stylish containers come in all kinds of materials--from simple ceramics to stainless steel, adding color and function to your counter, and freeing up needed cabinet space.
• Fantastic Fixtures: CNN Money reports that fixing up your fixtures (replacing lighting, appliances or the stovetops) can enhance your kitchen cabinet refacing project. Cabinet refacing is all about giving your kitchen a facelift.
• Revitalize Your Backsplash: Replacing an outdated backsplash--a four-inch band of laminate or tile above the sink--with a larger backsplash can cost as little as $350-$700, and can compliment a kitchen cabinet refacing project.

Refacing options include a variety of color and finish options, allowing you to coordinate them with your new backsplash, appliances, and counter storage additions.

Sources

Kansas.com
CNN

About the Author
Joe Cooper writes home services and design articles and edits medical literature. He holds a bachelor's in American Literature from UCLA.