Cabinet Makers Jump on the Cabinet Refacing Bandwagon

by Kirk Bangstad
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

For years, custom cabinet makers turned their noses up at kitchen cabinet refacing. Now, they've jumping on the cabinet refacing bandwagon.

Kitchen cabinet refacing has become a pretty popular home improvement project for two main reasons--it's cheap and the finished product looks good. Cabinet refacing involves affixing wooden or laminate veneers onto the surface of worn out cabinets. These veneers can be made out of popular hardwoods like maple or cherry, and the end result is the appearance of a brand new kitchen. The materials and labor for a kitchen cabinet refacing project generally cost about a third of the cost of buying entirely new kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing too Big to Ignore

Cabinet makers have long been opponents of cabinet refacing. For years, they appealed to the idea that hand-crafted cabinets were the only pure way to go in a kitchen cabinet remodeling project. They promoted the quality and longevity of new custom cabinets. Over time, however, it became apparent that not everyone needed brand new cabinets. Some people just wanted to change the look of their kitchens or just spruce them up a bit. For these people, cabinet refacing was all they really needed. Once cabinet makers realized that kitchen cabinet refacing wasn't going to go away, they started offering it as a lower cost service along with selling new custom cabinets.

According to a survey taken by Kitchen and Bath Design News, 17% of cabinet manufacturers offer cabinet refacing services. This number is expected to rise with increased demand for kitchen cabinet refacing projects.

What Does This Mean For You?

As a potential cabinet refacing customer, you should definitely shop around for the best deal. Today, shopping around means talking to contractors, kitchen and bath stores, and cabinet manufacturers. Don't simply settle on one quote from a contractor. There's a good chance that you could get a better deal.

Source

• Kitchen and Bath Design News

About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.