If your cabinet boxes are solid and the layout works, you probably don't need new cabinets. You need a new look. There are three common ways to get one, and they're often confused, which makes estimates hard to compare.
Painting
Painting puts a new color over the cabinets you already have. It's the biggest visual change for the money, and it's what most people picture when they think of a cabinet makeover.
A professional cabinet paint job is very different from painting a wall. Doors and drawers usually come off, every surface is degreased and sanded, a bonding primer goes on, and the topcoat is a hard, cabinet-grade finish, very often sprayed. Most of the cost is that preparation.
Good fit when: the cabinets are solid wood or a stable material, you like the door style, and you want a different color.
Watch for: heavy wood grain (like oak) shows through paint unless it's filled first. Ask whether grain filling is included if you want a smooth look.
Refinishing
Refinishing renews the existing wood finish rather than covering it. Depending on condition, that can mean cleaning and a fresh clear coat, or stripping back to bare wood and restaining.
Good fit when: you like wood, the grain is attractive, and the finish is worn, yellowed or scratched rather than the wrong color.
Watch for: going much darker is easier than going lighter. Taking dark-stained cabinets to a light natural finish usually means stripping, which adds time and cost.
Refacing
Refacing replaces the doors and drawer fronts and covers the cabinet boxes with a new veneer. You keep the boxes and the layout, but everything you see is new, including the door style.
Good fit when: you want a different door style (say, raised panel to flat shaker) or the doors are damaged, but the boxes are fine.
Watch for: it costs more than painting or refinishing, and the cabinet interiors stay as they are.
How to decide
- Like the door style and want a new color? Painting.
- Like the wood and want it to look new? Refinishing.
- Want a different door style? Refacing, or painting with new doors on some cabinets.
- Boxes damaged, sagging or the layout doesn't work? That's a replacement conversation.
Whichever way you lean, ask each pro exactly what's included so you're comparing the same job. Our guide to what a quality cabinet paint job involves lists the steps worth asking about.