Explore why painting kitchen cabinets often falls short—and how Kitchen Refresh’s cabinet refacing service offers a longer-lasting, cost-effective alternative.
At first glance, painting your kitchen cabinets might seem like an easy and affordable way to give your kitchen a fresh look. But when you look beyond the surface, you’ll find several hidden downsides that make painting a less practical, more temporary fix.
Like our founder says: “If painting cabinet doors and drawer fronts was the better option, it’s what we’d do.”
But at Kitchen Refresh, we take a different approach that delivers longer-lasting, more beautiful results.
We only repaint the cabinet boxes. Then, we manufacture and install brand-new doors and drawer fronts made from a solid, one-piece engineered wood and finished in a durable, easy-to-clean Thermofoil. This proven method solves the major issues commonly seen with repainted cabinets.
When comparing cabinet refacing vs painting, many homeowners are surprised to learn that refacing offers longer-lasting value and a faster turnaround—with a modern, factory-finish look that painted cabinets rarely achieve.
Cost: Repainting cabinet doors correctly is labor-intensive and often more expensive than expected. A full cabinet refresh often provides greater value.
Time: Prepping doors for paint (sanding, priming, multiple coats) adds weeks or even months to your timeline. And decisions like whether or not to paint the backs of doors add even more complexity.
Finish Quality: Painted doors are vulnerable to brush marks, drips, and uneven coverage. Shaker-style doors often collect paint in crevices, leading to buildup, runs, and hard-to-clean surfaces. Even with expert effort, the final result rarely looks as clean or polished as a refaced door.
Durability: Painted cabinets quickly show signs of wear, especially in high-touch areas. Scratches, chips, and discoloration can appear in just a few months.
Cracking and Splitting: Wood expands and contracts with temperature and humidity. This movement causes cracks and splits in painted doors, especially at panel joints. Our one-piece engineered doors eliminate this issue.
Hardware and Hinges: Changing out your hardware? Filling old holes rarely looks seamless, and repositioning new handles is difficult to align perfectly. Painting around or over hinges results in cracking and chipping. Kitchen Refresh installs new concealed, soft-close hinges with every door replacement.
Client Experience: We’ve been called in to “rescue” kitchens where repaints were abandoned due to time, frustration, or poor results. In the end, those homeowners paid twice: once for the failed repaint, and again for the professional fix.
New doors and drawer fronts in solid, engineered wood
Thermofoil finishes that resist daily wear
Soft-close, concealed hinges for a clean look
Precision-drilled hardware placement with robotic technology
Our cabinet refacing process is efficient, durable, and designed to give you a stunning result without the mess and uncertainty of painting.
Want to see real results? Check out our cabinet refacing gallery to see the difference.
Let us help you fall in love with your kitchen again. Schedule your free consultation today and see how easy a Kitchen Refresh can be.
Schedule your free design consultation at KitchenRefresh.net/locations to get started.
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