If your cabinets are looking kind of shabby, you hire a cabinet refinishing service. When you want a new color for your cabinetry, you hire a service to change the color of your cabinets. But if you dislike the style and profile of your cabinets, it’s time to think about kitchen cabinet refacing.
Refacing your cabinets will allow you to replace your cabinet doors with a completely new style. At the same time, kitchen cabinet refacing gives you the chance to update the color and hardware of your cabinets. It’s much cheaper than tearing out your old cabinets and installing new ones, and it will transform the look of your kitchen.
To help with inspiration, we’ve compiled a selection of today’s most popular cabinet door styles for refacing kitchen cabinets. But before you choose a style for your new cabinet doors, it’s a good idea to think about which method of cabinet refacing you’ll use…
Cabinet Refacing vs. Cabinet Door Replacement
On a kitchen cabinet refacing project, the style of your new doors isn’t the only big decision. When choosing a cabinet refacing service, you have three basic options. In each case, your cabinet doors get replaced. The difference is in how you update the cabinet boxes.
Option 1: Latex Paint
A number of general contractors and cabinet painting services will offer a version of kitchen cabinet refacing in which they remove your old cabinet doors, replace them with new painted doors, and then paint the cabinet boxes to match. Unfortunately, these contractors tend to use latex paints, which aren’t meant for cabinets. To start, latex paint hides the natural beauty of wooden cabinets. Worse yet, latex paint isn’t engineered for food prep areas, so it degrades more quickly in kitchens.
Option 2: Veneers
If you opt for traditional kitchen cabinet refacing, cabinet doors get replaced while cabinet boxes get resurfaced with veneers. Cabinet refacing services typically use thermofoil or wood veneers, both of which can be easy to damage and hard to fix. Worse yet, most veneers can’t be removed without damaging the underlying surface. If you want to repair, reface, or recolor your cabinets in the future, you may need to tear out the boxes and replace your cabinets completely.
Option 3: N-Hance® Custom Finishes
N-Hance’s cabinet door replacement service is a great alternative to other kitchen cabinet refacing methods. As with typical cabinet refacing services, we’ll remove your existing cabinet doors and update them with new ones. But for cabinet boxes, we avoid low-quality paints and easily-damaged veneers.
Instead, we apply a custom color finish to your cabinet boxes, matching the color of your new cabinet doors. Our custom finishes are specially formulated for cabinets, so they last longer than latex paints. And unlike veneers, our custom finish won’t permanently damage the underlying wood, so you can recolor or reface your cabinets in the future.
6 Top Styles for Kitchen Cabinet Refacing
Once you’ve decided on the type of kitchen cabinet refacing service, it’s time to choose your new style of cabinet doors. Below, we’ve collected 6 of today’s most popular styles for cabinet refacing projects.
1. Traditional
Traditional cabinet doors use raised-panel construction to achieve their decorative profiles and contours. Typically, these cabinets have an outer frame and a raised center panel, both of which are accented with decorative molding.
2. Shaker
Shaker-style cabinet doors have taken off in recent years. It’s easy to see why. Shaker-style doors use simple, rectilinear frames to bridge the gap between traditional and minimalist decor. This makes them one of the most popular styles for kitchen cabinet refacing.
3. Beadboard
One way to give Shaker-style cabinets a touch of added detail is with a beadboard center panel. This retains the rectilinear aesthetic while giving cabinets a slightly rustic and retro appearance.
4. Flat-Front
If you’re looking for an ultra-contemporary kitchen, you might consider flat-front doors for your cabinets. They offer a flat, uniform surface, which gives your kitchen a clean and sleek aesthetic.
5. Glass-Front
If you’re looking for an accent door for your upper cabinets, consider putting your fine dishware on display with glass-front cabinet doors. This style includes glass paneling in a mullion frame door — ideal for upper cabinets.
6. Rustic
Rustic cabinet doors aren’t as popular as some of the other styles found on this list, clashing with a number of popular modern styles. But in cottage-style kitchens, or those with industrial accents, rustic doors can be used to add character.
Planning a kitchen cabinet refacing project? Call N-Hance today at (855) 642-6230 to learn more about our cabinet door replacement service and request a FREE estimate.