What Is Cabinet Refacing?
Cabinet refacing is the process of replacing your cabinet door fronts and drawer fronts while keeping the existing cabinet box structures in place. The visible face frames of the boxes are covered with a matching veneer or laminate material, and new hardware completes the look. The result is a kitchen that looks completely renovated — new door profiles, new color or wood species, new hardware — without demolishing and rebuilding the structural elements.
Refacing typically costs 40 to 60 percent less than full cabinet replacement, takes two to four days rather than four to eight weeks, and produces zero construction debris beyond the old doors. For Metro Atlanta homeowners whose cabinets are structurally solid but stylistically outdated, refacing delivers the most dramatic transformation available short of a full gut-and-rebuild.
Is Cabinet Refacing Right for You?
Cabinet refacing is an excellent choice when:
- Your cabinet box structures are solid and in good condition
- You want to change the door style — from raised panel to shaker, for example
- You want a new wood species appearance (oak to maple look, for instance)
- You need a change that goes beyond a color refresh
- You want new cabinet doors without the wait and expense of new cabinets
Refacing is not the right choice when:
- The cabinet boxes themselves are damaged, warped, or structurally weak
- You need to change the cabinet layout (add cabinets, move them, change heights)
- The interior storage features are inadequate and need to be rebuilt
- Budget allows for full replacement and you want the additional options that brings
If you’re unsure which approach is right for your situation, the free in-home estimate is the right next step. We’ll assess your specific cabinets honestly and tell you which option makes the most sense.
The Cabinet Refacing Process
Measurement and Material Selection Before any work begins, we take precise measurements of every door, drawer front, and cabinet box opening. You select your door style, material, finish, and hardware. Door materials for refacing include thermofoil (a durable vinyl film over MDF), wood veneer, and painted MDF. The face frame veneer is selected to match the door material and finish.
Door and Drawer Front Fabrication New doors are fabricated to your specifications and measurements. This typically takes one to two weeks depending on material and style selection. We coordinate the delivery to align with your project start date.
Cabinet Box Preparation On installation day, old doors and drawer fronts are removed. Cabinet box face frames are cleaned, sanded, and prepped for veneer application. Any damage to box faces is repaired before veneer is applied.
Veneer Application Self-adhesive or contact-cemented veneer is applied to all visible face frame surfaces. Edges are trimmed precisely and corners are handled cleanly. The goal is a seamless, factory-quality appearance.
Door and Hardware Installation New doors are installed with new concealed cup hinges, adjusted for consistent gap and reveal alignment. Drawer fronts are attached. New hardware — pulls, knobs, or bar handles — is installed at your chosen position. We make all adjustments until every door lines up perfectly.
Final Inspection We walk through the completed project with you and make any final adjustments needed before we consider the job complete.
Door Style Options
The most popular door style transformation in Metro Atlanta kitchens right now is the raised panel to shaker conversion. Raised-panel doors have a traditional, formal feel that can make a kitchen look stuck in a particular decade. Shaker-style doors — with a flat center panel and simple square framing — have a clean, versatile look that works in both traditional and contemporary kitchens and photographs beautifully.
Other popular transitions:
- Full overlay to partial overlay (changes the visual weight of the cabinets significantly)
- Slab doors for a modern, minimalist look
- Glass insert doors for upper cabinets to add visual lightness and display space
We work with door suppliers that offer dozens of style profiles and finish options, and we can provide physical samples of door materials during the estimate process.
Cabinet Refacing vs. Refinishing vs. Replacement
Understanding the right approach for your project matters:
Cabinet Refinishing restores or changes the finish on your existing doors and boxes. Best when your door style works but the finish is tired or the color is wrong. Most economical option.
Cabinet Refacing replaces the doors and drawer fronts and veneers the box faces. Best when you want a new door profile or the current doors are past restoring. Mid-range cost.
Full Cabinet Replacement tears out everything and installs new boxes, doors, and hardware. Best when the box structures are failing, the layout needs to change, or the budget allows for a complete do-over. Most expensive option.
For projects that go beyond cabinet work — new countertops, plumbing, full kitchen renovation — our sister company Counterstone ULTD handles complete kitchen remodeling in Atlanta and can manage the whole scope.
Serving Metro Atlanta Homeowners
Cabinet Refacing GA serves Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Smyrna, Roswell, Alpharetta, Canton, Woodstock, and all of Metro Atlanta and North Georgia. Free in-home estimates with no pressure and no obligation.
Call (770) 555-0100 or use the form below to get started.