Three questions decide it. Here’s how we walk Tampa Bay homeowners through the choice, with real prices, timelines and what each option can’t do.
If your cabinet boxes are solid and you like your layout, you don’t need a remodel. Keep your door style and change the color with refinishing, from $5,000. Change the door style with refacing, from $7,000. If the layout doesn’t work or the boxes are failing, a kitchen remodel, from $28,000, is the better spend.
Look under the sink for water damage, check for sagging shelves, and see whether doors still hang straight.
If the boxes are damaged or failing, refinishing and refacing won’t fix that. You’re looking at a kitchen remodel.
If you want to move cabinets, open a wall or add an island, that’s a kitchen remodel.
If you only want to add a cabinet or two, refacing can do it, with new countertops as part of the project.
Yes: refinishing. Your doors are sprayed in our shop with a new color and a factory-style finish.
No, or the doors are thermofoil or peeling laminate: refacing. New doors and drawer fronts on the boxes you already have, with soft-close hinges and drawer slides standard.
| Refinishing | Refacing | Full kitchen remodel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What changes | Color and finish | Door and drawer style, plus finish | Everything, including the layout |
| Countertops | Optional. Keep yours or replace them | Optional, unless we add a cabinet or two | Always replaced, and included in our ranges |
| Starting price | From $5,000 | From $7,000 | From $28,000 |
| Most medium kitchens | $8,000–$10,000 | $10,000–$12,500 | $36,000–$50,000 |
| Time on site | 5 to 7 working days | 5 to 7 working days | 3 to 10 weeks |
| Warranty | 2-year finish, 1-year workmanship | 2-year finish, 1-year workmanship | 1-year workmanship |
| Best when | Boxes and doors are solid and you like the style | Boxes are solid but you want a new door style | The layout or the cabinet boxes no longer work |
Typical ranges from our recent projects, to help you plan. Your written estimate, built after we see your space, is what your project is priced on.
With refinishing and refacing, keeping your countertops is your choice. Add a cabinet or two during refacing and new countertops become part of the project. With a full remodel, new countertops are always included. Whenever countertops change, they go in before any cabinet work.
Tell us a little about your project. We’ll reach out within one business day to set up your free in-home consultation.
Yes. On a medium kitchen, refacing typically runs $2,000 to $2,500 more than refinishing, because you get new doors and drawer fronts instead of a new finish on the ones you have.
Yes. With refinishing or refacing, new countertops are your choice, and they go in before any cabinet work. The one exception: if you add a cabinet or two during refacing, new countertops become part of the project.
Yes. Solid wood and plywood refinish well, including oak. Thermofoil and peeling laminate usually don’t hold a new finish, which points you to refacing or a remodel.
No one can promise a specific return. A kitchen that looks updated generally shows better, and the right choice is the one that fixes what’s actually wrong with your kitchen without putting more into it than your home supports. We’ll tell you if we think you’d be over-improving.
No. We come out, look at your cabinets, and tell you honestly which option fits.