Cabinet refacing vs replacing

Refacing keeps your existing cabinet boxes and changes the doors, drawer fronts and hardware. Replacing removes the boxes and installs new cabinets. We found no official or industry source for what either costs or how long refaced cabinets last, so this guide gives no numbers. Ask each company for a written quote for both options.

By Ryan Nesheim ยท Published 2026-10-20

Cabinets are the largest single piece of most kitchens, and the choice between refacing and replacing shapes the rest of the job. This guide explains what each is, when each fits and what to ask. It does not compare prices, because we found no source for them that we can stand behind.

What each one is

Refacing or refinishing
The existing cabinet boxes stay. The company refaces, refinishes, repaints or replaces the doors on them. In this directory, a company is marked as offering cabinet refacing or refinishing when its own website says it does this instead of replacing the boxes.
Replacing
The old cabinets come out and new cabinets, boxes included, go in.
Cabinet door samples in white, natural wood and navy blue laid on a workshop table
Illustration, not a photo of a listed company's project.

What the industry reports show

Zonda's 2025 Cost vs. Value report prices a minor midrange kitchen remodel that keeps the cabinet boxes in place. In a functional but dated 200-square-foot kitchen with 30 linear feet of cabinetry and countertops, it leaves the boxes and replaces the fronts with new shaker-style wood panels and drawer fronts, with new hardware. The report's national cost for that whole kitchen project is $28,458. That is the cost of the whole project, including a new range and refrigerator, countertops, a sink, flooring and paint. It is not the price of refacing alone, and it is an estimate from a published industry survey, not a quote. See the cost guide for the full figures.

The 2026 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study asked homeowners what they did with their cabinets. It found that 68% of renovating homeowners replaced all the cabinets, 27% chose a partial cabinet upgrade, and 5% did not upgrade the cabinets at all. Houzz also found that among homeowners who upgrade only part of their cabinets, refinishing the exteriors is the most common approach. The Houzz sample is registered Houzz users nationwide, not Illinois homeowners.

When each one fits

These points follow from what the two options are.

We found no current official or industry source for how long cabinets of either type last, so we give no figure.

What to ask

Empty white cabinet boxes installed along two walls of a kitchen with no doors, countertops or drawers yet
Illustration, not a photo of a listed company's project.

Permits and cabinet work

Permit rules are local. Chicago says no building permit is needed to install cabinets or countertops without plumbing or electrical connections, and Rockford's exemption list names cabinets and countertops. Evanston's checklist says electrical upgrades will be required for cabinet replacement if the existing system does not comply with the current adopted code. For the other cities we read, the pages do not say. The permits guide lists each one.

Find companies that reface or refinish cabinets

Each company's own website says what it offers, and the directory marks it. See every Illinois company that says it refaces or refinishes cabinets. On a city page you can also tap Cabinet refacing under "Show companies that offer" to narrow the list, for example on the Chicago, Naperville or Rockford pages. Cabinet makers and refinishers that focus on one part of a kitchen are listed as Specialists below the full remodelers on a city page.

Sources

Every source below was checked on October 19, 2026. Official pages change, so confirm anything that affects your job with the source itself.

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