We do not have a large kitchen but when we were planning our remodel we got a price to reface our cabintets from Annajule's "can I mention a company". It was $20,000. That was our budget for the whole kitchen remodel!! When we told the salesperson that it did not fit in our budget he got really mad and quickly packed his samples and left. It was very uncomfortable. I was disappointed with the cost and the salespersons behavior because we have always had good experiences with this company in the past. After that quote we didn't even pursue anymore quotes to reface. We went with custom cabinets.

I did a DIY reface in my old house. I ordered doors and real wood veneer through HD. Also had new draws made with full ext. glides. It was a small kitchen with face frame cabinets. The veneer took a long time to install - I did the inside rails and stiles so when you opened the cabinet doors you could not tell that it wasn't the original frame (no company was going to do this). I recall the materials costing about $3,500 for Maple. I, too, priced a couple of companies (including Sears) and couldn't believe how much they wanted. If you DIY, be aware that the veneer is expensive and requires time consuming attention to cutting and detail.

I refaced my cabinets a few months ago with northern VA prices. It cost about $8k for about a 9 x 10 with island kitchen. It completely changed the look of my kitchen in that I went from honey oak to dark cherry. The veneer that they put on the frames was real wood veneer and looks/feels the same as my previous cabinet frame surface.

If you're happy with your layout and just want to change the color of you cabinets, refacing is a good way to go.

I only changed a small section of my kitchen cabinets (wanted to get rid of kitchen desk area) but wanted to keep my old great quality (but ugly) cabinets. I found a local cabinetmaker who was willing to build me the new section of cabinets, new doors and drawer fronts for the old cabinets, and reface all to match.

The old cabinets are oak and oak veneer and I wanted a dark dark cherry. The new cabinet section is solid cherry. Unlike what I've read so often on this forum, my guy actually makes his own doors and drawers. He also showed me the cherry veneers he used for the old cabinets. no contact paper here. real cherry sides placed on sides of cabs and all frame elements (including inside the doors) in a more flexible veneer, but still real cherry wood. I think it looks fantastic.

My kitchen has about 33 linear feet of cabinets....most of it has uppers except for the window area and the penninsula. It was only about 6500 dollars, including the new section. To me, this is a lot of money. But certainly way cheaper than all new cabs...not to mention the fact that all new cabs would be such a waste, given that my old ones are so solid.

I would try to find local people who do kitchen refacing, or you could order the doors and veneer online and DIY.

Before we started our kitchen reno, we got a quote for refacing and were shocked at how expensive it was. The quote for refacing was 12K. As you know, you have to stay with the exact layout and cabinets you have without any changes.

For 16K had custom built maple cabinets, and made several changes, including adding a huge 5-drawer pullout pantry where the was none. Paying the additional 4K was sooooo much more worth it. Its amazing how small the price difference is between refacing and custom.

we just refaced, and I can post some before and after pictures if anyone is still interested in this thread.

After watching the work being done, i see now that it is really a lot of tedious labor when refacing, and that is also why the prices are higher than one might expect.

We refaced, but got all new shaker style maple doors and drawer fronts, which is the most expensive part of the cabinets.

the before and after shots are stunning though. it really does feel like a new kitchen.

I had a custom cabinet shop in atlanta ga to come charge less than sears refacing this included complete tear out of the kitchen I replaced them with custom built cabinets. I had them built just the way I wanted I was soo shocked that they could do this cheaper than sears. This included demolition, new custom built cabinets with lifetime warranty, my choice of layout, door style, granite counter tops, tile back splash , plumbing and all appliances hookup. If you live in or around atlanta check them out on the web www.hmcwoodwork.com estimates.

I have a one man shop in Northern KY, I do refacing, repairs, and can also do modifications and add on to existing cabinets. Most refacing projects run 75% of new cabinets, but this does not account for the usual necessary things that go with new cabinets...new flooring, counter tops, demo, moving electrical and plumbing, and down time which translates to big $$$. Stay away from the big manufacturers also if you want to save, For a quality cabinet or reface you will pay too much. Find a local custom shop.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Cabinet Doctor

I suggest buying new cabinets for good price. Recommend Euro Intelligent Kitchens. On the website there's a wide range of products such as aluminium cabinet doors.

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen cabinets

Here is a 60,000 refacing project I did in Northbrook, IL, but the other alternative the client was considering was over $100,000. So the customer was quite pleased with the outcome.

http://youtu.be/fqpmzkcHB2M