How would you reface with a 42" door on 30" boxes? Would it be 12" taller than the cabinets?

I don't know how what you're talking about is going to be very much cheaper than a complete replacement. Doors are the most expensive part of cabinets. You're not showing the whole kitchen so I can't see if you have any drawers. I can see you don't have drawers next to the range which is a helpful place to have them. You also have the typical builder microwave over the range. It would be better to have a real exhaust fan. If it were me I would definitely get a quote for both options and then think about whether you really want to accept the compromises in the slightly less expensive solution. Sometimes it's better to wait and do it right. If you're planning on living here a long time it will be worth it.

Do they do a 45" high door? Or 48? You may want to consider those and then tile to the ceiling. You could also do 30" high doors and then do cabinets on top and have a 15" or 18" high door.

Before you go through all of that work, how old are your existing cabinets? Do they have good quality drawers and hardware? Does the layout truly work well for you?

More often then not, refacing can be an expensive bandage. Have you tried getting pricing for new cabinets? I would compare before committing to anything just so you know you are doing the right thing.

Good luck!

diff ways to do it.

Buy new uppers that are larger and do a custom crown,

build boxes atop your curent cabs, get new doors to cover both so that it looks like one piece.

add seperate boxes on top of what you have and top w/custom crown.

Definitely new taller uppers.

I would leave them, the size they are. Its hard to reach them, when up that high in the first place, and I guess, I am one of the very few, that actually loves that space above the cabinets, to put a few things, to make the kitchen, feel a bit more homey.

If the current layout works, I would remove the uppers and do new taller ones. Paint the bottoms to match or to contrast.

You have no drawer stacks. That is enough reason to forget refacing an operating kitchen. Live with what you have until you can make layout changes that increase the function of the kitchen. Making it pretty while ignoring the function is a poor use of funds.

IMO all base cabinets should be drawers where possible and I do not mean pullouts behind doors that is just silly. In a 9' ceinling you can go to the ceiling with very little trim unless you have crown all over the rest of the main floor. Replacing doors in that kitchen IMO is huge waste of money. IMO keep svaing until you can do this right.

I don't understand what refacing the upper cabinets with taller doors will get you. Especially given the cost. I think you should save your money until you can re-do the entire kitchen. You will spend thousands on re-facing, when you could have saved those thousands for an entirely new kitchen. I know it's a lot of money to re-do a kitchen entirely, but the use of your money to put taller doors on 30" cabinets seems such a waste of your hard-earned money.

I bet you weren't expecting all of that thrown at you! The best thing you can do for yourself is to price out the different options and see what works best for you and your budget.

Please take into consideration how long you are going to be in this house. If it's a longer time, then do a proper remodel. If it's less than 5 years - I think I would paint and add crown and call it a day.

Good luck!!

I expect that any cabinets added above those existing will be so high as to be useless for storage. Instead, consider painting that gap (and maybe the whole kitchen) a color that blends well with the existing cabinets.

"Its hard to reach them, when up that high in the first place"

"I expect that any cabinets added above those existing will be so high as to be useless for storage"

This is a common illogical conclusion about taller cabinets or cabinets that reach the ceiling. The fact is anything above the second shelf, or even past the edge of the second shelf, is difficult to reach for most women, and will require a stepstool. That is regardless if the the cabinets are 30" tall. 42" tall, or a stacked cabinet to reach a 9' ceiling. So why not have the storage as well as the more elegant appearance of a cabinet that is 42" tall. As to the storage of the upper shelves, they are very useful for infrequently needed items that still need to be stored somewhere - shelf liner, holiday items, serving bowls that you only pull out for large parties, extra coffee pot, and the like. Why would you forego that storage if you have the space for it?

Having said that, I agree with the other comments here that the OP's ideas for refacing 30" tall cabinets with 42" tall doors is not a good idea for the reasons already mentioned.

Having worked at a refacing company and done two refacing jobs in my own homes, I can tell everyone who is pushing the OP to “rip everything out” that some of us don’t want to live with the mess. Refacing takes much less time and way less mess. If she is fine with her layout, then refacing is the right answer.

Doing top cabinets over your existing ones will require a two-door look. These two upper cabinets together are too tall to be covered with one door. Warping is the main concern. You can add a cabinet the exact size needed to complete the ceiling with crown molding. But one upper door will look out of proportion. Keep that in mind.

Your refacing company CAN convert lower cabinets to drawers. I did that in my current refaced kitchen. Ask them about the cost of that conversion. You will also get quiet, new drawer slides. (Then maybe all the “rip them out” posters will be happy - and quiet.)

I’ve added cabinetry that matched my existing cabinets to the ceiling as mentioned before. Primary reason was to eliminate the dust that collected there and was extremely hard to keep clean (allergies). I loved the extra storage for seldom used and seasonal items. When we remodeled the older home we purchased since I had taller uppers installed that went to the ceiling.

Wendy:does your layout work for you? You haven’t said it doesn’t.

That seems to be the main reason to get “all new”. I stick by my suggestion to reface but discuss the door sizes with your contractor.

@Wendy Lewis appears not to be returning to her thread.

Thank you all so much for the discussion! A few ?s/ items to note: the layout works great for us, and we do plan doing the work ourselves. All that to say, we want to keep in mind some kind of ROI. For now I'm thinking of topping the current 30" uppers with 15" glass shaker upper cabinets.

15” custom glass uppers to exactly match the size and profile of the lowers will cost more than all the rest of the cabinet doors put together. You were already skating on thin ice without a professional background of building cabinets yourself. That tilted it well into the buy modestly priced new cabinets for less than you will spend on the reface. Even if you buy $60 paint grade MDF, you still have to bore the hinges and spray a cabinet finish on them. Which is another professional skill set needed.

Sounds like a good plan. Painting cabinets is a lot of work though.