CabinetRefacing,handcraftedin St. Louis.

Refacing keeps your existing cabinet boxes in place and replaces the doors, drawer fronts, and visible exterior surfaces with new custom-built wood. Replacement tears out the boxes entirely. If your boxes are structurally sound, refacing gives you a brand-new kitchen look with far less disruption.

Most kitchens are completed in 3–5 days on-site, after the new doors and drawer fronts are built in our shop. You can usually keep using your kitchen between the consultation and the install date — the part where contents come out of cabinets is short.

We check each box during the consultation. Minor wear is fine — we resurface visible exterior panels. If a box is structurally compromised we'll tell you up front; in most cases we can replace just the affected box rather than the whole run.

Refacing works best when the existing layout stays the same. If you want to add an island, change cabinet heights, or move runs of cabinetry, that's a custom build, not a reface — and we're happy to do either. We'll be honest about which approach fits your goals.

Refacing is the right choice when your cabinet boxes are structurally sound, your layout works for how you cook, and you mainly want the kitchen to look new. Replace when you want to change the layout, the boxes are damaged or made from low-quality materials, or you're combining the kitchen with adjacent rooms. We give an honest recommendation after seeing your kitchen — sometimes we tell people refacing isn't the right call for their situation.

Solid-wood refacing done properly outlasts the rest of the kitchen — typically 20+ years on the doors, drawer fronts, and finish. The lifespan ultimately depends on the underlying cabinet boxes (which we evaluate first) and the materials used. Our refacing work uses the same hardwoods, hardware, and finishes as our new-build kitchens, so the durability is the same.

In most cases, yes — as long as the boxes are structurally intact. We can apply real wood veneer over laminate or particleboard exteriors, and the new solid-wood doors and drawer fronts attach the same way they would to plywood boxes. We assess each box during the consultation; if a particular cabinet is too far gone, we can replace just that box rather than the whole run.

You can choose from traditional raised panel, clean shaker, contemporary slab, or beadboard styles, in your choice of maple, oak, cherry, walnut, hickory, or painted-grade maple. We bring physical samples to the consultation so you can see grain, color, and finish in your kitchen lighting before committing.

Kitchens are consistently one of the highest-impact rooms to update before a sale. Refacing delivers much of the visual benefit of a full kitchen remodel — which is why agents in Clayton, Chesterfield, and Wildwood often recommend refacing when prepping a home for sale. It dramatically improves how a kitchen photographs and shows to buyers.