Kenneth Lewis Blog

Your kitchen needs updating, but you do not want the expense of replacing the cabinets. Choose a less costly option. Replace the doors.

If the old cabinets are in good shape and are high-quality solid wood, it may only be the doors that really needed to be replaced.

Replacing the doors and covering the remaining exposed parts of the cabinets with a matching veneer can be done for about half the cost. This is the process of refacing.

In cabinet refacing, the cabinet doors are removed, and the sides and exterior face of the cabinet are covered with veneer. After the covering is installed, the new doors are added. New drawer fronts are also created and installed to match.

One of the greatest advantages of refacing cabinets is the minimal disruption to your home. Refacing is easier and faster. The cabinets should be well built and worth saving.

In order to increase storage, it is possible to add cabinets that match the refaced ones. If you replace the counters at the same time, you will feel as though you have had a full-blown kitchen remodel.

New cabinet doors can be made of a variety of woods, such as cherry, oak or maple, or with a wood laminate.

Contact Kenneth Lewis if refacing seems like the right option for you. 

Summer is the busiest time for home improvement projects and, after a few years of a down economy, it looks like more people will take the plunge in the summer of 2011.

Kitchen remodeling is the number one project that people take on.

It is also the best return for your investment.

You can get as much as an 85% return on your money and it can cost as little as a few thousand dollars for things like re-facing cabinets and a fresh coat of paint.

A good rule of thumb is never spend more than 20 percent of your home's value on any re-modeling job, especially if you are thinking about selling in the next few years.

"Understand exactly what the market is, do they have granite countertops, do they have stainless steel appliances, because the last thing you want to do is price yourself out of the market because that is going to cut into your return," Hicks, from Angies List, said.

In general, you can expect an 85% return on your kitchen re-model when you sell your home.

In the meantime, you get the benefits of a better kitchen, which for most families is the "heart of the home."

Kitchen remodeling on a budget
Just about everybody can make their kitchen their own dream kitchen space without breaking the bank or causing a divorce. Here are some suggestions to do kitchen remodeling on a budget.

1.   Add a fresh coat of paint  
2.   Order new doors or fronts for your appliances  
3.   Refacing your cabinets or replacing the doors  
4.   Replace the cabinet hardware with high end hardware  
5.   Replace your sink or just the faucet

Original article on 9news.com Written by Jack Maher

Need to remodel your kitchen but think it will be too high priced? Then think about kitchen cabinet refacing. The cost of kitchen cabinet refacing is considerably less than the price of gutting your kitchen and the job is done in a much shorter amount of time.

If you want a whole new kitchen without breaking the budget, contemplate cabinet refacing. Kitchen cabinet refacing usually involves the replacement of the door and drawer fronts (with new) plus installing a veneer of new wood over the existing cabinets. But refacing could also mean anything from repainting the current cabinets and drawer fronts and updating the hardware to stripping cabinet doorways and applying veneer or other decorative elements. Refacing could also include completely changing cabinet doors.

Most home owners intend to keep the layout of their kitchen area the same especially when it is functional and designed well. In these cases, there really is no reason to tear out the cabinets.

By having kitchen cabinets refaced rather than replaced you will be getting the benefits of a major custom kitchen remodel at a more cost-effective value.

It is important to prepare a budget for your kitchen remodeling plan before you start implementing it. Without a complete and detailed budget prepared before the kitchen renovation begins, you may get swept into a spending spiral of un-budgeted extras.

Limit spending on the kitchen remodeling to about 15-percent of your home's value.

The cost of appliances, countertops, cabinets, flooring, and so on, will add up to one-half to two-thirds of the total cost of remodeling. Find out the prices for these items and plug those figures into the budget. Similarly, make provisions for the cost of labor, design, contracting services, and permit fees.

Consider cabinet refinishing or refacing rather than purchasing brand new cabinets. This will dramatically cut down on the expense, but even better, it will dramatically cut down on the mess, stress, and length of time of the project. Cabinet refinishing is perfect if your cabinets are in good shape but they have an out of date look. Cabinet refacing is a great option when you have custom built cabinets that were well made, but perhaps have damaged or out of date fronts. The door and drawer fronts will be remade and replaced, entirely changing the look of your kitchen in much less time, for much less money and much less stress.

There are many reasons to consider a kitchen make-over. But there are many reasons that you can talk yourself out of one too.  But with Cabinet Refinishing from Kenneth Lewis, the decision is easier than you think.
 
Kenneth Lewis can help you with a face lift for your kitchen in less time for less money. Cabinet refinishing and refacing are options that many home owners forget to consider, or perhaps do not know about at all. Often times it is the cabinets in a kitchen that really are the game changer. With new kitchen cabinets, your kitchen would have all the attributes you are really looking for in a kitchen remodel. Many people do not need to take on the extra expense of new cabinets, and all the demolition and time that cabinet replacement entails.

Consider cabinet refacing or refinishing with Cabinet Refinishing by Kenneth Lewis. By refinishing your kitchen cabinets you will significantly increase the value of your home. And even better, Kenneth Lewis will spend only about 3-4 days in your home, which is a minimal interruption to your normal life. The doors and drawer fronts work is done at his facility, not in your home, using the most durable commercial grade lacquer on the market. He can also replace or repair damages to existing cabinets.
 
Consider getting your cabinet make-over by Cabinet Refinishing and reduce the time cost and stress of a traditional kitchen remodeling project.  

There are many ways to deal with old and tired looking cabinets. As you know, if you are contemplating a kitchen makeover, new cabinets are the bulk of the cost. But consider cabinet refinishing. Newly refinished cabinets can give you a brand new kitchen. Cut the cost on your kitchen makeover and add a new finish or decorative flair to your existing cabinets. From contemporary finish to old world charm, newly refinished cabinets with new knobs can change the entire look and feel of your kitchen.

If you have priced new cabinetry lately, most likely you have found that even stock cabinets at a big box store can run in the thousands of dollars. And if the original cabinets were custom made for your kitchen, most likely stock cabinets won’t be able to be used.  Therefore, if you are looking into brand new custom cabinets, you know the cost can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, the cost of tearing the old out and installing the new needs to be considered. Perhaps these costs have caused you to stop your remodeling project before it even begins. Cabinet Refinishing is a great way to save money and achieve the look you are after. If your cabinet doors are too damaged or old, new doors can be added during refinishing as well.

 When all options are considered, you may find that refinishing your existing cabinets may be a much better solution for many reasons, not the least being that all the above costs can be avoided. Your old cabinets, along with high quality finishing products, professional standards, and the right finish choice can have you in an entirely “new” kitchen.

Cabinet refinishing on stained and painted wood work by Kenneth C. Lewis.