If your kitchen cabinets look tired, you have two choices to improve the look of your kitchen: you can reface the cabinets you have, or tear them out and install new ones. At Elite Property Innovations, we handle both cabinet refacing and new cabinet installation for Westminster homeowners. The decision usually comes down to two things: the condition of the existing cabinets and whether your kitchen works with those cabinets in place.
This guide walks you through both options, so you know what to ask for before you call a contractor.
What’s the Difference Between Refacing and Replacing Cabinets?
Refacing keeps your existing cabinet boxes in place and changes everything you see on the outside. A thin layer of wood or laminate veneer is applied to the face frames and the exposed sides of the boxes, and the doors and drawer fronts are usually replaced to match. New hardware typically goes on at the same time.
Replacing means the old cabinets come out completely and new boxes, doors, and drawers go in. That opens up choices refacing cannot touch: different cabinet sizes, more drawers, pullouts, and a new arrangement of the room if you want one.
Refacing is often 30% to 50% less expensive than new cabinets, according to This Old House, but those savings only matter if your existing cabinet boxes are worth keeping.
Start With the Condition of the Cabinet Boxes
Damaged cabinets are candidates for replacement, and sound cabinets are candidates for refacing. This Old House notes that damaged cabinets are not good candidates for refacing, because refacing requires a structurally sound cabinet. Refacing puts a new face on the old structure, so the structure has to be worth keeping.
Two warning signs matter most:
- Cracks or splits in the frames. Cracked or split cabinet frames mean the structure itself is compromised. New veneer applied over a cracked frame only covers the problem.
- Bad water damage. Bad water damage in the cabinet boxes is a sign the cabinets need replacing.
Water damage is one of the strongest reasons to replace instead of reface. The EPA notes that if wet or damp materials are dried within 24 to 48 hours after a leak, mold usually will not grow. The EPA also warns that absorbent materials may have to be thrown away once they become moldy, because the mold can be difficult or impossible to remove completely. A cabinet base that sat wet for weeks behind a slow sink leak is a replacement candidate, no matter how good the doors look.
Elite Property treats cracked or split frames and bad water damage as the clearest signs that a kitchen needs new cabinets. New doors on a damaged cabinet box only cover up a problem that will need fixing later.
Does Your Kitchen Work With the Cabinets You Have?
If your kitchen does not work well with its current cabinets, replacement is usually the better choice. Refacing keeps the same cabinet sizes, the same number of drawers, and the same layout. This Old House notes that if your current layout does not work, refacing will not solve it.
Ask yourself a few honest questions about daily use:
- Do you have to unload half a base cabinet to reach one pot?
- Is there nowhere sensible to put trash and recycling?
- Are the upper cabinets so high or so shallow that you barely use them?
- Do drawers bump the dishwasher or the range when they open?
If most of your answers are yes, new doors will improve the look while the kitchen keeps working the same way. Replacement earns its cost in a kitchen like that.
Replacing your cabinets does not mean changing your layout. With all new cabinets, each cabinet can be chosen for how your household uses the kitchen.
One example is a bank of deep drawers in place of a shelved base cabinet. Another is a pullout for trash and recycling in the same spot as an old sink-side cabinet. The sink, range, and walls can all stay where they are.
Specialty storage has become close to standard in remodeled kitchens: the 2026 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study found built-in specialty storage in 94% of renovated kitchens, led by pullout waste and recycling (64%) and tray storage (55%).
If you are weighing a bigger change than cabinets, our guide to choosing between a full kitchen remodel or a refresh covers the wider decision.
Reface or Replace: How the Two Options Compare
Refacing and replacement differ most on what happens to the cabinet boxes, the layout, and the cost. The table below compares the two options point by point.
| Cabinet refacing | Cabinet replacement | |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | Veneer on face frames and exposed sides, new doors, drawer fronts, and hardware | Everything: boxes, doors, drawers, hardware |
| Cabinet boxes | Existing boxes stay and must be structurally sound | New boxes |
| Layout and storage | Stays the same | Can stay the same or change, with storage chosen for how you cook |
| Relative cost | Often 30% to 50% less than new cabinets | Higher |
| Best fit | Sound boxes, a layout that works, a look you are tired of | Cracked or split frames, water damage, or a kitchen that does not work |
Most homeowners who take on a kitchen upgrade end up replacing their cabinets. In the 2025 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, 69% of renovating homeowners replaced all of their cabinets, 27% took on a partial cabinet project, and only 4% left their cabinets untouched.
What Westminster’s Housing Age and Permit Rules Mean for Your Cabinets
The median year built for Westminster homes is 1988, according to U.S. Census Bureau data for 2024. About one in five homes in the city was built in the 1970s.
Cabinet age alone does not settle the question though. The National Association of Home Builders expects kitchen cabinets to last up to 50 years, and it notes that care and changing tastes often decide when they get replaced. A kitchen from the 1980s may still have solid boxes and simply look dated, which is the classic case for refacing. Another kitchen from the same decade may have absorbed a slow leak under the sink for years. Two kitchens on the same Westminster street can need opposite solutions.
Westminster’s permit rules work for either choice. The city’s residential permit list says replacing cabinets and countertops does not require a permit, with one note: if the cabinet configuration changes from the original, an electrical permit may be required. Relocating plumbing fixtures or modifying electrical, plumbing, mechanical, or structural systems does require a permit.
Elite Property Innovations is based right here in Westminster, and you can learn more about our home remodeling services in Westminster, CO if you want to talk through a cabinet project with a local team.
If You Replace, Choose Cabinets Built to Last
New cabinets are a long-term purchase, so a few quality markers are worth checking before you commit.
- Testing to a recognized standard. Cabinets that carry the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s A161.1 Quality Certification have had their structure, drawers, doors, and finish tested to simulate a lifetime of use.
- Formaldehyde compliance. EPA rules under TSCA Title VI cover particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, and hardwood plywood, including finished goods made with them. Since 2019, regulated products must be labeled TSCA Title VI compliant, so ask to see that label on cabinets built with composite wood.
- Storage that matches your routine. Decide where trash, baking sheets, spices, and small appliances will live before you order.
Style is the last decision, and it is a personal one. Wood tones have just overtaken white as the most popular cabinet color in remodeled kitchens, 29% to 28%, according to the 2026 Houzz study.
Replacing cabinets is a bigger job than refacing, and our article on how long a kitchen remodel takes in Westminster explains what drives the schedule. For a broader look at budgets, see our kitchen remodel cost guide.
How to Decide Between Refacing and Replacing
Refacing is the right call when your cabinet boxes are sound, your kitchen works the way you live, and your main complaint is how it looks. Replacement is the right call when the frames are cracked or split, water has damaged the boxes, or the cabinets themselves are what make the kitchen hard to use.
Run through this short checklist before you call a contractor:
- Are the cabinet frames free of cracks and splits?
- Is the sink base free of bad water damage?
- Does your current storage fit how you cook and clean?
- Do you like where everything is in the room?
If you answered yes to all four, refacing deserves a serious look. If you answered no to either of the first two, plan on new cabinets. If the first two are fine but either of the last two is a no, new cabinets in the same layout may give you the kitchen you want.
Elite Property Innovations offers both cabinet refacing and replacement, so we can look at your cabinets with you and give you a straight answer about which one your kitchen needs. Send us photos and we’ll give you a rough quote, then we’ll schedule a consultation if it’s a good fit.
FAQ
What is the downside of cabinet refacing?
The main downside of cabinet refacing is that it keeps everything behind the doors as it is. The boxes, their sizes, and the layout of the kitchen stay the same, so refacing cannot fix damaged cabinets or a kitchen that does not work well. It also depends on sound boxes: damaged cabinets are not good candidates for refacing.
What are the signs that it’s time to replace kitchen cabinets?
The clearest signs it is time to replace kitchen cabinets are cracked or split cabinet frames and bad water damage, especially in the sink base. A kitchen that does not work well with its current cabinets is another good reason to choose new cabinets, even if you keep the same layout.
How much do refacing cabinets cost compared to replacing?
Refacing is often 30% to 50% less than new cabinets, according to This Old House, which puts professional refacing at roughly $4,500 to $13,000 nationally. The real comparison depends on your kitchen’s size, the materials you choose, and whether your boxes are sound enough to reface at all.
Do I need a permit to replace kitchen cabinets in Westminster?
In Westminster, replacing cabinets and countertops does not require a building permit, according to the city’s residential permit requirements. If the cabinet configuration changes from the original, an electrical permit may be required, and relocating plumbing fixtures requires a permit.
