by Joe Aguilar
HomeOwnerNet Columnist
Mother Jones magazine reports the average cost of a luxury kitchen remodel is a stunning $57,000. That's about $10,000 more than the price tag of a typical Habitat for Humanity home. Fortunately for the penny-pinching homeowner, there are cheaper ways to give your kitchen a new look, such as refacing your kitchen cabinets. A typical cabinet refacing job includes replacing cabinet doors and updating hardware.
Lots of Options for Cabinet Doors
Since cabinet doors are the most noticeable part of your kitchen cabinets, you should take a careful look at your doors before replacing them. Are your door panels raised, recessed, or slab? Are your doors composed of oak, hickory, birch, pine, or alder wood? Or are they made of metal or medium-density fiberboard (MDF)? Regardless of your cabinet doors style and composition, it is very important that your new doors
compliment the rest of your kitchen.
Replacing Hardware
New hinges, cabinet handles, and door pulls can add a fresh sparkle to your kitchen area. A quick trip to your local hardware store could provide you with the cabinet parts you need to get the job done. Or, if you wish to add an artistic flair, try removing your old hardware and spray-painting it an exciting new color. Another creative option could be to find some vintage spoons and forks at a thrift store, bend them, and fit the utensils with screws to use as cabinet handles or drawer pulls. When it comes to updating your hardware, you are only limited by your imagination.
Depending on how large your kitchen is, a typical
cabinet refacing job can cost you anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 dollars. With the money you save by cabinet refacing, you could buy some nice houseplants or decorations to put the finishing touch on your renovated kitchen.
Sources
About the Author
Joe Aguilar is a freelance writer in Boulder, Colorado. He has an MFA in creative writing from Oregon State University.
