Update your cabinets without a full replacement

The practical middle option

Refacing is the practical middle option between living with dated cabinets and a full teardown. The process keeps your existing cabinet boxes in place and replaces what’s visible: new doors and drawer fronts, a new veneer surface on the boxes themselves, and new hardware. The layout stays the same, but the kitchen looks new. Refacing typically runs 30-50% less than a full cabinet replacement, and most projects complete in a few days rather than the multiple weeks a full replacement usually takes.

Choosing a veneer material that holds up in Florida

The veneer material decision has a real Florida-specific angle that’s worth understanding before committing to one. Thermofoil, a vinyl film heat-sealed over MDF, is the most affordable option and gives a smooth, clean finish, but it’s known to peel with sustained heat exposure. That’s worth weighing carefully in a warm-running Florida kitchen, not just near an oven or dishwasher, but in a home where ambient kitchen temperatures already run higher than in cooler climates. High-pressure laminate holds up better against both heat and moisture, which makes it a more dependable choice here even though it costs somewhat more than thermofoil. Real wood veneer sits at the top end, offering natural grain and, when properly applied, 15 to 20 years of service life.

Is refacing right for your cabinets?

That said, refacing has a real limitation worth being upfront about: it only works if your existing cabinet boxes are structurally sound. Refacing is a cosmetic and hardware update, not a structural repair, it can’t fix warped, water-damaged, or sagging boxes, and it won’t address mold if there’s any present. In a Florida kitchen specifically, years of humidity exposure are exactly the kind of thing that can leave cabinet boxes in questionable structural shape even when the surface still looks fine at a glance.

Good candidates for refacing: the layout works, the boxes are solid, but the finish, door style, or hardware feels dated. Not good candidates: visible warping, water staining, sagging shelves, or a layout that no longer fits how the kitchen actually gets used, those situations call for replacement cabinetry instead of refacing.

We evaluate the existing cabinet boxes as part of every refacing consultation and give a straight recommendation, refacing where it makes sense, replacement where the boxes don’t support it. See our cost guide for how refacing compares to a full replacement project.