Why Cabinet Refacing is the Eco-Friendly and Affordable Choice for Your Kitchen

March 10, 2023

Kitchen remodels can have a huge impact on the environment. On average, home renovation projects can generate up to 60 pounds of waste per square foot, and old cabinets can be a big part of it.

Sometimes homeowners don't realize they have perfectly good cabinetry that can be saved. If you've got strong cabinet boxes, but the doors aren't in great shape, or you want to change their style, then you've got options!


Enter cabinet refacing… It's a fast, convenient, affordable, and eco-friendly alternative to updating your existing cabinetry versus getting new ones entirely.

By choosing to reface, you can leave a smaller carbon footprint, save money, and achieve nearly the same visual results as you would by replacing your cabinets.

Let's dive into why refacing is a greener and more cost-effective solution to making your kitchen cabinets look brand new again.

What To Expect From the Cabinet Refacing Process

If you have structurally sound cabinets that suit your needs from a functional standpoint but want to change their look, refacing is the best way to go. On the other hand, cabinets that are worn out, severely damaged by water or other means, or don't provide adequate storage and functionality, will likely need to be replaced.

If your cabinets are candidates for refacing, that's great news! It can be completed in a much shorter time frame at a fraction of the cost compared to remodeling and with far less waste produced, and since the process is less labor-intensive, you'll still have a working kitchen.


Refacing starts with removing old cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and hardware, then cleaning the exposed surfaces to remove dirt and grime. Next, the surfaces are sanded to guarantee a smooth application of the veneer to match your new components.

Each piece of veneer is cut to fit on all the stiles and rails of the cabinets; rails are the horizontal faces of the cabinets, and stiles are the vertical pieces.

The veneer is applied with an adhesive and ensures all visible surfaces are consistent in design and color with the new cabinet doors and drawer fronts.

Finally, the new doors, drawer fronts, and hardware are applied right onto your old cabinet boxes, effectively giving you a revamped look without changing the internal structure of your cabinets.

When your cabinets are refaced, all the contents can stay inside, further reducing the time and hassle of updating your existing cabinetry.

The Environmental Impact of Making Cabinets

It stands to reason that replacing cabinets creates more waste, as we've mentioned. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. So much happens before a customer is involved. Each stage of the cabinet-making process affects our environment.

Consider these factors before you get rid of perfectly functioning cabinets when you could've just refaced them.

Harvesting: The increased demand for the materials needed to produce more cabinetry means harvesting more trees, furthering the deforestation of our ecosystem, which leads to loss of habitat life and biodiversity, soil erosion, and releases carbon emissions. It also means more resources will be required to cut down the trees, such as electricity and fuel.

Transportation: The trees must be transported to manufacturing locations, then the finished product is taken to the retailer. That means more trucks on the road, which causes more fuel consumption and air pollution.

Manufacturing: Besides the additional energy needed to produce more cabinets, there is the issue of industrial waste.

After the wood is collected, it's often taken to a mill and chopped into boards. Significant quantities of electricity and water are used during milling, which can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and water contamination.

The boards are then bonded together and assembled into cabinet boxes. The glue used in this process may contain formaldehyde, which is often found in engineered wood products like particle boards.

Formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound (VOC) hazardous to human health and the environment. Finishing the cabinet boxes with varnishes, stains, or paints also carries the risk of emitting VOCs.

This was a high-level view of what goes into making cabinetry.

But here's the takeaway message.

Less wood and resources are needed for making cabinet refacing products, and it's easier to transport. A refacing project doesn't take as much of a toll on the environment since you're reusing the existing cabinet structure.

And you know what else cabinet refacing doesn't take a toll on? Your wallet.

Cabinet Refacing Offers Affordability, Simplicity, and Value

But making the environment happy is just a small part of the equation. You get additional benefits with cabinet refacing as well.

Affordability: This is a key benefit when you reface your cabinets. You pay for fewer materials and lower labor costs than when you have your cabinets replaced.

Refacing cabinets is roughly half the cost of getting all new cabinets installed. It can also extend the life of cabinets by 20 to 30 years, making it a smart investment for homeowners.


Increased Home Value: Cabinets are a focal point of any kitchen, so updating them can add value to your home. If you're considering selling, refacing can make the house more attractive to buyers too.

A Bob Vila article, How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost, states, "Cabinet refacing has a 65 to 75 percent return on investment (ROI)." This means you can upgrade your cabinets affordably and recoup some of the cost while increasing your home's value and sellability.

Customization: Refacing lets you customize your kitchen for a new look, style, and color. You can even add new hardware, rollers, and soft-close doors. And we even carry a variety of popular cabinet door styles like shaker, slab, and raised panel that come in wood grain, abstract, solid, or high gloss finishes, and an array of colors to choose from.

Time-Saving and Convenient: It takes just days to finish a refacing job versus a complete kitchen cabinet remodel, which can take several weeks or a month. There's less destruction in your home, and it's not as disruptive to your daily routine compared to having your cabinets replaced.

The Bottom Line: If you're content with your current cabinets and they function perfectly, but all you want is a new look, ripping them out to update them doesn't make sense from a cost, convenience, or conservation standpoint.

Get the Kitchen You Deserve With Cabinet Reface Direct

When it's time to choose a cabinet-refacing professional, Cabinet Reface Direct is the smart choice.

We are a cabinet-refacing and manufacturing company that offers residential and commercial services in the Northeast. Since we're the manufacturer and the installers, you'll save even more money by cutting out the middleman.

At Cabinet Reface Direct, we offer full-service cabinet refacing solutions that include FREE estimates, many design options, and a fast and clean installation process, all at a price that isn't hard on the budget.

To make it easier, we even offer financing with interest rates as low as 0% and $99 monthly, so there's no reason to wait if you're ready to update your kitchen with a new look for your cabinets.

If you want to transform the style of your cabinets without the expense and waste of replacing them, call us at 716-899-5146 or fill out the form on this page. We'll schedule an appointment to discuss your refacing needs and help you give your cabinets a fresh new look.