Do you have a budget range in mind? Are you in a low, medium or high labor cost area?

"New wine in old bottles" applies here. Start fresh with the best quality cabinet you can manage. It is money better spent in the long term. Your cabs may be sold on Craigslist, or donated for a tax deduction, to help offset costs.

All I can offer is an opinion of what we've done. We took medium grade cabinets chipped from po & had them professionally painted. I am so-so pleased with them...would probably not do that again. It is a beautiful finish, but has really yellowed from the creamy white & there are some small chips. In our three bathrooms, we had the same damaged cabinets refaced & I like that much better. However, in the kitchen, I wish we'd redone the cabs with better use of storage, etc.

You say that the layout doesn't need much changing, but just trading some of these cupboards for big drawers would make a world of difference. Enough to choose new over refacing, I think.

We agree with studio10001, and that's not just because we make custom cabinetry.

In our experience, customers who reface their old cabinets spend almost as much as those who buy completely new cabinets. This is mainly because of the doors, which are the most costly parts of a new kitchen. The cabinet boxes themselves are in comparison, inexpensive.

We had one customer recently who was in a similar predicament as yourself. She ultimately decided to sell her old cabinets on Craigslist and install new custom cabinets. She made $1000 for the old cabinets and her new ones came to just under $8000. After that, she put in countertops and backsplash to match.

I'm not sure about other kitchen companies, but our designs of the kitchens are free, whether not the customer goes with our company.

Good luck with your decision and let us know if you need any more advice!

Yes I was told that I could sell the cabinets. That would be a great option to make a little money off of them. You are correct Lucvaa Ltd. My quote for the refacing I believe was higher than what the kitchen designer thought I would probably pay. I was told that I could get new better quality than what I currently have for a little more than going the other routes. I guess what I am afraid of is wanting to be so cost effective that I make the wrong decision in the long run.

Has anyone heard of or have opinions on cabinetry makers Homecrest, 6square, Koch, Designer's Choice or CNC? I believe those are what the designer carries. If I do decide to go new than I also want to do my research on quality cabinets.

Another thing about the painting route that bothers me is that I would be purchasing new cabinet pieces and then turning around and having them painted. Is a factory finish really that much better than painting even if you use specific cabinet paint?

My friend used RTA cabinets by Conestoga. They are great cabinets and are very affordable. I highly recommend them.

Sorry, we don't know these cabinet makers.

With regards to the painting route, I know that cabinet manufacturers have the right environment to create a near-perfect paint finish. For example, if you were painting the pieces at home, you would definitely save on costs, but you would have to control the environment in which you are painting the cabinets. We dry our painted cabinets in an oven that prevents any dust particles from settling on the paint and ruining our hard work.

So, if you do decide on doing your own painting, then I recommend doing some research into how to prevent dust, etc. from disrupting the paint finish. You may also run into the problem of paint accumulating on the surface, so research into how to prevent that. It could be as simple as getting a decent-quality paint sprayer from Home Depot.

ajl, aside from Conestoga RTA cabinets you might also want to look at Ikea if you have one nearby.

And I highly recommend the Kitchen forum going forward for all things kitchen. There are some great experts and skilled amateurs over there.

It depends on how much you want to spend, but painting them will make a big impact. An off-white color with your existing granite and backsplash would look really nice.

how much is each option? How important is changing the look of your kitchen to you? How much does the money spent impact you? For some the cost has absolutely no impact upon their lifestyle, others it does. Only you can answer those questions. For myself there are lots of other things I would do with the money, like a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean or spending it on the two or three weeks I spend in Kauai every year, but that’s just me, life experiences.

ajl, did you select and pay for the new cabinets, or was that the previous homeowner? That may factor into your figuring, because as Carolina Kitchen points out, six years isn't long at all.

I'm not sure I would invest the money in having them painted or refaced if they are only six years old and already failing. We recently had ours painted as part of a remodel, but they are over 20 years old and were still in great condition.

you're doing a lot of changes comparatively speaking of course..you plan to change some cabinetry and work with new color..you plan to choose new countertop, new backsplash

i don't know about costs but I feel starting new will be easier..refacing plus creating new pieces sounds expensive. Countertops, backsplash-all that is disruption and money.

If you wanted just to paint would be different story.

It can be done of course..purchasing new pieces and all..it just won't be less headache. Or so I think.

Can you leave the island as is? The cabinet part? That'd save a lot.

as for priorites-right question. say was it me-I wouldn't even touch the kitchen (but I'm obviously less of a cook than you..so that matters too). I'd style it pretty and paint walls a different color and go to Kauai..and buy there an art in Hanapepe..:)

But I think it seriosly bugs you probably if you consulted three different pros so choose the option that will allow you for the least headache, with most satisfaction in the end. "Headache" can be money or time or ..you know yourself.

Yes, kitchens are usually popular on Craigslist, so selling is definitely an option. BTW granite is too. People buy everything.

For essential kitchen layout, I'd go post this in the Kitchen Forum. It doesn't seem like you'll be changing much layout, but you may get ideas over there to increase function...

Soft closing is just a hardware issue, so my vote is to have the cabinets tweaked instead of replaced.

If you fronts are falling off, you have poor quality cabinets. Yes, you could paint them yourself, but you would then have PAINTED poor quality cabinets.

Look for new cabinets. No, they don't have to cost a fortune but buy quality ones. One should not be replacing cabinets every six years! Also, look at how you live with your cabinets. I once had a friend who allowed her 3 boys to turn her kitchen cabinets into an indoor jungle gym! They used drawers and cabinets doors to climb on the reach the uppers. They swung on the uppers. NO CABINET can stand such abuse, and it is just plain "abuse", not normal wear and tear. Only you know how cabinets are treated in your house.

I chose Shiloh semi-custom cabinets as they are at the high end of mid-range and are of excellent quality. They are solid as a rock and I adore them.