If your kitchen cabinets still work but look dated, you have two real paths. You can reface them, which keeps the existing boxes and gives you new doors and a fresh face, or you can replace them, which starts you over with new cabinets you can lay out however you want. Refacing is the faster, cheaper option on paper. Replacing costs more up front but changes what the kitchen can actually do. If you are weighing cabinet refacing vs replacing costs in the Tampa Bay area for 2026, here is exactly what each one costs, what you get for the money, and how to tell which one fits your kitchen.
Quick Answer: What Refacing Costs and When to Choose It
Cabinet refacing in the Tampa Bay area generally runs about $9,000 to $18,000, depending on kitchen size and door material. It replaces your doors, drawer fronts, and hardware and covers the exposed box surfaces with a new veneer, while keeping the original cabinet boxes in place. Replacing your cabinets costs more, but it lets you change the layout, add storage, and start with brand new boxes built to hold up in Florida humidity. As a rule, refacing fits a kitchen whose layout you already like and whose boxes are solid and sound. Replacing fits almost everything else, and for most homeowners planning to stay in their home for years, it is the better long term value.
Cabinet Refacing and Replacing Costs in Tampa Bay
Here is how the three most common cabinet paths compare on price. The right number for your kitchen depends on how many linear feet of cabinets you have, the door material you choose, and the condition of your existing boxes.
| Option | What it includes | Typical Tampa Bay range |
|---|---|---|
| Painting or refinishing | Existing doors and frames repainted or restained. Boxes, doors, and hardware all stay. | $3,000 to $7,000 |
| Cabinet refacing | New doors, drawer fronts, and hardware, plus a new veneer over the existing boxes. | $9,000 to $18,000 |
| New cabinet replacement | All new boxes, doors, and hardware, with the freedom to change the layout. | $15,000 to $35,000 and up |
What moves the refacing price up or down
- Kitchen size. Refacing is priced roughly by the linear foot, so a large kitchen with an island costs more than a compact galley.
- Door material. Laminate and rigid thermofoil doors sit at the lower end. Solid wood doors cost more but look and feel closer to new cabinetry.
- Hardware and extras. New soft close hinges, drawer glides, pulls, and added trim or crown all add to the total.
- Box condition. If your boxes need repair before refacing, that work gets added on top, which is often the moment replacing starts to make more sense.
What Refacing Actually Gives You, and What It Does Not
Refacing is a surface upgrade, and that is worth being clear about before you spend money on it. It changes what you see: new door style, new color, new hardware, a cleaner and more current look. What it does not change is everything behind the doors. Your layout stays exactly as it is. Your storage stays the same. And the boxes carrying the whole kitchen are still the same age and the same material they were before. If those boxes are in good shape, that is fine. If they are not, you are putting a new face on a structure that is already near the end of its life.
Ready to replace your cabinets or planning a full kitchen remodel? That is what CMK Construction does. Call us at (813) 379-2116 or schedule a free in home consultation, and we will walk your kitchen, talk through layout and materials, and give you a clear investment range before any work begins.
When Refacing Makes Sense
Refacing is the right call in a specific set of situations. If your kitchen checks these boxes, it can be a smart, cost conscious way to update the room.
- Your layout already works for how you cook and live, and you have no plans to move a sink, add an island, or open up a wall.
- Your cabinet boxes are solid wood or high grade plywood and remain square, dry, and structurally sound.
- You are planning to sell or move within the next few years and want a fresh look without a full investment.
- Your budget is firm and refacing is what fits it comfortably right now.
When Replacing Is the Better Investment
For most homeowners who are investing in a kitchen they actually plan to keep, replacing the cabinets delivers more, and it usually costs less over time than refacing twice. Replacement is the stronger choice when any of the following is true.
- You want to change the layout, add an island, gain counter space, or finally get the storage the current kitchen never had.
- Your boxes are particle board or MDF, which is common in builder grade Tampa Bay kitchens and is not built to last for decades.
- Florida humidity has already started to swell, warp, or delaminate the boxes, so a new face would only be hiding a problem that keeps growing.
- You plan to stay in your home for the next ten years or more and want cabinets that will still be solid at the end of that stretch.
- You want the kitchen to feel genuinely new, not like an older kitchen wearing a newer surface.
The Florida humidity factor
This is the part that gets overlooked, and in Tampa Bay it matters more than almost anywhere else. Cabinet boxes made from particle board or basic MDF absorb moisture over time, and our climate gives them plenty of it. Boxes that have already begun to swell at the base or separate at the seams are not a good foundation for refacing. You would be spending real money to attach new doors to a structure that is quietly failing. When we see boxes in that condition, replacement is almost always the smarter spend, because it solves the actual problem instead of covering it up. New boxes built and sealed for this climate are the difference between a kitchen that lasts a few more years and one that lasts a few more decades.
Refacing vs Replacing: Side by Side
| Factor | Refacing | Replacing |
|---|---|---|
| Change the layout | No | Yes |
| New cabinet boxes | No, boxes stay | Yes, all new |
| Add storage or an island | No | Yes |
| Expected lifespan | Tied to the age of your existing boxes | Decades with quality cabinetry |
| Typical timeline | Shorter, often a few days to a week | Longer, part of a full kitchen remodel |
| Typical Tampa Bay cost | $9,000 to $18,000 | $15,000 to $35,000 and up |
How CMK Construction Approaches Kitchen Cabinets
CMK Construction is a design build remodeling company serving the Tampa Bay and Sarasota area since 2004, and our focus is new cabinetry and full kitchen remodeling, not refacing. We run cabinet replacement as part of one connected process rather than a series of handoffs. As a state certified general contractor, CGC 1516665, we manage the design, the materials, the installation, and all required permits and inspections in house, so you have one team accountable from the first measurement to the final walkthrough, and you get your full investment in writing before any work begins.
If your kitchen turns out to be a genuine candidate for refacing, meaning the layout already works and the boxes are solid, a dedicated refacing specialist is the better fit for that specific job. When you are ready to replace your cabinets or open up the kitchen, that is where we come in, and we build and install the new cabinetry to hold up in the Florida climate for the long run.
Once your project is underway, you will finalize your door styles, finishes, and hardware with an accredited designer at our 4,000 square foot CMK Design Studio in Tampa, where you can see and touch every cabinet option in person before it goes into your home. That includes cabinetry lines from brands like Fabuwood and R.D. Henry & Company, with all plywood box construction options that stand up to Florida humidity far better than the particle board and MDF found in many builder grade kitchens. It is a level of hands on selection that keeps the finished kitchen true to what you pictured.
Related Reading
If you have already decided replacement is the direction you are leaning, our guide on the full cost to replace kitchen cabinets breaks the numbers down in more detail. You can also explore your custom kitchen cabinet options, see how cabinets fit into a custom kitchen design, and review what a full kitchen remodel costs in Tampa Bay.
FAQ
Is cabinet refacing cheaper than replacing?
Yes, refacing almost always costs less up front than a full replacement, and that is its main appeal. In the Tampa Bay area, refacing typically runs about $9,000 to $18,000, while new cabinet replacement usually starts around $15,000 and climbs from there depending on the cabinetry you choose and whether you change the layout. The important thing to understand is what that lower price is buying. Refacing keeps your existing boxes, so you are paying for a new look, not a new kitchen. If your boxes are in good shape and you like your layout, the savings are real and worthwhile. If your boxes are aging or damaged, the cheaper option can end up costing more over time, because you may find yourself replacing everything within a few years anyway. The honest way to compare the two is not just the sticker price today, but the cost per year of use you get out of each one.
How long does cabinet refacing take?
Refacing is one of the faster kitchen updates you can do. For most kitchens it takes somewhere between a few days and about a week, since the boxes stay in place and the work centers on removing the old doors, prepping the surfaces, applying the new veneer, and hanging the new doors, drawer fronts, and hardware. That short timeline is part of what makes refacing attractive, because your kitchen is only out of service for a short stretch. A full cabinet replacement takes longer, because it is usually part of a broader kitchen remodel that may also involve countertops, backsplash, and other work. If speed and minimal disruption are your top priorities and your boxes are sound, refacing has a clear edge on timeline.
Can refacing be done on particle board cabinets?
It can be attempted, but it is often not a good idea, and this comes up a lot in Tampa Bay kitchens. Particle board and basic MDF boxes absorb moisture over time, and in our humid climate they are prone to swelling, softening, and separating at the seams and base. Attaching new doors and veneer to a box that is already breaking down means you are spending money to dress up a structure that is failing underneath. In the short term it may look fine. Over the next few years, the underlying problems tend to surface anyway. When a kitchen has particle board boxes that have started to degrade, replacement is usually the smarter investment, because it fixes the actual issue rather than covering it, and new cabinetry is what CMK builds every day.
Will refacing or replacing add more value to my home?
Both can improve how your kitchen shows and feels, but they add value in different ways. Refacing gives you a cleaner, more current look at a lower cost, which can help a kitchen present well, especially if you are preparing to sell in the near future. Replacing cabinets, particularly as part of a fuller kitchen update, tends to add more lasting value, because you are improving the function of the space and not just the surface. A buyer who opens a cabinet and finds solid, new boxes and a smart layout sees a kitchen that will last. If your main goal is a quick refresh before a sale, refacing may be enough. If you are staying and want the kitchen to be a genuine asset for years, replacement generally delivers more of that value.
Can I change my cabinet color without replacing everything?
Yes, and you actually have two ways to do it depending on how much change you want. If you simply want a new color and your doors are in good condition, painting or refinishing is the least expensive route, usually in the $3,000 to $7,000 range. If you want a new color along with a new door style and hardware, refacing gives you that fuller update while still keeping your boxes. Either way, you can meaningfully change the look of your kitchen without the cost of a full replacement. The right choice depends on whether you are happy with your current door style or want to modernize it, and on the condition of what you already have.
Should I reface or replace my cabinets?
The simplest way to decide is to look at two things: your layout and your boxes. If you like your current layout and your cabinet boxes are solid, dry, and structurally sound, refacing is a reasonable, cost conscious choice that will freshen the kitchen without a large investment. If you want to change the layout, add storage or an island, or your boxes are particle board or already showing moisture damage, replacement is almost always the better long term investment, because it solves problems that refacing only hides. If you plan to stay in your home for years, replacement usually wins on value over time. The most reliable way to know for sure is to have someone look at your specific kitchen. CMK Construction focuses on cabinet replacement and full kitchen remodeling rather than refacing, so if you are leaning toward replacing your cabinets or reworking the kitchen, we are glad to walk the space with you and give you a clear investment range before you spend a dollar.
