This Naperville home was custom built around 2000. According to the owners, Barbara and Michael, by the time they got to choosing the kitchen cabinets and counters, “decision fatigue” started to set in and with cost overruns elsewhere, they decided to install a basic kitchen and wait a few years before before remodeling the kitchen the way they wanted.
Original kitchen before remodeling
The kitchen layout was fine, the builder’s oak cabinets were in great shape, but it was time to bring the quality of the kitchen up to the same level as the rest of the home. They considered tearing out the cabinets and starting from scratch, but the cabinets were actually in very good shape, they just didn’t like the oak. In addition, they had recently done a beautiful venetian plaster finish to the walls and didn’t want to mess that up with a tearout. The best decision for them was solid wood cabinet refacing.
The Kitchen Remodeling Process
The first order of business was to select the new sink, faucet, microwave and cooktop. The granite fabricator needs the templates for the sink and cooktop before the granite is installed. They chose a classic Tan Brown granite that was installed before I did the cabinet refacing work. The reason for this is that granite often has to be shimmed underneath to make it level. Sometimes the gap between the countertop and the cabinet can be quite large because of the shims installed under the counter. If this work is done before refacing, I can cover that gap with the new wood for a perfect, clean installation.
After the counters were in place, the installers from the appliance store came in an hooked up the cooktop, microwave and oven. A plumber did the faucet, drain and disposal connections.
Since we were refacing instead of gutting the kitchen, this kitchen was only out of commission for a few hours. The kids had their breakfast before school and the kitchen was useable by the time they got home for dinner. (Of course, if you want the kitchen to be out of commission for awhile, we can arrange that :))
Now it was time to reface the cabinets. Michael and Barbara chose glazed maple cabinets with a Medium Walnut stain. As always, when I do a cabinet refacing project, I use all solid wood – no veneers and no thermofoil. The materials came from our supplier in LaCrosse, WI, Walzcraft. The builders oak went away and the new maple cabinet doors, drawers and frame covering were installed.
Naperville kitchen after refacing in solid maple
The refacing part of the project took me about a week and the kitchen was useable every night. They didn’t even have to empty the cabinets.
Oak cabinets before refacing
After cabinet refacing with glazed maple
After the project was completed, Barb and Michael had new stainless appliances, new granite and the old “builder’s oak” cabinets were now a glazed maple that fit with the high-quality details in the rest of the home. The kitchen was useable every night and there was virtually no dust or fumes. They estimate that they saved about 8,000 to 10,000 dollars by refacing instead of doing the full tearout, and most of what they spent would be easily recouped.