5 Reasons to Professionally Refinish Your Cabinets

If you've got cabinets that are still functionally and structurally sound but don't like the finish, repainting them is a budget-friendly way to give your kitchen or bathroom a fresh new look

Update your kitchen or bathroom easily and affordably

With housing prices soaring across the province, many new homeowners are looking for cost-effective ways to improve their spaces without undergoing major renovations.

If you’ve got cabinets that are still functionally and structurally sound but don’t like the finish, repainting them is a budget-friendly way to give your kitchen or bathroom a fresh new look.

Since this task is more than most homeowners want to take on themselves, we teamed up with the experts at Kitra cabinet refinishing to give our bathrooms an update—and quickly learned why it was 100 percent worth it to hire the pros.

Here are 5 reasons to consider professionally refinishing rather than replacing your cabinets…

 

1. Because, trust us, they’ll look like new

The shiny cherry cabinets in our small bathrooms were making the spaces feel dark, dingy and dated. We knew we wanted to paint them white, but weren’t confident we’d be able to cover the deep colour and shiny veneer if we did it ourselves.

Enter Kitra. The company spent three years researching and developing their factory-grade cabinet refinishing process. “Kitra uses an eco-friendly, stain-resistant, waterborne, odourless lacquer that is extremely durable and is the first of its kind,” says Anthony Pavlakovic co-founder of Kitra. “Kitra’s lacquer has passed rigorous testing to ensure enhanced durability, improved air quality, the lowest environmental impact and the elimination of odours.”

Using proprietary spray equipment and techniques, Kitra’s automotive-level coating made our 20-year-old cabinets look—and feel—brand new. After sanding and priming multiple times to ensure a perfect result, Kitra spray-paints the final layers to create a truly flawless appearance.

 

2. It’s much more affordable

Refinishing—rather than replacing—your cabinets can save you tens of thousands of dollars. Plus, you can keep existing countertops, sinks, floors and more, and still give your kitchen or bathroom a stunning update. “Kitra’s solution is a win-win for the planet and your pocketbook,” says Pavlakovic. “It costs a fraction of what new cabinets would cost.”

 

3. It will save you time and effort

Kitra makes the experience of refinishing your cabinets quick and easy. Whereas most renovations can take months, repainting your cabinets will only take a couple of weeks and you will experience minimal disruption throughout the three-step process:

  1. First, a carpenter from Kitra will come to remove all door and drawer faces and take them to their shop to prepare and lacquer them. You have complete use of your cabinets throughout this process (fair warning: you just have to be a little tidier during this time as everything will be exposed).
  2. Next, Kitra’s mobile spray technicians will arrive to complete the refinishing and lacquering of your cabinetry boxes on-site, utilizing the same European lacquer that was applied in the shop. For our bathrooms, this process took two working days.
  3. Last, the carpenter returns with all of the newly finished door and drawer faces, which are installed with the hardware of your choice (that’s right: they’ll fill the old hardware holes and drill new ones for you). You get to enjoy your brand new kitchen or bathroom with very little disruption.

 

4. It’s kinder to the planet

In Canada, 27 percent of the total solid waste is generated by the construction, renovation and demolition industry and is disposed of in a landfill (Yeheyis, 2013)so repurposing your old cabinets and keeping them out of that landfill is an amazing bonus to refinishing. Additionally, Kitra’s paint has zero hazardous pollutants, contains no formaldehyde, is non-flammable, is non-off-gassing, and conforms to the strictest environmental certifications (LEED & Green Seal).

“The planet’s precious resources are limited, so the idea of discarding good condition cabinetry in renovations is no longer justifiable,” says Pavlakovic. “Not only will you love your like-new cabinets, but you will feel great about doing your part to save the planet. Because Kitra’s waterborne lacquer is non-toxic and does not off-gas, there are no airborne toxins to worry about for your kids and pets.”

 

5. You will receive excellent customer care

Kitra will cover all surfaces before putting down any equipment, and tape off the areas to be spray-painted so once they’re done, your house is left with zero mess or damage. Our technician Lee was an absolute pro and meticulous in his preparation and painting, which gave us complete confidence in his work.

“Kitra’s philosophy is to take care of the people who work for us first, so that our people can look after you,” says Pavlakovic. “That’s how we have built our reputation for five-star customer service. We are totally focused on customer satisfaction.”

To back up that customer satisfaction, Kitra offers a 25-year guarantee on the coating, and five years on the craftsmanship, so you know you’ll be able to enjoy your “new” cabinets for a long time.