Kitchen Cabinet Refacing Emerges as the Thrifty Choice

Recession has put focus back on value — Kitchen Solvers’ strength

There’s nothing quite like a global economic meltdown to get people to guard their wallets and purses. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, Americans have been paying down debts, tightening budgets and realigning their priorities by putting a bigger emphasis on making sure they get the biggest bang for their buck. The recession has changed Americans’ spending habits, and the newfound thriftiness brings a smile to our face at Kitchen Solvers. Sure, we can deliver high-end kitchens that would make Paula Deen proud, but we made our name as a pioneer in kitchen cabinet refacing — a budget-conscious way of delivering a beautiful kitchen by transforming old cabinets rather than chucking them to the curb. When most people begin to think about renovating or upgrading a kitchen, they venture into a big-box home store and look at new cabinets. Most of the time, a kitchen renovation involves ripping out existing cabinets and replacing them with new boxes, drawers and fronts. The truth is, the structure and frame of a cabinet, especially if it is well made, doesn’t wear out as quickly as the fronts. If you like the layout and functionality of your kitchen, replacing your entire cabinets can be an expensive mistake. Cabinet refacing, a service Kitchen Solvers pioneered, involves stripping your existing cabinets down to the frame, removing the drawers, door fronts and hinges until all you have left are your kitchen cabinet frames and boxes. Carpenters nail and glue new, high-quality, furniture-grade plywood to your frames and install new cabinet doors, hinges and drawers to your existing frames. Cabinet refacing can completely transform the look of a kitchen, giving the owner a room to be proud of. The result looks 100 percent new, and it is often far less costly than purchasing new cabinets. Consider Tom and Pat Falbo of La Crosse, Wisconsin: The couple planned to renovate their kitchen, but were shocked to see cabinet prices at the local, giant hardware store: $12,000. The installation cost would have been another $12,000. Kitchen Solvers was able to reface their cabinets for about $6,000. “We think it was an excellent value,” Pat Falbo said. “They put on solid cherry doors — you wouldn’t know they’re not new cabinets.” The couple was so impressed, they asked Kitchen Solvers to come back and reface some more cabinets in their basement, and to build a kitchen island to match the new look. “We weren’t going to have our island done,” Tom Falbo said. “I had made one out of oak, but now our kitchen is too nice, so now we’re coming back to have them do our island.” Kitchen Solvers is an expert in kitchen cabinet refacing, and has remodeled more than 45,000 kitchens during the past 30 years. The nationwide company, based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has 68 franchisees who enjoy extensive training, business support and purchasing power. To learn more about Kitchen Solvers, visit www.kitchensolvers.com or www.kitchensolversfranchise.com.

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