New doors on your existing cabinets change what you see and touch every day: the door and drawer fronts, the hinges behind them, the handles, and the colour of the whole kitchen. The cabinet boxes, the layout, the counters, the sink, and the appliances all stay exactly where they are. It costs a fraction of a new kitchen, it is quoted per project once we have looked at the cabinets you have, and because nothing is demolished the room stays usable while the doors are made.
The fronts. Every door and drawer front is made to order to the exact size of your existing openings, in the style and finish you choose. Painted slab MDF is the most common choice for a refresh because it gives a flat, modern front in any colour. Modern shaker gives a border around a recessed centre panel if the house suits it. Rift white oak veneer or walnut veneer fronts are possible too, and they change the character of a room more than people expect.
The hinges. Old hinges are usually the reason a kitchen feels tired, so they go. New soft-close hinges are fitted to every door, and drawer fronts can be paired with new soft-close slides where the boxes allow it.
The handles. A new bar handle in a different finish, a small edge pull, or no visible handle at all. Integrated handles depend on how the boxes were built, so we confirm that at the site visit rather than promise it up front.
The colour. This is the change most people are actually after. A dark 1990s kitchen in an off-white painted slab reads as a different room, and it is the same boxes underneath.
The boxes stay. If they are sound, plywood or solid particleboard with no water damage, there is no reason to throw them out. The layout stays, which means the sink, the stove, and the fridge stay where they are and no plumber or electrician is needed. The counters stay, and so does the backsplash. That is why a door replacement is quick and why it costs what it costs: you are paying for fronts, hinges, handles, and installation, and nothing else.
It makes sense when the layout works and the boxes are solid. If you cook in the kitchen happily and the only complaint is how it looks and how the doors feel, new fronts are the right spend.
It does not make sense in three cases. If the boxes are swollen or delaminating under the sink, new doors go on a failing base. If you dislike the layout, no front will fix a fridge in the wrong place. If the cabinet sizes are odd and inconsistent, the new fronts will be too, and a made-to-order kitchen at the entry band, about $18,000 to $28,000 for a smaller kitchen, may be the better value. We will tell you which case you are in at the site visit, and we would rather say so than sell you doors.
We visit, look at the boxes, and measure every opening. The fronts are then made to order, and our standard build time is about four weeks. Installation is a matter of days rather than weeks because nothing is being demolished or rewired: old doors off, new hinges on, new fronts hung and adjusted, handles fitted. You can use the kitchen the whole time the doors are being made.
We quote door replacement per project, after we have seen the existing cabinets, because the number depends on how many openings you have, the finish you choose, and whether the hinges and slides need work. It costs a fraction of a new kitchen. For comparison, a new custom kitchen at DADO runs from about $18,000 for a smaller kitchen to past $100,000 for a large, fully custom build, with most projects between $30,000 and $50,000. New hinges and soft-close mechanisms are covered for life under our lifetime warranty. Wood and laminate finishes typically carry a one-year manufacturer warranty.
If you are weighing new doors against a new kitchen, the Vancouver Kitchen Cost Calculator will give you the new-kitchen side of that comparison in a couple of minutes. Where your kitchen budget actually goes explains why the fronts are a smaller share of the whole than most people assume. When you are ready, book a free consultation and bring a few photos of the cabinets you have. We will tell you plainly which option fits.