Cabinet refinishing cost comes down to how many doors and drawer fronts there are and if the box interiors get finished. After that it’s the condition of the old finish, any repairs and how far the new color sits from the old one, not the square footage.

Before you ask anyone for a price, open every cabinet in the kitchen and count. Doors, drawer fronts, end panels and the glass doors on the uppers all go on the list. That tally tells us more about the job than the size of the room does.

In White Plains the tally swings a long way, because the kitchens do. The city’s median home dates to 1960, and 30% of its housing predates 1940. Those figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2019 to 2023.

An older single-family kitchen in Gedney Farms and a condo kitchen downtown can differ in almost every row of the table below. When we refinish cabinets in White Plains or next door in Hartsdale, the estimate starts with that count.

Why does the door count matter more than the size of the kitchen?

Door count matters more than kitchen size because each door and drawer front is handled as its own piece. Every one comes off and gets labeled with its hinges. It goes to our shop to be prepped and finished, then comes back to the exact spot it left.

A small kitchen with a lot of drawers can have more pieces than a big one with long runs of wide doors. So we count before we talk about anything else.

What else drives the cost of refinishing kitchen cabinets?

Beyond the count, the cost of refinishing kitchen cabinets moves with the condition of the kitchen and the scope you choose. Here’s what we look at:

Factor	Why it moves the price	What we look at during the consultation
Doors and drawer fronts	Every piece is removed, labeled, prepped and finished, then rehung where it came from	The count, and the door style: flat slab, shaker or raised panel
Box exteriors and interiors	Finishing inside the boxes adds surface, masking and time	If you want the interiors done or just the outsides and face frames
Condition and existing finish	Grease, worn edges and old paint mean more cleaning, sanding and priming	Grease near the range, wear around the pulls and what the current finish is
Repairs	Damaged wood has to be fixed before any finish goes on	The sink base, the sides of the dishwasher, chipped edges and loose face frames
Color change	A big move, like dark wood to white, takes more primer and more coats	Your current color against the one you want, and if the grain should show
Glass doors and moldings	Muntins, glass, crown and light rail need careful masking and detail work	Glass-front doors, crown on the uppers, light rail and decorative trim
Hardware changes	New pulls with different spacing mean filling the old holes and drilling new ones	Your current hardware and what you plan to install
Kitchen access	Sealing off the kitchen takes setup, and some buildings limit work hours or elevator use	The layout, the ceiling height and any building rules

Those rows add up differently in every kitchen, which is why our estimate comes after we’ve seen yours.

Once you’ve counted your doors, call 1 (800) 687-9470 and we’ll look at the rest at a free in-home consultation.

Is cabinet refinishing worth it?

Cabinet refinishing is worth it when the boxes are solid and the layout works for how you cook. You keep the cabinets and change their finish and hardware for a fraction of what a full remodel costs. And the work wraps up in a matter of days rather than the weeks a full remodel takes.

It isn’t worth it when the boxes are failing. Swollen particleboard under the sink and a layout that fights you every day are remodel problems, and a new finish won’t fix either one.

Smaller carpentry is part of the job, though. Our carpenters repair a soft sink base or a loose face frame before primer goes on, so the new finish sits on solid wood.

At Palette Pro Painting & Renovation, the best part of these jobs is the day the doors go back on in their original spots. The kitchen suddenly looks like a different room. That’s what our cabinet refinishing crews work toward from the first count.

You can see finished kitchens in our cabinet refinishing portfolio.

How do we build a cabinet refinishing estimate?

A cabinet refinishing estimate with us can start with a few photos of your kitchen. Photos show the door style and the worst of the wear, which lets us screen the job before anyone visits.

Next comes a free in-home consultation, where we count the pieces and check under the sink. After that you get a written proposal that spells out the scope, and we revise it if something needs to change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to refinish kitchen cabinets?

What it costs to refinish kitchen cabinets depends mostly on the number of doors and drawer fronts and the scope inside the boxes. The condition of the old finish, any repairs and the color change add to it. Kitchens of the same size can land far apart, so we price each one after seeing it.

Our consultation is free, and you’ll get a clear, detailed estimate afterward.

Is refacing cheaper than replacing cabinets?

Refacing usually costs less than replacing cabinets, because the boxes stay in place and only the doors, drawer fronts and visible veneer change. It sits between the other two options: more involved than refinishing, which keeps your doors and changes only their finish, and far lighter than a remodel.

Replacement makes sense when the boxes or the layout are the real problem.

Does a small kitchen always cost less to refinish?

A small kitchen doesn’t always cost less to refinish, because the price follows the pieces more than the floor area. A galley kitchen with a wall of narrow drawers and glass-front uppers can take more hours than a larger kitchen with a handful of wide, plain doors.

Condition matters as much as size, since grease and repairs add time in any kitchen.

Do the insides of the cabinets have to be refinished?

Cabinet interiors don’t have to be refinished, and plenty of homeowners leave them as is. Finishing the boxes inside adds surface and masking, so it changes the estimate, and the proposal can show the job both ways so you can decide.

Glass-front uppers are the usual exception, since their interiors are on display.

Can you refinish just the island or the lower cabinets?

Refinishing just the island or the lower cabinets is a good way to update a kitchen on a smaller scope. A contrasting island, or darker lowers under lighter uppers, changes the room without touching every door, and the estimate follows the pieces we finish.

We’ll look at the sheen of the cabinets that stay, so the new finish sits well beside them.

What sets a cabinet estimate is mostly the count and the condition, and both are easy to see in person. Our work is backed by a two-year warranty on labor and material, and it comes from a team with over 2,000 completed projects behind it. We work in homes across Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT. Call 1 (800) 687-9470 for a free in-home consultation and a clear, detailed estimate.