Cost of Painting vs. Refacing Kitchen Cabinets in Ottawa
Painting kitchen cabinets costs roughly one-third to one-half of what refacing costs, because no doors are replaced and no veneer is applied. If you like your door style and want a new color, painting is the better value. If the doors themselves look dated, refacing is the step up. Either way, both cost far less than tearing out the kitchen. Below are the typical price ranges, what moves them, and how we help Ottawa homeowners choose between the two.
TL;DR
Professional cabinet painting is commonly quoted in the low thousands of dollars. One 2025 national cost guide puts professional rates at about $6 to $14 per square foot, with labor making up around 85 percent of the total.
Refacing is typically estimated at $4,000 to $10,000 in the U.S. and $5,000 to $12,000 in Canada, depending on kitchen size, door style and material.
Keep your door style and change the color: paint. Want a new door style: reface.
Prep, the type of finish and the warranty matter more than the lowest number on a quote.
We paint and reface kitchen cabinets in Ottawa, with a typical timeline of around ten days and a 6-year warranty.
Table of Contents
What painting and refacing each change in your Ottawa kitchen
The two options solve different problems, so the price gap makes more sense once you see what each one touches.
Painting (also called refinishing or repainting) changes the color and the surface of the cabinets you already have. The doors, drawer fronts and frames stay. The work is cleaning, degreasing, sanding, filling, priming and spraying a durable topcoat. Your kitchen layout and your door profiles stay exactly as they are.
Refacing changes the look of the cabinet fronts. The existing boxes stay in place, while the doors and drawer fronts are replaced and the visible frames are covered with a new veneer or laminate. That is why you can change the door style, not just the color. It also means you are paying for new materials on top of labor.
That difference in scope is the whole story behind the cost gap. Painting is mostly skilled labor and coatings. Refacing adds manufactured doors, veneers and more installation work.
What painting kitchen cabinets costs
Published figures vary widely, which is why homeowners get confused. One 2025 guide reports that painting kitchen cabinets typically ranges from $3 to $10 per square foot, or $30 to $60 per linear foot. The same guide says professional painters charge about $6 to $14 per square foot, and that labor accounts for about 85 percent of the total.
That last number is the one to remember. When most of the price is labor, a low quote usually means less time spent on the steps that decide how long the finish lasts: degreasing, sanding, priming, curing between coats. The paint itself is a small part of the bill.
Other cost guides land in different places, depending on kitchen size and the number of doors and drawers. A national estimate for professional work in 2026 puts painting around $2,000 to $6,500. Treat any single figure as a starting point for a conversation. The only number that counts is a written quote for your kitchen.
We do not publish a flat price for full cabinet painting, because the right price depends on how many doors and drawers you have, their condition, and the finish you choose. You can read more about what shapes the number in our guides on repainting kitchen cabinets cost and cabinet painting costs for Ottawa homeowners.
What refacing costs
Refacing is a bigger line item. One 2025 renovation guide estimates $4,000 to $10,000 in the U.S. and $5,000 to $12,000 in Canada, with kitchen size, door style and material choice moving the number. The same guide puts full replacement at $15,000 to $40,000 or more for midrange cabinetry.
Material choice matters more than most people expect. Forbes Home’s breakdown of resurfacing materials shows that the facing material you pick can change the estimate considerably. A wood veneer, a laminate and a thermofoil door sit at different price points even on the same kitchen.
Another estimate says that if the doors are dated and you want a new style, refacing at $4,000 to $15,000 earns its premium. Ranges this wide tell you the same thing: get quotes for your actual kitchen.
Painting vs. refacing: a side-by-side comparison
Here is how the typical figures from the sources above line up, alongside what each option does.
Painting | Refacing | Replacement | |
Typical price range | Roughly $2,000 to $6,500 for a professional job | $4,000 to $10,000 (U.S.), $5,000 to $12,000 (Canada) | $15,000 to $40,000 or more |
What changes | Color and finish | Door style, color, material | Everything, including layout |
Existing doors | Kept | Replaced | Replaced |
Cost driver | Labor and prep | Materials and installation | Cabinetry, installation, tear-out |
Best for | Sound cabinets in a style you like | Dated door style on solid boxes | Damaged boxes or a new layout |
These are ranges from published guides, not quotes. Your Ottawa price will depend on the kitchen in front of us.
What makes the price go up or down in Ottawa
Whether you choose painting or refacing, the same handful of factors decides where your quote lands.
Number of doors, drawers and the size of the kitchen
Cost scales with surfaces. A galley kitchen with 15 doors and a large kitchen with 40 are different jobs, even if the room looks similar. Quotes based on a count of doors and drawers are easier to compare than quotes based on a vague “average kitchen.”
Condition of the existing cabinets
Grease buildup, peeling finishes, chips, dents and old hardware holes all add prep. Prep is where labor goes, and labor is most of a painting bill. This is also why thorough prep is the step we refuse to rush.
Door style and detail
Flat slab doors are quicker to finish than raised-panel or heavily profiled doors with many edges and corners. For refacing, the door style you pick changes the material cost directly.
Color and finish
A standard color is simpler than a custom color match or a multi-step finish. If you want a custom shade, tell us early so we can price it properly. Our custom finishes and color updates cover the options.
Hardware and minor upgrades
New pulls, hinges and soft-close hardware add parts and installation time. Hardware replacement is one of the minor upgrades we handle alongside painting, so it can be part of one quote rather than a separate errand.
Canadian pricing factors
If you are comparing U.S. articles to an Ottawa quote, adjust your expectations. One 2026 cost guide says Canadian refacing prices run 15 to 25 percent above U.S. prices, that HST/GST adds to the total, and that labor rates are higher. That is a general estimate, but it explains why American figures usually look low next to a local quote. Always ask whether a quote includes tax.
How to compare quotes fairly
Two quotes for “painting kitchen cabinets” can describe very different jobs. Forbes Home and other published guides do not set a universal lifespan or maintenance interval for either finish, so the way to compare is by what each quote actually includes. Line them up on these points:
Surface preparation. Is the cabinet degreased, sanded and primed, or just wiped and painted over?
Method. Is the finish sprayed in a controlled shop, or brushed and rolled on site?
Drying and curing. How many days between coats and before the doors go back on?
Hardware. Is replacement or hole filling included?
Warranty. How long, and what does it cover?
Tax. Is HST included in the figure?
Timeline. Does the schedule give each coat time to cure?
A quote that is far below the others usually has a shorter answer to numbers 1, 2 and 3. That is where a finish succeeds or fails over the following years.
Why we paint cabinets the way we do
Our cabinet work is done by specialists who focus on cabinetry rather than general painting, using a dedicated spray shop. The aim is a smooth, durable, factory-grade finish. Our process includes thorough prep and premium paint, and the project typically takes around ten days. Some homeowners ask why it takes that long when others promise a weekend. Shouldn’t each coat at least dry overnight? We think so, and the schedule reflects it. You can read the day-by-day reasoning in our guide on how long cabinet painting takes in Ottawa.
We also built the process to limit disruption. Projects are typically completed without loss of kitchen or bathroom use, which matters in a busy family household.
When painting is the right choice in Ottawa
Painting is usually the best value when:
You like the current door profile and want a new color.
The cabinet boxes are structurally sound.
You want the biggest visual change for the smallest budget.
You want to keep your layout, with no demolition and no new countertops forced by new cabinets.
You want a modern, showroom look without a full renovation.
For most kitchens we see described by Ottawa homeowners, a color and finish change is what makes the room feel new. Our kitchen cabinet refinishing service is built for exactly this. If you are also thinking about the bathroom, see what it costs to paint bathroom cabinets in Ottawa.
When refacing is the right choice in Ottawa
Refacing earns its higher price when the door style is the problem. If you want to move from a dated profile to a clean modern slab, or change the material entirely, new doors give you that. It still keeps the cabinet boxes and the layout, so it stays well below replacement.
We offer custom cabinet refacing for homeowners in that situation. For thermofoil cabinets with peeling or damaged doors, we also repair rather than replace: single door repair starts from $50 per door and a full kitchen repair starts from $500, as listed on our thermofoil cabinet repair page.
Refacing, replacement and planning around the work
Refacing is considered a lower-disruption alternative to replacement, and full replacement is the most disruptive of the three. If you do go further than painting or refacing, you may need to clear the kitchen and store items or furniture for a stretch. This guide to storage during a home renovation is worth a read when you plan a bigger project. For painting and refacing, the main prep on your side is emptying the cabinets and agreeing on the schedule.
A worked example for your budget
Take a mid-sized kitchen. Using the ranges above, a professional painting job might be in the low-to-mid thousands, while refacing the same kitchen would be around double to triple that. Replacement of the same kitchen starts above the top of the refacing range.
Now look at what you are paying for. If the layout works and the doors are in a style you like, the extra cost of refacing buys you a style change that you may not need. If the doors look tired and no color will fix that, painting would spend money on a look you will still dislike. The question to ask is simple: is it the color or the shape that bothers me?
Our perspective on paint vs. refacing
We have a clear view after years of working on Ottawa kitchens: most homeowners who call about refacing are really asking for a kitchen that looks new, and a well-executed spray finish gets them there for much less. What makes the difference is the work you cannot see once it is done. We focus solely on cabinetry. We do the prep properly, we spray in a dedicated shop, and we give every coat the time it needs. That is why we plan around ten days and stand behind the work with a 6-year warranty. When the door style itself has to change, we reface, and we do that as well. The honest first step is a look at your cabinets and a written quote, so the choice is based on your kitchen rather than an average. Ottawa
Get a quote for your Ottawa cabinets
If you are weighing painting against refacing, send us your kitchen details and we will quote both where they apply. We handle kitchen and bathroom cabinet painting, refinishing, refacing and minor upgrades such as hardware replacement. Request a free quote through our cabinet painting page, or see recent projects in our before and after gallery.
FAQ
What is the average cost for painting kitchen cabinets?
One 2025 guide reports an average of about $919 for the national market, with professional painters charging about $6 to $14 per square foot, according to The Spruce. Many professional kitchen jobs run higher, depending on door count and prep. A written quote for your own kitchen is the reliable number.
Is painting cabinets cheaper than refacing?
Yes, in most cases. Painting typically costs about one-third to one-half of refacing, because no doors are replaced and no veneer is applied. The gap closes only if the painting job needs extensive repair or a complex finish.
Does refacing cost more in Canada than in the U.S.?
Published estimates say so. One guide gives $5,000 to $12,000 in Canada against $4,000 to $10,000 in the U.S., and tax such as HST adds to the Canadian total. Ask any Ottawa contractor to state whether tax is included.
How long does a cabinet painting project take?
Our projects typically take around ten days, which allows for prep, priming, spraying and proper curing. We plan the schedule so your kitchen stays usable. See our timeline guide for the day-by-day detail.
Can I paint cabinets now and reface later?
Yes. Painting keeps your boxes and layout intact, so refacing remains an option later if you decide to change the door style. Tell us your long-term plan when you request a quote, and we will advise on the order that makes sense.
Sources
Recommended
Comments