Restore or completely change the look of your existing cabinets without the cost and disruption of replacement.
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Refinishing, refacing, repainting: the industry uses these words interchangeably, and homeowners pay for the confusion. They're different jobs at very different prices, so here's the plain-English version before you get quotes for the wrong one.
Refinishing works with your existing doors: the old finish is renewed or changed, in a solid color, stain, or glaze. Repainting is refinishing in an opaque color, and it's what most people actually want. Refacing is a different animal: your door and drawer fronts are replaced entirely with new ones and the boxes get matching veneer. It costs far more than refinishing because you're buying new doors.
In Colorado searches, refinishing draws more interest than refacing, and for good reason: if your doors are in decent shape, replacing them buys you very little that a quality finish doesn't. Refacing earns its price mainly when doors are damaged beyond repair or you want a door style your current fronts can't become.
A refinish can take orange-toned 1990s oak to a modern painted look, deepen a faded stain, or change color entirely. It can't change your door style, fix broken frames, or add drawers where there are none. If your list includes those, you're shopping for refacing or replacement, and we'd rather tell you that at the estimate than sell you the wrong project.
We're based in Thornton and provide cabinet refinishing throughout Thornton, Northglenn, Westminster, Broomfield, Brighton, Erie, Lafayette, Boulder, Longmont, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Henderson, Denver, and the surrounding communities.
Repainting is one kind of refinishing: the opaque-color kind. Refinishing is the umbrella term that also covers stains and glazes that keep wood grain visible. Either way, your existing doors stay.
If the doors and boxes are structurally sound, it's the best value in the category: you get the new-kitchen look without buying new doors (refacing) or new cabinets (replacement). Sound boxes with a tired finish are the ideal candidate.
Cost, mostly. You're paying for new doors, new drawer fronts, and veneer work, which puts refacing well above the price of refinishing while your boxes stay exactly the same. It makes sense when doors are damaged or you want a different door profile; otherwise refinishing gets you there for much less.
Veneer work is unforgiving, and matching new fronts to existing boxes is harder than it looks. DIY refacing kits exist, but the visible seams and edges are where kitchens go to look homemade. If budget is the driver, professionally refinished existing doors usually beat DIY refacing on both looks and cost.
Serving 13 north-metro cities · based in Thornton
Pick your city. Everything here comes from public records and search data, not guesses.
Most of Thornton was built between the mid-80s and mid-2000s, the peak years of golden oak. That one fact explains most of this report: the styles trending here are the styles that transform oak.
Northglenn is one of the north metro's original planned suburbs, with a core built in the 60s and 70s and updates layered on since. That mix means everything from vintage plywood boxes to 90s oak, and nearly all of it is a strong painting candidate.
Westminster spans half a century of building, from 60s ranches near the old core to the big 90s wave around Legacy Ridge. The 90s stock dominates what we see: solid oak doors in kitchens ready for a color this decade actually wants.
Broomfield's kitchens mostly date from the 80s through the 2000s, with newer Anthem-era builds on the north side. The older half is classic oak territory; the newer half already has paint-grade doors waiting for a better color.
Brighton grew fastest in the 90s and 2000s, so its kitchens skew toward builder-grade oak and early paint-grade doors. Both paint beautifully, and both are why repaint interest here tracks right with the metro.
Erie is the newest housing stock on this list, dominated by 2000s-and-later builds. That means less golden oak and more paint-grade shaker and MDF already in place, so the conversation here is less about rescuing dated wood and more about choosing a braver color than the builder did.
Lafayette mixes Old Town charm with 70s-90s neighborhoods, which puts a wide range of cabinet eras behind its front doors. Oak-era kitchens lead, with a meaningful share of older originals where paint is the practical way to keep character.
Boulder's housing stock runs older: 50s-70s ranches and decades of remodels since. Cabinet eras vary house to house, refinishing interest runs unusually strong here, and the reuse-over-replace instinct fits the city.
Longmont pairs an older core with ring after ring of 90s-and-later growth, so oak-era kitchens dominate the middle of the market. Demand here is strong and, unusually for the area, its hiring-related searches are competitive, a sign more companies court Longmont than its neighbors.
Commerce City splits in two: the established core with mid-century and oak-era kitchens, and the Reunion-era north side built after 2000. The core drives the transformation work; the newer half mirrors Erie's choose-a-better-color pattern.
Federal Heights is compact, with most homes dating from the 60s through the 80s. Kitchens here are the area's most original, and painting is the budget-realistic way a 40-year-old kitchen gets a real refresh.
Henderson's subdivisions mostly went up in the 90s and 2000s, prime golden-oak years. It's a small area, so treat its numbers as directional, but the kitchens behind them are exactly the oak-era stock paint transforms best.
Denver is every era at once: 1910s bungalows, mid-century ranches, 90s suburbs at the edges, and new builds downtown. No single cabinet story covers it, which is exactly why its search interest dwarfs every suburb on this list, at roughly five times the typical city we track.
January · indoor air, estimated
12%
humidity once 34°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their smallest
Solid-wood door panels are at their winter-smallest, so any seam that will show is showing now. Search demand is quiet season.
Why the month matters →February · indoor air, estimated
13%
humidity once 43°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their smallest
Solid-wood door panels are at their winter-smallest, so any seam that will show is showing now. Search demand is busy.
Why the month matters →March · indoor air, estimated
18%
humidity once 53°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their smallest
Solid-wood door panels are at their winter-smallest, so any seam that will show is showing now. Search demand is busy.
Why the month matters →April · indoor air, estimated
19%
humidity once 53°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their smallest
Solid-wood door panels are at their winter-smallest, so any seam that will show is showing now. Search demand is peak season.
Why the month matters →May · indoor air, estimated
29%
humidity once 59°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Wood is losing moisture
The furnace is on and door panels are shrinking toward their winter size. Search demand is peak season.
Why the month matters →June · indoor air, estimated
38%
humidity once 72°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Wood is in the comfort zone
Indoor humidity is in the comfort band, so door panels sit near their average size. Search demand is peak season.
Why the month matters →July · indoor air, estimated
47%
humidity once 80°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their fullest
Summer moisture has door panels at their fullest; they will pull back when the furnace comes on. Search demand is busy.
Why the month matters →August · indoor air, estimated
48%
humidity once 76°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their fullest
Summer moisture has door panels at their fullest; they will pull back when the furnace comes on. Search demand is busy.
Why the month matters →September · indoor air, estimated
38%
humidity once 66°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Wood is in the comfort zone
Indoor humidity is in the comfort band, so door panels sit near their average size. Search demand is quiet season.
Why the month matters →October · indoor air, estimated
29%
humidity once 54°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Wood is losing moisture
The furnace is on and door panels are shrinking toward their winter size. Search demand is quiet season.
Why the month matters →November · indoor air, estimated
17%
humidity once 46°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their smallest
Solid-wood door panels are at their winter-smallest, so any seam that will show is showing now. Search demand is quiet season.
Why the month matters →December · indoor air, estimated
15%
humidity once 39°F outdoor air is heated to 70°F
Panels are at their smallest
Solid-wood door panels are at their winter-smallest, so any seam that will show is showing now. Search demand is quiet season.
Why the month matters →
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