If the boxes are solid and you like the layout, paint them. Replace them if the boxes are failing, there's water damage, or you want a different layout. Refacing is the middle option: new doors on the same boxes. I paint and stain. I don't reface or replace, and I'll say so if painting is the wrong call.
I'm based in Elk River and work across the north metro, within about 50 miles. I've painted about 200 kitchens, and I also prefinish cabinets and woodwork for cabinet makers. How the work goes, start to finish, is on my cabinet painting page.
Easier to show me? Text me photos of your cabinets.
Paint
Painting is the job when the boxes are solid, you like the layout, and you like the door style. You just want a different color, or a stain. You keep the doors, the boxes, and the layout.
What painting won't do: give you a new door style, more storage, or a sink on a different wall.
The short version of how it goes: doors and drawer fronts are sprayed in my shop, and the boxes are sprayed on site under masking, with the kitchen sealed off by a dust wall. Most kitchens take about a week, sometimes a week and a half. You can keep using the kitchen, and you don't need to empty cabinets that are easy to reach.
Every job comes with my 2-year workmanship warranty. It covers peeling or failure from my prep or application, not normal wear, impact, or water damage.
See how the work goesReplace
Replacing is the right call when the problem is the cabinets themselves, not how they look.
Paint won't fix a bad box. And a layout change usually means the counters, plumbing, or electrical move too. That's a remodel, and it's not work I do.
If I think you should replace them, I'll tell you. I don't sell new cabinets, so I'm not steering you toward a bigger job.
Reface
Refacing keeps your cabinet boxes and puts new doors and drawer fronts on them. Usually the visible parts of the boxes get a new skin too, so everything matches.
It makes sense when the boxes are good and the door style is what you don't like. That's the one thing paint can't change. Painting a raised-panel door won't turn it into a shaker door. It's still a raised-panel door, just a different color.
New doors have to be ordered. It's a different trade than painting. If you like your door style and want a new color, painting is the smaller job.
I don't do refacing. I paint and stain.
Side by side
Read this as three different jobs, not three prices for the same job. Each one changes something different in your kitchen, and only the first column is work I do.
| Paint or stain What I do | Reface | Replace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What changes | Color and finish on the doors and boxes you already have. Door style and layout stay. | New doors and drawer fronts. The boxes stay, usually with a new skin on the visible faces. Layout stays. | New boxes and doors. Layout can change. |
| Rough timeline | About a week, sometimes a week and a half. That's my schedule. | New doors are ordered. Not my work. | Longer. Cabinets are ordered, the old ones come out, and a layout change can pull counters and plumbing with it. |
| Disruption | You can keep using the kitchen. You don't need to empty cabinets that are easy to reach. Dust stays behind a dust wall. | Boxes stay. Doors come off and new ones go on. | The kitchen is taken apart. If the layout changes, plan on not cooking there. |
| When it makes sense | Boxes are solid and you like the door style. You want a new color or a stain. | Boxes are solid and you want a different door style. | Boxes are failing, there's water damage, or you want a new layout. |
I paint and stain. I don't reface or replace. If painting is the wrong call, I'll tell you.
Cost
I don't list one price, because no two kitchens are the same.
What drives my price is the number of doors and drawer fronts, the condition of the cabinets, how big the color change is, paint versus stain, and extras like an island or vanities.
The estimate is free. It starts with a few photos texted to (763) 370-6121, and then I come out for a walk-through.
Refacing and replacement prices are someone else's quote, so I won't guess them here. They move with the materials, the size of the kitchen, and whether the layout changes. If you're comparing quotes, compare what each job actually changes, not just the number.
A real job
In September 2026 I finished a St. Michael kitchen: the base cabinets and the island in Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green (SW 6208), with a Gallery Series topcoat in a 20 sheen. The upper cabinets were already white, so I left them alone.
The boxes stayed. The layout stayed. The color changed. That's the paint decision, not a remodel.
Reviews
★★★★★
Jp finishes painted my whole interior home, finished my woodwork and enameled doors and cabinets. I was very pleased with the work done. And will use this company again, if I need them.
Common questions
Painting is usually the smaller project, because you keep the boxes. Replacing costs more, because you're buying new cabinets and having them installed, and a new layout can pull counters and plumbing in with it. I don't list a price. Text me photos and I'll tell you what your kitchen would cost to paint.
Paint or stain if the boxes are solid and you like the door style. Reface if you want new doors and the boxes are still good. I don't do refacing. Replace if the boxes are failing, there's water damage, or you want a different layout.
Replace them when the boxes are water-damaged, warped, or falling apart, or when you want a different layout. Paint won't fix a bad box or move a sink. If that's your kitchen, I'll tell you.
Yes. I can paint wood, MDF, laminate, or thermofoil. If I think yours won't hold up, I'll tell you before we start. Peeling thermofoil, or a box that's swollen from water, is usually a replace, not a paint job.
Most kitchens I paint take about a week, sometimes a week and a half, and you can keep using the kitchen. Replacing takes longer, because new cabinets have to be ordered and the old ones come out. I don't install cabinets, so I won't guess that schedule.
No. Painting changes the color and the finish. The doors stay the ones you have. A new door style means refacing or replacing, and I don't do either one.
No. You don't need to empty cabinets that are easy to reach, and you can keep using the kitchen. I keep things covered, and you can uncover what you need day to day.
You can use them when I'm done, but paint takes time to cure, especially on cabinets. As a general rule it's about 30 days to a full cure, depending on the paint, so go easy on them that first month.
Yes. On oak I don't fill the grain, so you'll still see the texture of the wood through the paint.
More cabinet questions, like colors, sheen, and what I can paint, are answered on my cabinet painting page.
Start a conversation
Fill out the short form and I'll follow up by call, text, or email, whichever you prefer. After you send it, text me a few photos of your cabinets. A wide shot of the kitchen and a couple of close-ups are perfect.
Every cabinet job comes with my 2-year workmanship warranty.
I have a small crew, but I do most of the work myself. More about me. I also do interior and exterior painting.