Look, I get it. You walk into your kitchen one morning and that cabinet door is hanging off again. Or maybe the laminate’s peeling up in the corner, making you cringe every single time you reach for a coffee mug.
First thought? “Time for a whole new kitchen.”
But hold up. Let me save you about fifteen grand right there.
## **The Truth Nobody Tells You**
Here’s the thing – most kitchen cabinets aren’t actually broken. They’re just… tired. And tired can be fixed.
I’ve been in enough Melbourne kitchens to know that 8 out of 10 times, what looks like a total disaster is actually just a weekend’s worth of smart repairs. We’re talking about solid boxes that just need some love. New hinges here, a resurface there, maybe a fresh coat of that two-pack paint that actually sticks.
## **When Repair Makes Sense (Spoiler: It’s More Often Than You Think)**
Let me break this down real simple:
**Your cabinets are good candidates for repair if:**
• The boxes themselves are solid (give ’em a shake – do they hold up?)
• It’s just the doors that are looking rough
• The layout still works for how you use your kitchen
• You’re not planning to knock out walls or anything crazy
• The insides are in decent shape
Seriously, if the bones are good, we can work with it.
## **What Can Actually Be Fixed**
This is where it gets interesting. Because people assume if something looks bad, it IS bad. Not true.
**Peeling laminate?** We can relaminate that. Looks brand new, costs a fraction.
**Saggy doors?** New hinges. Maybe soft-close ones while we’re at it. You’ll feel fancy every time you close a cabinet.
**Water damage under the sink?** Cut out the bad bit, patch it up, seal it properly this time. Good as new.
**Dated color?** Two-pack spray painting. Not that DIY chalk paint nonsense – proper automotive-grade stuff that’ll last another 20 years.
**Broken drawers?** New runners. Probably better than what you had originally.
## **The Money Talk**
Alright, let’s talk numbers. Because that’s what you really want to know, right?
New kitchen? You’re looking at $15,000 to $40,000. Easy. And that’s if nothing goes wrong (spoiler: something always goes wrong).
Repairs and a facelift? Maybe $3,000 to $8,000. Sometimes less.
That’s… that’s a pretty big difference.
## **When You Should Actually Replace**
I’m not gonna lie to you though. Sometimes replacement is the way to go:
• The cabinets are literally falling apart (like, structurally compromised)
• You need a completely different layout
• There’s extensive termite or water damage throughout
• They’re those old metal ones from the 60s that nobody can work with anymore
• You’ve got the budget and you’re doing a full gut renovation anyway
## **The Secret Most Kitchen Places Won’t Tell You**
Here it is: mixing and matching is totally fine.
Keep the good base cabinets. Replace just the uppers. Or vice versa. Add a new island but keep everything else. Get new doors but keep the boxes.
Your kitchen doesn’t know it’s supposed to be all matchy-matchy. It just needs to work.
## **Real Talk About Timing**
Full replacement? You’re out of a kitchen for 2-6 weeks. Minimum. That’s a lot of takeaway meals.
Repairs and refacing? Most jobs are done in under a week. Some in just a couple days. You might not even need to empty all your cabinets.
## **The Bottom Line**
Before you rip out those cabinets, get someone who actually knows what they’re looking at to take a proper look. Not someone trying to sell you a whole new kitchen – someone who can genuinely tell you what’s worth saving.
Because here’s the truth: most kitchens just need a tune-up, not a total overhaul. And in this economy? That fifteen grand you save could go toward… well, literally anything else.
Your cabinets have been good to you. Maybe it’s time to be good to them.
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*Thinking about whether your kitchen needs repair or replacement? Give the team at FixNow a call. They’ll give it to you straight – no sales pitch, just honest advice about what makes sense for your situation. Because sometimes the best renovation is the one you don’t need to do.*