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A Kitchen Tested Design Recipe

When Pat and Virginia Mackin of Lake Norman deciding to remodel their kitchen, they knew they had a big task in front of them. Their kitchen was actually part of three large rooms-the kitchen, den and breakfast room-about 1,300-square feet all total. Their main objective was to update the three rooms including the large quantity of kitchen cabinets, without breaking the bank.

"We loved the cabinets and the cabinet layout except they were painted solid white against a pickled wood floor," says Mackin. "We wanted darker cabinets and a darker floor. Of course all of this had to blend in with the den and breakfast rooms."

The Mackins were especially concerned about the cabinets because there were so many of them. "I knew that could take up a substantial part of the budget if we didn't look carefully at all of our options."

Helping them through this huge task was Kelly Cruz of Kelly Cruz Interiors. She suggested three options, all with varying prices: Faux paint the cabinets, purchase all new cabinets or reface their cabinets.

"You can imagine the enormous cost to install all new cabinets in this space-the house wasn't that old so it seemed like a waste to trash the old ones. We didn't want to faux paint because we were interested in real wood finishes," says Mackin.

After much consideration, careful product review and the skillful interior design advice from Cruz, the Mackins chose to reface their cabinets. They selected Carolina Cabinet Refacing for the project. John Marino is their president and he and his craftsmen got right to work.

"The overall value for the money can't be beat," says Cruz, "And Marino has good integrity. He has a way of making you feel comfortable and confident in their abilities. They can completely change the look of your cabinets."

Teaming up with the Cruz design team was a natural fit for Marino. After working with the homeowners to select a maple door and drawer fronts, they were ready for the construction to begin.

"The actual process starts with refacing the boxes in hardwoods installed on the cabinet faces to match the door and drawer fronts," said Marino. "The door and drawer fronts are the finest grade Amish-select hardwoods used. These can be matched in virtually any wood, any stain, any style or custom glaze," says Marino.

One might wonder with such a drastic color change on the door and drawer fronts, when the cabinets are open, does the bright white inside still exist and flash the kitchen? Not to worry added Mackin. "They painted the inside of the cabinets to match the maple wood color so that we would not see any white when the doors and drawers were open. It all blends in very nicely."

And how was the construction? "The two gentlemen on the crew worked really hard and efficiently to get the job done. They cleaned up each day before leaving," says Mackin.

Even after months since their cabinet refacing, the Mackin's are still amazed with the finished product. "I still can't believe how great it looks."

And how did the refacing compare to other options? Mackin estimates that by refacing the cabinets instead of getting all new cabinets, it saved them at least 50 percent with far less disruption and inconvenience.

Now that's when you can really say, "I love my cabinets!"