Replace every door, keep the kitchen
If the cabinets are square and the drawers run, you do not need a new kitchen. New doors and drawer fronts on the existing carcasses is called refacing. It is priced door by door, so the number you get here is the number you pay, not an allowance that grows on site.
What refacing costs in Melbourne
Published Melbourne guides put a door-and-panel refacing at $2,000–$6,000 installed, a 2-pac respray of the old doors at $3,000–$7,000, and a full cosmetic refresh with a new benchtop and splashback at $8,000–$20,000. A mid-range full renovation starts around $35,000. Our doors are sold per piece, so a supply-only refacing usually lands at the bottom of that first band.
| Option | What you get | Typical Melbourne cost |
|---|---|---|
| Paint the old doors | Cheapest. Brush marks and chips on vinyl; does not fix lifted wrap or swollen edges. | $500–$1,500 DIY |
| 2-pac respray of old doors | Good finish on MDF doors, but the doors go away for 1–2 weeks and old damage is still there underneath. | $3,000–$7,000 |
| New doors and drawer fronts (refacing) | New board, new edges, new hinge holes. Any style or finish. Keep the cabinets, plumbing and benchtop. | $2,000–$6,000 installed supply only from about $1,256 for the example kitchen below |
| Refacing + new benchtop | The above plus a new laminate or stone top. Changes the look more than anything else per dollar. | $4,000–$12,000 |
| Full kitchen | New layout, cabinets, appliances, trades, skip bin, 3–6 weeks without a kitchen. | $35,000+ |
Estimate a whole kitchen
Count your doors and drawer fronts, put in the usual sizes, and pick a style and finish. Most Australian kitchens use two or three door heights, so four rows covers nearly everything. The estimate is indicative; the quote we send back is fixed once we have your measured list.
Supply only, or fitted
Supply only. Doors arrive drilled for your hinge positions. Swapping a door onto existing hinges is a screwdriver job; most people do a whole kitchen in an afternoon. We include a hinge-position sheet and can supply new soft-close hinges if the old ones are tired.
Fitted. For Melbourne metro we can arrange measuring and fitting through the renovation team we work with. The measure visit also catches the things that trip up a self-measure: out-of-square cabinets, blind corners, doors that have been planed down. Ask for a fitted price when you send the list.
What else you might need
- Hinges: 35mm cup soft-close, about $4–6 each supplied with the doors.
- Handles: any 96mm or 128mm handle fits the standard drilling; we leave handle holes undrilled unless you ask.
- End panels and kickboards in the same finish, so the sides match the new doors. Price as a door.
- Benchtop: see below.
Should you change the benchtop too?
New doors with an old laminate top looks like what it is. If the top is the 33mm post-formed laminate found in most 1990s–2010s kitchens, replacing it in a current laminate is the cheapest way to finish the job and can be done in the same visit. A standard straight run of laminate benchtop made to length is a few hundred dollars; stone is several thousand and needs a template.
We do not sell benchtops on this site yet. If you want one with the doors, say so in the quote and we will price a laminate top to your length with the fitted option.
When refacing is not the answer
If the cabinets have swollen at the bottom from a dishwasher leak, the drawers have collapsed, or you want to move the sink or add an island, refacing spends money on a kitchen you will still replace. We will tell you if the photos you send look like that.
Worked example
The kitchen in the estimator above, 20 pieces, is a typical two-bedroom unit kitchen. Supply-only price by finish, flat panel and shaker:
| Finish | Flat panel | Shaker |
|---|---|---|
| Melamine | $1,256 | Flat panel only |
| Thermoformed (vinyl wrap) | $2,193 | $2,463 |
| PET / acrylic | $2,732 | $2,970 |
| 2-pac paint | $3,784 | $4,074 |
Indicative, including delivery in Melbourne. Add about $100 for 20 soft-close hinges. Fitting is quoted separately.
Questions people ask
Can you replace just the doors on kitchen cabinets?
Yes. Doors and drawer fronts are separate parts screwed to the carcass with clip-on hinges, so any door can be replaced on its own. Measure the old door, order the same size with the same hinge positions, and swap the hinges across. This is the standard way to fix one damaged door or to reface a whole kitchen.
Is it cheaper to replace cabinet doors or paint them?
Painting is cheaper up front ($500 to $1,500 in materials for a DIY job) but does not fix lifted vinyl, chipped edges or swollen board, and brush-painted melamine chips easily. New doors cost from about $1,250 for a 20-piece kitchen in melamine and come with new edges and factory finish. A professional 2-pac respray of old doors ($3,000 to $7,000) usually costs more than new thermoformed doors.
How much does kitchen refacing cost in Melbourne?
Installed door-and-panel refacing in Melbourne is typically $2,000 to $6,000 according to 2026 cost guides. Supply-only doors for a typical two-bedroom unit kitchen (14 doors, 4 drawer fronts, 2 pantry doors) are about $1,250 in melamine, $2,200 in thermoformed vinyl and $3,800 in 2-pac from us; fitting is a day for a handyman or carpenter.
Do you install the doors?
Doors are sold supply only and arrive drilled for your hinges, which makes fitting a screwdriver job. For whole-kitchen refacing in Melbourne we can arrange a measure and fit through the renovation team we work with; ask for a fitted price with your quote.
What is kitchen refacing?
Refacing means keeping the existing cabinet carcasses and replacing every door, drawer front and visible end panel, usually with new handles. It changes the look of the kitchen without plumbing, electrical work, a skip bin or weeks without a kitchen, and costs $2,000 to $6,000 installed in Melbourne versus $35,000 and up for a new kitchen.
Is kitchen refacing worth it?
If the cabinets are square, the drawers run and you are happy with the layout, yes: it is a fraction of a new kitchen. It is not worth it if the carcasses have swollen from a leak, the drawers have collapsed, or you want to move the sink or add an island.
Should I replace the benchtop when I replace the doors?
If the top is the old 33mm post-formed laminate, usually yes: a straight run of laminate benchtop made to length is a few hundred dollars and is the single biggest change after the doors. Stone is several thousand and needs a template. We quote laminate tops with the fitted option; we do not sell benchtops online.
How many doors are in an average kitchen?
A typical two-bedroom unit kitchen has 14 doors, 4 to 6 drawer fronts and 1 or 2 pantry doors, about 20 pieces. A family kitchen with an island is 25 to 35 pieces. Count every hinged door and every drawer face, then add end panels if you want them to match.