The WonderMoms family sat down recently and decided that our kitchen was in need of a little freshening up. Just what is involved in that is open to interpretation, as there are many things to consider.

I think the biggest question for most of us is, "what is this thing going to cost me?" It's not like money grows on trees, so we all have to get value for our money. We began to research the opportunities available to us, which believe me there are many. Too say there are a lot of options available, would be a huge understatement.

We decided that if we were going to stay in this house, rather than move somewhere new, that a kitchen renovation would be the route to go. One of the concerns we have is how much do we spend? If spent right, the investment you make in your kitchen will no doubt increase the overall value of your property.

Once the decision was made to move forward, we began in earnest to research what we liked as well as what we could afford to spend on the project. I do believe I felt my knees begin to buckle as we realized just how much a complete kitchen replacement would cost. From new cabinets to countertops, there are so many wonderful choices, just how do you narrow it down? An investment in a couple of kitchen magazines seemed like a good start. I wanted to see what colours were trending, types of wood people were using, as well as finishes and accessories. As I expected, the ones that I like are not on the cheaper side of the spectrum.

We examined the complete cabinet replacement option and decided that that level of investment was not warranted, as there is nothing wrong with our cabinets or the doors for that matter. They just need to be refreshed. I use that term because that's exactly what it is, taking your existing doors and refinishing them to today's colours.

The next option was to look at cabinet refacing. Refacing your cabinets is usually done when there is something wrong with the doors. Either they are falling apart or are so out of style; it just makes sense to replace them. In this case, there can be very little wrong with the cabinets themselves.

The first two options for us don't seem to work, as they are considerably more expensive than what we decided to go with.

Cabinet refinishing is the route we are going. After inspecting our cabinet boxes for any deficiencies, we realized this would save us a lot of money by not having to rip apart the entire kitchen.

Comparative costs between the three options that we examined are as follows:

New wood cabinetry, solid wood doors, light rail, crown moulding- >$10000.00

Cabinet refacing, new doors, light rail, crown moulding added- >$ 7000.00

Cabinet refinishing, using existing doors and cabinets and adding in
crown moulding and light rail to upgrade look and style. >$ 4000.00

As you can see by the numbers, the cost disparity is dramatic. Now, I'm not saying that replacing your entire kitchen is a bad idea; I am just being real about what I am prepared to spend. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my cabinet construction, and the doors are a relatively simple raised panel style being featured by all the kitchen designers and showrooms.

We also decided that with the money we save on replacing the cabinetry, we could upgrade to a more expensive countertop, maybe granite or quartz. Again, if you take the time to look at the options available, you may be able to take the emotional purchase out of the equation. Emotional purchases always cost more.

The company we have come across is locally owned and operated.  N-Hance Revolutionary Wood Renewal is an innovative, affordable cabinet and floor renewal service that makes the entire process very painless. They come to your home for a free, in-home consultation and bring with them the latest door finishes being featured in all the magazines. Garry Fair, owner/operator was very personable and certainly knows his business. He made both my husband and myself feel very much at ease and let us ask as many questions as we needed to in order to grasp exactly what we were signing up for.

N-Hance cabinet refinishing takes a fraction of the time and is a lot less invasive to your everyday living. Their process is designed to cut down on dust, inconvenience and noxious fumes associated with traditional refinishing methods. In many cases, their process can be completed in just one day.

We are going to be posting over the next several weeks, pictures and blogs relating to the kitchen conversion. There will be, before, during and after photos of the whole project. I hope that if you continue to follow the process, you may consider this as a viable alternative to a complete kitchen blow up. It is a sure fire way to give you the kitchen of your dreams without spending the kids college fund in order to do it.