Kitchen makeovers: new fronts and surfaces, same footprint

A makeover leaves the boxes and the services where they are and replaces everything you touch and look at: doors, drawer fronts, benchtop, splashback, handles, sink and tapware. It is the right job when the plan already works and only the surfaces have aged.

Compare this with a full renovation

ASSESS · 16 / 18MM · SQUARE TO 2MM

Judge the carcasses before you choose a colour

Every makeover starts with the same half hour: pulling out a drawer, checking the base of the sink cabinet for swelling, putting a level on the run and a square into the corners. New fronts hung on tired boxes will telegraph every fault within a season, so the decision to reface or rebuild is made on what the carcasses are actually doing — not on how the kitchen looks.

KEEP

Worth refacing

Boxes sit level and square, doors close without packingNo swelling at the sink base or under the dishwasherModule widths still suit how the room is usedHinges and runners can be replaced, not re-bored

REBUILD

What a makeover cannot fix

Layout — a fridge in the wrong corner stays in the wrong cornerPlumbing and power positions, unless trades are brought back inClearances that were never right: walkways, door swings, bench runsWater-damaged or particleboard carcasses that have lost their fixings

If two or more of these apply, the honest answer is a complete kitchen renovation or new custom cabinetry.

Raised-panel fronts, drawers and a patterned tiled splashback — the surfaces a makeover replaces while the boxes behind them stay put.

SCOPE · 3 PARTS · ONE FOOTPRINT

What a makeover scope covers

A refresh is set out in three parts: the fronts and hardware you touch, the benchtop and splashback you look at, and the fixtures swapped in at fit-off.

300 / 450 / 600

Fronts and hardware

New doors and drawer fronts made to the existing module widths, with soft-close hinges, replacement runners and handles chosen to suit the new profile.

20 / 40MM · 600 DEEP

Benchtop and splashback

The two surfaces that change a room most. Old tops are removed, the runs re-templated off what is standing, and the new benchtop set before the splashback is measured to the real bench-to-overhead gap.

SINK · TAP · FIT-OFF

Fixtures and finishing

Sink and tapware swapped in the same position, kickboards and end panels renewed, shadow lines evened up and every door adjusted at fit-off.

05 STAGES OF 13

How a refresh runs

A makeover uses a shortened version of the same sequence as a full build — see the thirteen-stage process.

Oakleigh · Oakleigh South · Oakleigh East · Hughesdale · Huntingdale · Carnegie · Murrumbeena · Chadstone · Clayton

01 Assess — carcasses, levels, hinge positions and what the services will allow.02 Measure — every module recorded so fronts land on the existing boring pattern.03 Selections — door finish, benchtop material and splashback confirmed together, not one at a time.04 Strip-off — old fronts and benchtop removed, sink disconnected, carcasses cleaned and re-fixed.05 Fit-off and finishing — benchtop set, splashback installed, doors aligned, seals and trims completed.

QUESTIONS · REFRESH WORK

What homeowners ask before a makeover

Can I keep the kitchen usable during the work?

Mostly. Because the carcasses stay in place, the fridge and most storage remain available. The sink and benchtop are out for the templating and installation window, so plan a temporary washing-up arrangement for those days.

Will new doors match the existing cabinet openings?

They are made to the openings we measure, not to a standard list. Where old hinge borings are worn or in the wrong place, the gable is repaired or the door re-bored so the shadow line reads evenly across the whole run.

Can the layout change a little?

Small moves are possible — adding a bank of drawers in place of a door, or building out an end panel — but anything that relocates the sink, cooktop or fridge brings plumbing and electrical back into the job. At that point the work is closer to a complete renovation than a refresh.

What drives the cost of a makeover?

The number of fronts, the benchtop material and whether trades are needed for the sink and tapware. Our guide on what drives kitchen renovation cost sets out how scope and material choices move the figure.

12 / 13 · SEND MEASUREMENTS OR PHOTOS

Not sure whether to reface or rebuild?

Tell us the age of the cabinetry, what is failing and what you want the room to look like. We will say plainly whether a makeover will hold up in your kitchen or whether the money is better spent on new joinery.

Complete Kitchen RenovationsKitchen BenchtopsKitchen SplashbacksCustom CabinetryContact the workshop