How Much Does It Cost to Respray or Replace Kitchen Doors? A UK Price Guide for 2026
If the cabinet carcasses in your kitchen are square, sound and firmly fixed to the wall, you can give the whole room a new look for £1,500 to £6,000, without ripping anything out. A professional respray of your existing doors can bring it in for less again, typically £800 to £2,000. That is a different league from a new kitchen in the same layout, which usually costs £7,000 to £15,000 fitted and replaces all the cabinetry. This guide covers the two routes to a fresh set of doors, what each actually costs, and how to choose between them.
Two routes to new kitchen doors
There are two very different ways to renew your kitchen doors, and they cost very different amounts.
A kitchen respray means you keep your physical doors and drawer fronts, and a specialist sprays them in a new colour. It is a well established trade in the UK, done either in your home with the kitchen masked off or in the sprayer's workshop with the doors taken away. It is usually the cheapest route, because you are not paying for new materials, only for the labour of making your old doors look new. It works best on solid wood, MDF and doors that are already painted.
Replacement doors mean the old doors come off and brand new ones go on, either in standard sizes from a door supplier or made to measure for your cabinets. This opens up a complete change of colour, material and style, say from gloss white slabs to a matt shaker front, but it costs more than spraying because you are buying new materials on top of the fitting.
Both routes assume the cabinets themselves, the carcasses, are straight and in good condition. If they are not, read our new kitchen price guide instead, because you are shopping for a different project.
Three budget levels for a kitchen facelift
| Budget level | What you get | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Respray | Existing doors and drawer fronts sprayed in a new colour | £800-£2,000 |
| New doors, smaller kitchen | New doors and handles fitted, worktop kept | £1,500-£3,500 |
| Full facelift with new worktop | New doors, new worktop, new handles, fitted | £3,000-£6,000 |
The classic facelift, new doors, worktop and handles on untouched carcasses, is the £1,500 to £6,000 band from our main kitchen guide, and the two lower rows of it are shown here. A respray sits below that band, because no new materials change hands. The edges are soft in both directions: fitting budget standard-size doors yourself can squeeze under £1,000, while full-service makeover companies such as Dream Doors and Kitchen Makeovers, who survey, supply and fit everything, quote £2,500 to £4,000 for doors alone and can push past £6,000 once panels and a stone worktop join the job.
Where does the money go?
- Respray: £800-£2,000 for a typical kitchen. Small kitchens with 8 to 12 doors start around £800, and kitchens with 20 or more doors typically land at £2,500 to £3,500, though very large kitchens with 30 or more doors can climb past £7,000. The price includes cleaning, sanding, priming and at least two sprayed coats, and labour makes up roughly 70 per cent of it.
- New doors, supply: £300-£2,500. Standard-size doors start at £20 to £50 each, while made-to-measure vinyl-wrapped or painted doors run £50 to £250 each. A small kitchen might need £300 to £900 worth of doors, a large one £700 to £2,500.
- New worktop: £200-£3,500. Laminate is cheapest and perfectly serviceable at £200 to £500 supplied and fitted, while quartz and granite lift both the look and the bill at £1,200 to £2,500. You do not have to replace the worktop to replace the doors, but the two read as one surface, so they are often done together. See our dedicated worktop price guide if you want the full breakdown by material.
- Handles and fitting: £350-£950. Handles, hinges and soft-close mechanisms typically cost £100 to £250 for a whole kitchen, and hanging and adjusting a full set of new doors takes a fitter one to two days at £190 to £350 a day.
Add a buffer of around 10 per cent. And measure every door precisely before you order, because a few millimetres of error can mean the new doors do not sit flush. Cutting that buffer is one of several reasons renovation budgets overrun, and it catches people out on facelifts just as often as on a full renovation.
How to choose and prioritise
- Check the carcasses first. If the cabinet boxes are square, dry and firmly fixed, you are a candidate for a facelift. If they are warped, water damaged or loose, look at a new kitchen instead.
- Choose a respray if you like the shape but not the colour. It is the cheapest route to a visible lift, and it works especially well on plain, flat doors.
- Choose new doors if you want a different style. Going from panelled to flat doors, or from wrapped chipboard to solid wood, means new doors whatever happens.
- Swap the handles either way. It is the cheapest single upgrade in the whole kitchen, and it multiplies the effect of everything else.
- Get at least three quotes, for both a respray and new doors. Prices vary more here than in almost any other kitchen job, and the two routes often land closer together than you expect.
- Plan the worktop at the same time if the budget allows. Replacing it later means trades back in the kitchen and some of the same dismantling done twice.
What to check before you order
Open a few doors and drawers and look for moisture damage, loose hinges and carcasses out of square. Measure the width and height of every door exactly, because both sprayers and door suppliers need precise sizes. If the kitchen is older than 15 to 20 years, also check that the cabinet backs and bases have not started to swell or soften from moisture under the sink.
Frequently asked questions
Can all kitchen doors be resprayed?
Most doors in solid wood, MDF or an already painted finish respray well. Gloss laminate and foil-wrapped doors are harder, because paint bonds poorly without specialist adhesion primers, and doors with peeling vinyl need repairing or stripping first. Ask the sprayer to assess your exact doors before you book.
Do resprayed doors look as good as new?
A well executed respray gives a smooth, even factory-style finish that is hard to tell from new, with no brush marks. The quality rests on the preparation, the sanding and priming, so choose a company that sprays kitchens specifically and ask to see recent examples.
How long does a kitchen facelift take?
An in-home respray typically takes two to six days, depending on the number of doors, while off-site workshop jobs can take a week or two including transport. New doors go on in a day or two once they arrive, but made-to-measure doors usually have a lead time of two to four weeks from order.
Does replacing kitchen doors add value to my home?
A facelift is first and foremost an investment in your own enjoyment, not the value driver a whole new kitchen can be. It still makes the kitchen far more attractive to viewers, and it is much cheaper per point of visible lift than a full replacement.
Can I respray now and fit new doors later?
Yes. A respray is a good halfway step that extends the life of the kitchen without locking you into one style forever. If you want a completely different door later, you can still fit new ones when the budget allows.
Keep the whole project in one place
A kitchen facelift is still quotes, measurements and deliveries to keep track of. Pilt keeps the budget, the tasks and the before and after photos in one place. You can also upload a photo of your kitchen and try new door styles and colours with AI, before you order anything at all.
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