Kitchen Spraying vs Replacing: An Honest Comparison

20 October 2026 · 6 min read · Goodhall Spraying Specialists

"Spray it, don't replace it" is our industry's slogan — but is it actually right for your kitchen? Here's a straight comparison of costs, disruption, results and durability, with the situations where each option genuinely wins.

The cost comparison

For a typical UK kitchen, these are realistic 2026 figures:

• Professional kitchen respray — £750–£1,750 for most kitchens
• New budget kitchen, fitted — £3,000–£5,000
• New mid-range kitchen, fitted — £6,000–£12,000
• New high-end kitchen, fitted — £15,000+

Even against a modest new kitchen, spraying saves 70% or more. Against the mid-range kitchens most families actually buy, the saving is often £5,000–£10,000. That's the fundamental case for spraying: your cabinets' most expensive component — the carcasses — usually has decades of life left in it. You're paying for colour and finish, not throwing away solid units.

Disruption: days vs weeks

A respray follows a simple rhythm: doors and drawer fronts are collected on day one, sprayed in our dust-controlled facility over the next couple of days, and refitted by day three. Your kitchen stays usable throughout — you keep your kettle, your fridge, your worktops. There's no rip-out, no skip on the drive, no plumber.

A replacement is a building project: 2–6 weeks without a functioning kitchen, tradespeople in and out daily, dust through the house, and the surprise extras that almost always appear — plastering, electrics, flooring repairs, disposal of the old units.

How the results compare

Where spraying wins: the finish itself. Professional spraying applies the same type of coating used in furniture factories — fine, even, with no brush marks. In Farrow & Ball or Little Greene shades, a sprayed kitchen genuinely looks bespoke. Most visitors assume the kitchen is new.

Where spraying can't compete: what it doesn't change. Your worktops, handles, layout and appliances stay exactly as they are. If your worktop is chipped laminate or the layout drives you mad, a respray polishes the same underlying kitchen. New handles fitted during a respray help enormously, but they're still on the same cabinets.

Durability

A professionally sprayed finish — properly degreased, primed and coated — is designed for daily kitchen life: steam, heat, grease and wiping down. It comfortably outlasts brush-applied paint, which shows strokes and wear within a couple of years. Our finishes are built to look great for years with normal care.

So which should you choose?

Spray if: your cabinets are structurally sound, the layout works, and you want a dramatic transformation for a fraction of replacement cost — especially if you're refreshing before selling, where the return on a respray is excellent.

Replace if: carcasses are water-damaged or failing, you want to reconfigure the layout, or the kitchen needs more than cosmetic help.

And if you're not sure: that's exactly what our free survey is for. We'll look at your kitchen and tell you honestly which route makes sense — including telling you if spraying isn't the right answer for yours.

Frequently asked questions