If your kitchen is looking tired, outdated, or simply not your style, you're facing a decision that thousands of London homeowners wrestle with every year: should you respray your existing kitchen or rip it out and start again?
Both options will give you a kitchen that looks brand new — but the cost, timeline, disruption, and environmental impact are vastly different. Here's an honest, side-by-side comparison to help you decide.
Cost Comparison: Respray vs Replacement
A full kitchen respray in London is priced from £1,900. This includes all preparation, primer, multiple coats of factory-grade paint, hardware refitting, and a 5-year written guarantee.
A full kitchen replacement — including new cabinetry, worktops, fitting, plumbing, electrics, tiling, and decoration — typically costs £15,000 to £30,000+ in London. Even a mid-range IKEA kitchen with professional fitting rarely comes in under £10,000.
That means a kitchen respray saves you 70–90% compared to replacement. For a detailed cost breakdown, see our kitchen respray pricing guide.
Timeline: 4–6 Days vs 4–8 Weeks
A professional kitchen respray is completed in 4–6 working days. Your kitchen remains functional throughout most of the process — we work around your routine. Read our detailed timeline breakdown for more.
A kitchen replacement involves demolition, plumbing, electrical work, tiling, fitting, and decoration. Even straightforward projects take 4–8 weeks, and delays are common.
Disruption & Mess
During a respray, we carefully mask all surfaces, worktops, and appliances. There's no demolition, no structural work, and no dust clouds. Learn more about how to prepare your kitchen for the process.
A replacement involves ripping out existing units, potentially moving plumbing and electrics, tiling, plastering, and weeks of construction mess throughout your home.
Quality of Finish
Using professional HVLP spray equipment and factory-grade coatings, a kitchen respray delivers a finish that is genuinely indistinguishable from a brand new kitchen. The surface is smooth, even, and incredibly durable — which is why we offer a 5-year written guarantee.
Environmental Impact
Respraying is the eco-friendly choice. A full replacement sends your old kitchen to landfill — that's 500–800kg of waste per kitchen. Respraying keeps your existing carcasses in place and transforms them in situ.
When Replacement Makes More Sense
A respray isn't always the answer. If your cabinet carcasses are physically damaged, swollen from water damage, or the layout simply doesn't work for your needs, replacement may be the better option.
The Verdict
For the vast majority of London homeowners whose kitchens are structurally sound but aesthetically dated, a kitchen respray is the smarter choice. You get a brand-new look, in any colour, in under a week, at a fraction of the cost.
Want to see if your kitchen is suitable? Get a free, no-obligation estimate or call Kenny on 07723 504885.
