Financial experts are predicting a rise in what they call 'big ticket expenditure' at the end of the year. They forecast sales of flat screen TVs, white goods and kitchen installations will increase, as consumers look to beat the VAT rise.

In addition to any VAT economies, customers of the Granite Transformations showroom Henleaze Road, Bristol, can save up to 50% on the price of a new fitted kitchen, by opting for a ‘total refacing’ makeover instead. With a unique combination of diamond-polished worktops that cover existing work surfaces and made-to-measure replacement kitchen doors and drawer fronts, Granite Transformations can completely reface your existing units, creating a handsome new look for around half the price.

So what exactly is kitchen refacing and why does it save you money and help save the environment into the bargain? For the answer, peer inside one of your kitchen cupboards and you will probably notice that the basic framework, known as the carcase, is perfectly sound, the drawer interiors are still serviceable and, aside from looking a bit faded, chipped and dated, the worktop surfaces are solid and flat.

Also, you are likely to be perfectly happy with the kitchen layout as it is, especially the ‘golden triangle’ of sink, fridge and cooker, and the way that certain drawers and cupboards come easily to hand. The answer then is not to replace it, with all the ripping out, mess, debris and delay that involves, but to reface it with sparkling new, hardwearing worktops and stylish doors and drawer fronts.

There’s a green angle too, since you will be preserving the underlying carcases and worktops, which add up to much more than you might imagine (see diagram). By preserving this structure, often built with solid hardwood in earlier kitchens, refacing reduces by as much as 75% the amount of builder’s waste that would normally be ripped out and thrown in a skip. Nor does the green message end there, because there is now a premium on the disposal of builder’s waste in landfill sites, with many authorities actively discouraging wood, MDF and plastics, and the price of licensed skip hire is escalating. So refacing eliminates some of those disposal and ecological costs too.

Saving a load of cash and helping to save the planet doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality and choice though. When it comes to finish, durability, scratch and heat resistance and all those other characteristics of a hardwearing kitchen surface, Granite Transformations worktops are second to none, with the added bonus that they need no more maintenance than a wipe over with a microfibre cloth, which is even supplied free. Yet unlike any other granite, quartz, recycled glass or engineered stone materials, they can be installed directly over your existing work surfaces, because they’re so slim yet strong. Try putting granite or marble slab on top of your worktops and you’ll need extra reinforcement – and higher heels when you’re working at them.

As to choice, there are three different Granite Transformations worktop materials – Italian granite, fine-grained quartz or eco-friendly recycled glass – plus pre-grouted mosaic sheets for splashbacks, together offering a selection of around sixty colours and designs. So no shortage of choice there and the inherent flexibility of this high tech material means you can have gently radiused curves, luxurious waterfall ends and deep worktop edges if you wish, creating plenty of design options.

The timber-finish replacement doors and drawer fronts are made-to-measure to fit your existing units and expertly fitted, with a wide choice of handle styles and soft-close hinges as standard. The colours have been selected to complement, contrast or tone with the worktops, in natural wood veneers, modern high gloss finishes and more besides. The door styles are variously plain, shaker-style, cottagey, country chic and classic, across twenty different designs, with matched feature doors, drawer fronts, canopies, cornices and kickboards available.

The good news doesn’t end there either. Because the worktops are fabricated off-site and everything is then installed by trained Granite Transformations fitters, with no sub-contractors involved, most kitchens can be totally refaced by just two people, within one or two days. So there’s no lengthy disruption, no group of tradesmen cluttering up your kitchen and no making endless cups of tea! The icing on the cake is that there’s a lifetime warranty on the worktops and a three-year material guarantee on the doors and drawer fronts.

To demonstrate what a comparatively instant transformation is achievable with kitchen refacing, Granite Transformations has filmed a complete makeover in a real, live kitchen – worktops, splashbacks, doors, drawer fronts, replacement sink units and all – using time-lapse photography. The resulting video playback condenses a complete 12-hour project into just 4 minutes and the quirky, high-speed transformation can be seen on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sp5663cAzA) and the new Granite Transformations website. In the video clip, a traditional country kitchen with dark oak doors and light laminate worktops is updated into a bright modern look, featuring light birch shaker doors and recycled glass surfaces in flecked, deep chocolate. Of course, if your taste is for the more traditional, you could equally change 90’s chic into country classic, because with kitchen refacing any d�cor is possible.

Why not check out the design possibilities at the Granite Transformations showroom in Bristol, where they have the complete collection of worktops and replacement doors on display? D�cor consultancy is free and you can see and touch the different worktop materials and door finishes to get the full effect. But it’s when you’ve had a magical makeover on your own kitchen and stepped back to admire the resulting new look, then you’ll know that seeing really is believing!

Further enquiries to Granite Transformations, 91 Henleaze Road, BristolBS9 4JP, tel 0117 962 5416, email bristol@granitetransformations.co.uk or visit their website at www.granitetransformations.co.uk/bristol