Your kitchen is undoubtedly the heart of your home, or in more modern terms, the core of your family’s command center! 😉
Whether your goal is to increase the value of your house or you’re simply wanting to make it a more enjoyable place to live, choosing to do a kitchen remodel or renovation is one of the best decisions homeowners can make. Breathing new life into an outdated kitchen adds value to a home in numerous ways.
Our pricing guide will break down the steps to planning your renovation and provide a breakdown of expected costs for the following:
- Basic Kitchen Remodel
- Mid-Range Kitchen Remodel
- Deluxe Kitchen Remodel
Make a Plan
To get the most bang for your buck it’s important to set a budget from the start, know your needs and understand where the money will go. Before shopping for appliances, tile or flooring, know your personal needs and goals for the outcome of the remodel. Then you can create a wish list of desired components and begin your search for a contractor.
Recommended Budget
The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) has a recommendation for the value of a kitchen remodel to help homeowners set an appropriate budget.
As you create your budget, there’s more to consider than the amount of money you can afford to spend. Essentially, putting too much into a home improvement project can affect the rate of return on your investment.
The NKBA recommends budgeting 15-20% of the value of your home.
For example:
$250,000 home = $37,000-$50,000 kitchen remodel budget
$500,000 home = $75,000-$100,000 kitchen remodel budget
Once your budget has been determined, cut it by at least 25 percent. Set the extra money aside as a cushion to make unexpected surprises much less stressful.
Cost Breakdown
The NKBA’s guide for an average kitchen remodel is as follows:
- Cabinetry and Hardware: 29%
- Installation: 17%
- Appliances and Ventilation: 14%
- Countertops: 10%
- Flooring: 7%
- Lighting: 5%
- Walls and Ceilings: 5%
- Design Fees: 4%
- Doors and Windows: 4%
- Faucets and Plumbing: 4%
- Other: 1%
Determine Priorities
Once you have a general idea of your budget and desires, pinpoint your exact needs and priorities.
Are you planning to resell your home in a few years or is this your long-term home?
Are you doing a simple update and refresh, complete remodel, or upscale renovation?
How much kitchen do you need?
What things do you like best about your current kitchen?
What things about your current kitchen do you dislike?
What is the main function of your kitchen?
Are you a budding chef? Then you may want to invest in a butcher’s block countertop or a professional grade oven and range.
Do you do a lot of entertaining? Then you may want to design an open space with dimmable lighting and built-in bar.
Is your kitchen more of a space for kids to do homework while you throw together a quick meal? Then you may want to install a built-in desk, easy-clean surfaces, and a durable floor.
Remodel for Resale
According to the Cost vs. Value National Report, you can receive a return of up to 78% on a kitchen remodel investment.
If the house is temporary, get advice from a realtor about which improvements will increase the resale value for your area.
For example, in most areas installing eco-friendly appliances, lighting and faucets can add a higher value and larger return on your investment.
Remodel for Long-term Stay and Enjoyment
If this is your forever home, the investment you’re making is about quality of life. So, create a space that’s uniquely yours.
Basic Kitchen Remodel – Expected Cost Range: $15,500-$25,500
Goal: Update and Refresh
Kitchen remodels can be the most expensive home improvement. However, it is possible to do a facelift on a rundown kitchen without breaking the bank. To keep costs down maintain the original structure of the current kitchen and make simple changes.
Typical Projects:
Replace countertops: Choose a cost-smart countertop material, such as granite, quartzite, or marble: $3,500-$7,500
Refurbish cabinets: Paint or refinish and stain existing cabinets and change the hardware. If the budget allows, replace cabinet doors and fronts: $1,500-$3,500
Replace plumbing fixtures: Update the faucet and sink: $750-$2,500
Paint walls, ceiling, and trim: Many homeowners consider this a DIY project. However, considering the difficulty level of painting kitchens, you may want to leave this one for the pros: $750-$2,000
Lighting: Do a basic lighting exchange with existing fixtures. Choose eco-friendly versions or install under-cabinet task lighting with LED light strips: $250-$750
Professionally replace wall socket and light switch plates: $75-$125 per hour for a licensed electrician ($5-$25 per socket or receptacle)
Flooring: Install inexpensive laminate flooring or refurbish existing wood floors: $1,000-$2,500
Mid-Range Kitchen Remodel – Expected Cost Range: $30,000-$75,000
Goal: Remove and Replace
The average kitchen remodel falls in this category. At this stage homeowners often use kitchen designers, do some of the smaller projects themselves and leave the rest to the pros. To stay in this price range, maintain the basic structure of the room. Remove the existing items and replace them with new and improved versions.
Typical Projects
Cabinets: Make your space more efficient and stylish by installing new stock cabinets: $7,500-$15,500
Countertops: Upgrade countertops to a quality material, such as quartz or granite: $3,500-$7,000
Appliances: Upgrade existing appliances with energy efficient versions: $3,800-$8,500
Lighting: Update lighting to include modern fixtures. If your budget allows, add undercabinet task lighting: $1,000-$2,500
Plumbing fixtures: Replace the worn-out sink, faucet and fixtures with modern versions that may include a drop-in, single-basin sink, gooseneck faucet or built-in soap dispenser: $800-$2,500
Paint walls, ceiling, and trim: $1,000-$1,500
Flooring: Replace existing floors with laminate or tiles: $2,500-$4,500
Backsplash: Add visual interest with a tile backsplash $1,000-$2,500
Deluxe Kitchen Remodel – Expected Cost Range: $75,000-$125,000+
Goal: Redesign and Renovate
Once you’ve found your forever home, it’s time to build your dream kitchen. Put together your wish list, find a designer and create the ideal room for the heart of your home. An upscale, deluxe kitchen remodel is a complete renovation and redesign of space.
Typical Projects:
Open the space: Remove walls and open the kitchen so it’s more livable, usable and flows into the rest of the home. (Price varies)
Relocate windows or exterior doors: In order to bring in more light and enlarge the room, it’s necessary to reconfigure the area, which may include moving windows and exterior doors. (Price varies)
Custom cabinets: Hire a professional cabinet maker to build custom cabinets that may include, cherry wood, soft-close doors and drawers and crown molding $20,000-$30,000
High-end countertops: Instead of having open counterspace with no purpose, create workstations. It’s more efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Use durable, stylish material, such as natural stone, wood, granite, quartzite or marble: $7,500-$10,000+
Custom built-in appliances: These appliances have all the bells and whistles that may include, a convection oven with warming drawer, a refrigerator with Bluetooth capabilities and a microwave drawer: $12,500-$20,000
Upscale sink and faucet: Depending on your style and needs, you may choose a farmhouse sink, a triple-basin sink with built-in drying rack and cutting board or a nickel-plated faucet with pullout spout: $3,000-$4,500
Lighting: Install recessed lighting, undercabinet workspace lighting and track lighting $3,750-$5,500
Flooring: For durability install natural stone or use cork for an eco-friendly flooring option. Create a space that flows by installing the same flooring throughout the house, such as, hardwood floors: $4,500-$7,500
Paint walls, ceiling, and trim: $750-$2,000
Add various style elements such as crown molding, glass tile backsplash and hidden undercabinet electrical outlets: $1,000+
With proper planning and research, kitchen renovations can be done within your budget. If done right, a kitchen remodel can change the look of the entire house. It’s an improvement guaranteed to not only add value to your home but also to the way you live.
I’m going to fix that for the NKBA:
Cabinets & Hardware 25%
Installation 12%
Appliances & Ventilation 14%
Countertops 10%
Flooring 7%
Lighting 4%
Walls & Ceiling 4%
Design fees 15%
Doors & Windows 4%
Faucets & Plumbing 4%
Other 1%
Leaving only 4% to design with a space that complex is atrocious. Yeesh! Designers/Creatives need to stop working for next to nothing.
Nice take Rachel! You should get in touch about contributing an expert article on design and build process and costs! One thing I would add is that the installation cost is often a significantly higher percentage of the overall cost of the job, especially if it’s a complete gut out of the old kitchen. That said, when a full service design and build remodeling company bids and delivers a complete job for a customer, design fees are sometimes baked into the installation cost of the remodel, and those installation costs can be very high on some projects.