I’ve never had a more requested blog topic before. Like many of you, I wasn’t totally sure how much a kitchen renovation would cost before we 100% wrapped this one up, so I understand the curiosity. My husband and I were chatting about this recently, and I think we figured out why there’s so little common knowledge around kitchen budgets: we’re all so much more likely to renovate a bathroom, but you may realistically only completely renovate one to two kitchens in your lifetime. Plus, the budget for kitchens can differ vastly across the spectrum based on a number of factors.
Here’s my disclaimer: we’ve never shared a budget breakdown before because while I’m very thrifty, we don’t consider ourselves to be renovating on a shoestring. We value quality and maximizing our budget, but this wasn’t anywhere near a low-budget kitchen renovation. Please be respectful that our budget may not be what you would spend on your own home, but this is where we’ve decided to put our savings.
Additionally, I’ve noted below where we received sponsored product from brands in exchange for promotion, as well as a notation for the items we received a small percentage discount on from the brand for including in our space. I do want to stress that we paid for the majority of this renovation out of our own pockets and were very much focused on staying on budget (one of the biggest reasons why we did all the kitchen install ourselves).
I also excluded in this budget the labor costs for preparing the space for our kitchen. These costs were very substantial since we had to do a good deal of structural work (opening up several walls, laying and refinishing all the hardwoods on our main floor, plumbing, electrical, drywall, and a number of surprise expenses), but those costs were specific to our home and geographic area. To be transparent, if we were to add the labor costs into the overall budget, it would be by far the biggest line item.
For reference, our kitchen is just under 200 square feet, a pretty decently sized room, in which we really maximized the footprint by using 3 of the walls, plus an island. I did not include the mudroom area in these costs.
The Budget Breakdown
Items with a * were provided by the brand in exchange for promotion. Items noted with a ** received a small discount from the brand. All sources are shared in this post.
Cabinetry & Millwork
- Cabinetry (including some custom units, and appliance panels): $20,000 **
- Door and Window Casing: $500
- Crown Moulding: $200*
Lighting
- Sconces (2) : $1,250 *
- Picture Light (1): $480 *
- Pendants (2): $1,700 *
Appliances
- Range: $3,250 **
- Fridge: $2,900 (purchased scratch and dent off eBay, retails new for $4,500)
- Dishwasher: $950
- Beverage Fridge: $1,500 *
- Exhaust Vent: $1,000 *
Countertops, Tile, & Sink
- AAA Carrara Marble Counters, 2 slabs (including fabrication): $8,300
- Sink (including drain cover and grate): $850 *
- Tile Backsplash: $2,100 *
- Steel Frame for Island: $150
Plumbing Fixtures & Hardware
- Faucet: $100 (purchased two years ago off Craigslist, retails for $1,500)
- Sprayer: $500 (purchased from this site that carries discounted Waterworks)
- Pot Filler at Range: $640
- Coffee Bar Pot Filler: $210 *
- Cabinet Knobs (27): $780 *
- Cabinet Latches (2): $86 *
- Drawer Pulls (10): $880 *
- Appliance Pulls (4): $900 *
Accessories & Furniture
- Bar stools (4): $352
- Runner: $800 *
- Vintage Painting: $60
Other
- Light switches: $225*
- Outlets: $190*
- Paint: $200
- Miscellaneous supplies (grout, thinset, wood, caulk, sandpaper, etc): $500
Total: $51,553
I’m not going to lie, that’s a pretty scary number to see written out, especially since it excludes all the labor that went into the space (both ours, and that of our contractor’s team), but we couldn’t be happier with the finished product and know that it has completely transformed our relationship with our house and how the kitchen functions and feels on a day to day basis.
I hope this is helpful for any of you who are planning a kitchen renovation!
And, to help with your planning, here is a kitchen budget for a farmhouse kitchen and another one that shares the budget of another kitchen from scratch.
It looks like a 100k kitchen to me! I’m so inspired by the spaces you and your husband create.
Thank you, that’s so awesome to hear 🙂
Agreed! And it basically is a 100k if you were to pay for all of the labor. Honestly, where I live the labor would probably be even more than 50k. I’m in all of their talent and vision! This is such great motivation to keep saving! 🙂
Very helpful information – thanks for sharing. Love how it all turned out!!!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing. This really helps those looking for the dream kitchen when you think its way out of budget. I really thought your kitchen cost a lot more, it gives me hope that we can achieve the same. Beautiful work you have done on your house.
That’s great to hear! There are definitely some areas that can bring the cost down (non-custom cabinetry, scratch and dent appliances, DIYing the install) 🙂
So generous for you to share such a personal decision. I really thank for you it because you’re right, kitchens are one of the lesser known budget items for people. Anyways, it looks like twice that amount in style. Job well done!!!
Happy to hear it was helpful! And thank you!
This is very helpful. It’s great that you & your husband are so talented in the diy arena.
My kitchen is not quite as big as yours. We would keep our same layout & just change the finishes & appliances. My husband can put in all the lightbulbs of any new light fixtures so I’ve got that working in my favor. 😉
1) your kitchen space came out beautifully.
2) Thanks for sharing the numbers for the materials and fixtures. I think it’s really helpful for people to see this, especially given the lower costs often quoted on home improvement shows. The labor to demo and prep the space plus the added cost to install could easily double this budget in the NY Tri-State area.
3) The other common misconception happens when a GC quotes a renovation with allowances for materials that are all lower than a client’s desired/preferred materials. So often a client can get started but as they proceed each item allowance for materials winds up being low and clients are faced with a tough decision to upgrade or settle for less in terms of materials and appliances. In short it’s helpful for a client to specify key materials upfront so there’s a realistic understanding on budget upfront.
This is super helpful. I read all these home blogs with the idea of implementing these ideas in my own house, but I struggle because the individual steps seem so pricey to me. It helps to see that the project overall is just way outside my price-range, lol. Don’t feel bad! The renovations in magazines are *super* expensive, and they are far less transparent about that.
Such a thoughtful share. Thank you for being so generous with your info – and congrats on getting your cabinets in exchange for posting!! That’s such a testament to your work on this blog!!
Huge congratulations on your beautiful kitchen! Thank you so much for sharing the cost breakdown; it is a reality check many of us need after too much HGTV BS.
Erin — every time I see pictures of that kitchen, I swoon because it’s so gorgeous. I mean really gorgeous!
I found you on One Room Challenge, and have since painted my bedroom closet shelving the same as yours! Love that color! Your hesitation to publish your numbers for your kitchen almost hurt to read, but it shouldn’t. It’s long overdue that the real costs of these renovations aren’t talked about, almost like it’s a secret, which is one of the biggest shortcomings in all the magazines we love to read. NO ONE tells you how much it is and all it does is leave you frustrated. I’m local to you and have tackled the same projects. You shouldn’t hesitate telling the labor costs, even if its unique to you, most complete kitchen jobs require each of those trades and that’s why it’s so labor intensive and requires experts, not diy’rs. Most of us would not install a kitchen ourselves. Paint the walls maybe, that’s about it. ( Sooo, we have a couple of new blue kitchens too — my adult son’s and in our second home in FL)
Loved how you explained how much every part of the remodeling going to cost. Found it very helpful! Thank you for sharing!
As I expected, that’s a lot.. Congratulations on the new kitchen – it is so stunning!
Thank you for sharing this information, Nice kitchen. This is very helpful if someone plans to do remodeling of their kitchen. We can help you out.
Beautiful kitchen! Love everything about it. Do you mind if I ask you what color you chose for your cabinets?
The cabinets are Harbor from Cliq Studios
Your design and taste is impeccable! My wife sent me this blog hours ago to show me your closet, and I’ve spent the evening viewing your home and posts.
Like you we chose Carrara Marble for our counters and backsplash and although I still love my all white kitchen I often think I should have chosen honed instead of polished. Do you know if that can be changed after it has been installed?
Hi! I actually do *believe* it can be refinished on-site!
It was a well-written post with a great estimation of kitchen cost. I really loved it and got a clear idea. It will help me a lot. Thank you so much for sharing.
That’s stunning.
May I kindly ask what colour is your units? I loved it.
The kitchen cabinets came painted, so I don’t have a paint colour name I can share, sorry!
Money is so personal and sometime awkward to share but this was SO SO helpful to read!! Thank you for this breakdown!