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.