Are you planning a Kitchen Renovation and wondering what a full kitchen remodel cost breakdown looks like?
Well, wonder no more. Today I’m breaking down my DIY kitchen remodel cost item by item and where you should splurge and save!
When I was about to embark on my kitchen remodel, one of the things I researched for the most and found very little of was some kitchen remodels cost examples. I get it, no one wants to talk about money.
Hence why I’m writing this post, after all, it is very helpful to know what an average kitchen remodel cost is and what can you expect to spend when renovating a kitchen. With that in hand you can plan and budget accordingly. You can see my full kitchen reveal on my Kitchen before and after post.
Kitchen Renovation Cost
After watching countless of shows on HGTV I was convinced that I could renovate our kitchen for close to 20K, I remember my hubby calling me crazy, and it turns out he was right (obviously I was not happy about that!!).
Well, we spent almost double that. Yep! Kitchen remodels are no joke. The average kitchen renovation its around 20K to 40K . So lets dive in and see where the money went on our recent DIY kitchen reno.
Kitchen Renovation Cost: Cabinets
Expect to spend the bulk of your kitchen renovation budget on your kitchen cabinets. This is probably the most expensive item but also the most important too.
My tip: research, research and more research.
Go to a few places for cabinets, find a maker, style that you like and see what other dealers are in your area. My cabinets are from Fabuwood. They are a mid-range cabinet maker and way more affordable. One of my friends uses them all the time and recommended it. Please check my “How to Organize Kitchen Drawers” to see these cabinets in action.
If I wanted to go with a more top of the line (think recessed cabinets) it would have costed double! I visited 3 places for cabinets, got estimates from all of them and negotiated a lot. The first estimate was around 20K, I paid around 11k in the end. From 20k to 11k, not bad, right??!
My other tip is to go local and to smaller places. I went to Lowe’s and Home Depot to get an estimate cost just for fun. Guess how much for cabinets alone?! 30K, that’s right.
So again, it pays to research. If you are in New Jersey, I used Alba kitchen, they were great to work with and had a much better price.
Also, if you are doing a kitchen renovation on a budget, consider places like Ikea or ready to assemble kitchen cabinets. An Ikea kitchen remodel can cost much less than traditional cabinet makers. So if you are willing to invest some elbow grease you can save thousands!
Kitchen Remodel Cost: Appliances
Our kitchen appliances were the second biggest item in our budget, keep in mind we needed everything since the house we bought was missing most of it. Obviously, there are appliances for every budget.
We ended up going with Kitchen Aid, which had the look we were going for but was still affordable. So for a double oven, refrigerator, panel ready dishwasher and cook-top we spent around $7,900.
Kichen Remodel Cost: Quartz Countertops
Usually, kitchen counter-tops are sold per square feet, so the price will depends largely on how much counter-tops you will need and the place you are buying from.
The same tip applies here; go to multiple dealers to price out the stone you want. The first estimate I got was around $99 per sqft, I ended up paying $78. Keep in mind I chose white Quartz counter-tops which tend to be a little bit pricier than regular granite
DIY Kitchen Remodel Cost: Labor
So here is where we save a lot in our DIY Kitchen Remodel cost. My amazing father in law and husband did most of the work. We only paid for floor removal and installation as well as back splash installation. I have no idea how much more we would have spent if it wasn’t for them taking most of the work themselves.
How to save: Sales
My last tip is to keep an eye out for sales! I bought most of things (knobs, faucet) when they were on sale. Saving 10/20% it’s much better than paying full price!
Kitchen Remodel Cost Breakdown
- White Cabinets: 11,500
- Quartz Countertops Cost: 5,183
- kitchen Appliances Cost: 7,900
- Knobs: 700
- Farmhouse Sink: 978
- Faucet: 1,400
- Pendant lights: 800
- Range hood Insert: 700
- Floor: 350
- Backsplash: 800
- Pot filler: 300
- Molding: 300 (900 for the whole house)
- Floor install: 2,800
- Backsplash installation: 900
- Molding installation: 300 (1000 for the whole house 300 for kitchen – estimated)
- Miscellaneous: 2,000 (paint, plumbing, drywall and the other 500 trips to Home Depot)
Total: $ 36,911
Some things to keep in mind: I’m located in New Jersey, so the cost of a kitchen renovation in NJ might be different from a kitchen renovation in Florida! And I believe here things are a little more expensive (am I right?). I did splurge in some items (faucet, lighting, range hood, knobs, etc).
You could probably save a lot on your kitchen renovation cost by choosing less expensive finishes. But since this is a house we are going to be in for a long time I felt it was worth it, plus a girl wants what it wants! For reference my kitchen size is 11×16.
Let me know if I missed anything of if you have any other question regarding our kitchen renovation cost!
Don’t forget to check out my full white kitchen review on my kitchen before and after post and check out my Kitchen remodel tips.
Xoxo,
Ceres
Thank you so much for posting this. I now have a really good guideline as to the cost!
Author
You are so welcome Susan!! Hope it was helpful! 😘💕
Hi! What’s the name of your quartz
Author
Hi!! It’s Verona classique from MSI 😘
Beautiful design..absolutely adore your backsplash and cabinets! Did you make your beautiful wreath or did you purchase it? It’s beautiful.
Author
Hi Janit! It was a homegoods find! 😘
Great post. Your whole website is fantastic and soo helpful. Another inspiring interior decor to add to my long list ready for my new build next year. Thank you for sharing. – Windsor UK 🇬🇧
Author
Thank you Kiaya! So nice to hear! 😘
Do you have list of cabinet sizes. I have same dim. Kitchen. Beautiful By the way!!!
Stunning kitchen – well done. Is it possible for you to tell me what distance you left between the island and the benches with the sink and does it work well? Also the size of the island itself? I am having problems working out the most effective use of space I have for my remodel and I’m thinking yours might work for me.
Thanks and again well done.
Author
Of course! My island is 38×87, sink to island is 35, and back wall to island is 36.5. I wish I had a little more space in the back, when we have people sitting and I open the refrigerator it is a little tight…. 😘
I LOVE your kitchen remodel. Our kitchen is just slightly over 13×14 and we are hoping to do something similar if we can. Question…you mention in your post that the kitchen is 11’x16′ but when I add up the depth I am coming just over 13′ rather than 11′ (24″ window cabinet depth + 35″ sink to island + 38″ island + 36.5″ island to back wall + 24″ back wall cabinet depth). Can you confirm the measurements? Also is the 15′ length just to the end of the window wall of cabinets? It looks like kitchen is open on one end (ours is not). What is on the other side of the island? A seating area? Would love to see a picture from the cook top looking out the other direction. Again…just lovely! Such a great job!
Author
Hi Michele! Thank you so much! The kitchen it’s open to the breakfast room. There are tons of pictures on my Instagram @the.pink.dream. Send me an email and I will be happy to send the actual cabinets rendering to you! 😘💕
Sorry for the delay. Still in the process of trying to finalize our kitchen plans. Would love it if you could send the actual cabinet rendering!
Wow this was so so helpful!! We are in the process of building and information will definitely help a lot. Could you share specifics of your cabinets? What kind are they? Are they shaker cabinets? If you could provide a link that would be awesome. Thank you so much. Love your gorgeous home and your style!! ❤️❤️
Author
Thank you! Thank you! They are Fabuwood, I have a full review here on the blog with all the details. Is under kitchen resources 😘
where are the cabinets from?
Author
Hi! I linked in the post, from Fabuwood! 😘
What kind of floors are those and where did you get them? They’re amazing! My apologies in advance if I missed them in the article 🙂
Author
Hi Ryan, they are from Lowe’s. Please see my kitchen reveal post for all the deets! 😘💕
Such a beautiful kitchen, down to the very last detail! What paint color did you use on the cabinets and what is the countertop brand/color? Thank You!
Author
Thank you! Color is chantilly lace by BM and counter tops are MSI, I have all the info on my kitchen reveal post! 😘
I love your post, I wish you can show your old kitchen to see the before the renovation.
Author
Hi J! Thank you. Please check my kitchen review post for all the before and after pictures! 😘
Amazing results!! Love the colors that you chose. If I may, I would also suggest checking out N-Hance Wood Refinishing for cabinet painting. I think it only takes a couple days to complete the job! Thank you for posting!
Thanks for sharing the true costs and how to save. This was really helpful. Plus your kitchen is a dream
Author
Awweee thank u!!! 😘🙌🏻🙌🏻
Author
Thank you so much!!!
All white kitchens are figments of my dreams! I love how you accent with gold and pink, how fun and girly! I also loved your glass containers filled with ice cream cones! Adorable. I am planning out my kitchen remodel and rather than tear out my outdated, existing cabinets, I’m going to update the look of them with a cabinet painting company. While I’d love to change the layout of the cabinets, I’ve decided I can take out two of them and replace it with open shelves for a nice look and still have plenty of storage in the cabinets, which will also save me a on the price of cabinets! You weren’t lying when you said cabinets were the most expensive spend in a kitchen remodel!
Author
Hi Mia! so good that you get to keep your cabinets!! what a way to save money!! good luck on your remodel!
Hi, read every single post however did not see where you got your backsplash tiles.. would you mind sharing it please and thank you. beautiful house and it should be feature in a magazine 😘…
Author
Awww thank u so much! Mine is from floor and decor, same as this tile https://rstyle.me/cz-n/c4saxxb48gx 😘
Hi, Beautiful Kitchen! Love it! By any chance do you recall the name of the black splash you purchased from Floor & Decor? I was checking there inventory and they had a few that looked very similar. I love the one you chose!
Author
Hi Wendy, sent you the name on the previous comment 😘
Your kitchen is gorgeous ! I am in South Jersey and really want herringbone Floors but my floor plan may not work :(. May I ask who installed your floors ? They did a great job !
Author
Thank u so much! I’m going to look for their contact, it has been 3 y lol. But they were soooo busy it was hard to get them to come. Let me see if I can find it
Hello Ceres, Love your beautiful kitchen! You did a fantastic job. I know you provided a website for the backsplash for wayfair, but I was trying to find the same one at Floor & Decor. You mentioned that’s where you purchased yours. Can you please provide the name of the one you purchased from Floor & Decor? Thank you!
Author
Hi Wendy, the name is carrara white brick marble mosaic! 😘
Love your kitchen so much we just ordered Fabuwood cabinets! One question do you recall your hood insert brand and dimensions? Having difficulty finding an insert that will work
Thank you for this amazing post , I agree with you very rarely a blogger talk about the cost and money and we readers are always eager to know , thank you for putting it all out there for us .
Regards , Maryam,, Arizona
Author
Maryam!! Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate!
Hi!
Love the kitchen renovation. We’re in the process of buying a house and I will be remodeling that kitchen and it happens to be about the same square footage as yours! I was wondering how long it took from start to finish to complete the renovation?
Author
Hi Meghan, the whole process was around 4m. Take in consideration that it was only my FIL and husband working after work and on weekends. We only had contractors for the floor and backsplash. Everything else was done by them 😘😘
Beautiful kitchen! I also have 9′ ceilings, what trim pieces did you use to fill in the space above the cabinets? It looks like you have 42″ tall cabinets and 12″ of space to fill in.
Author
Yes, we used a 12in board with trim on top of it. I had a professional come in for the trim as it was way above our expertise 🤣
Thank you for your post on kitchen renovations. I have been following your blog for a few months now. I came upon it when researching Fabuwood cabinets. We were recently quoted on Wellborn cabinets over $22,000 for less cabinets than what you have. I was on the fence since I’ve read mixed reviews on Fabuwood. I just can’t see myself paying that much just for cabinets. Especially when I still have appliances, floors, windows and labor cost to worry about. How many years have you had your cabinets now? Any complaints? Recommendations? Thanks
Author
Hi Leslie! No complains at all! 3y now, they are holding up great. Just make sure that whatever comes demaged if any, get addressed at install! I love my cabinets!! 😘
Hi,
I love your handles from rejuvenation. What size pulls did you purchase? (what size pulls did you use for 24 inch cabinets?)
Author
I used 4in for all drawers, and different sizes for the larger drawers under the stove (I think 12). 😘
I bought the same cabinets! I’m loving your knobs! Can you tell me where you got them and the brand that they are? Ok hanks for the white color from BM- we are painting all of our wood trim white! Our walls are BM revere pewter:)
Author
hello! I believe they are linked in the post, they are all Rejuvenation, here is a link https://rstyle.me/+6V6yDFkEuUbenshPdl8Maw
what size oval knob did you choose? small, medium or large?
Love your kitchen. Can you tell me how big your refrigerator is?
Author
Hi Jill, it’s just the standard cabinet depth refrigerator 😘
Thank you for sharing these great details! We are about to embark on a kitchen (and 3 baths, flooring, full interior paint…..) reno and I had no idea what to expect in terms of cost. I was introduced to Fabuwood cabinets today and was looking for some feedback. Your kitchen is beautiful! I look forward to having one myself soon!
Author
Emily congrats on the new home! It’s a lot of work, but totally worth it 😘
This was great , i am also in NJ and was looking at Fabuwood , so good to see prices as a reference. My kitchen is smaller , but two years later the price is in line it seems.
Author
Great to hear Sean! We are still loving our fabuwood cabinets!!
Here’s me clapping for you posting the costs. Why are people so reluctant? Why is that such a taboo? Well, good for you and nice for me! I’m giving you multiple clicks on this page and I’m now interested in some of your other posts.
Author
aweee thank you so much!
Love your remodel. My Fabuwood kitchen is going in this week! Just wondering if you can share if you made any adjustments to your range hood? I’m trying to find a fan insert. The one you used is out of stock but it also says it was just over 18 inches deep. The space in the Fabuwood 36” hood only offers 13 3/4 depth. Trying to find a fan insert this narrow in depth is near impossible. Did you customize the size of your range hood? Thanks so much.
Author
No, it did fit right in! You will drop the insert in the cover. It’s actually very easy to install! Congrats on the new kitchen!!