A stunning, well-appointed kitchen makes cooking and entertaining a breeze. Plus, upgrading the heart of the home attracts buyers and raises your home value to some extent. But before you can host Thanksgiving with your double ovens and gas range (all against a lovely backsplash) you’ll have to drum up the cash for upgrades. So just how much is it to remodel a kitchen?
Here’s the short answer: According to Harvard University’s Center for Joint Housing Studies, homeowners spend a median of $12,361 on their kitchen remodel. Sounds reasonable, honestly! But our research reveals that kitchen remodels can cost as little as $10,000 for a DIY spruce up to north of $50,000 for a full out chef’s kitchen.To give you the most accurate picture of how much kitchen remodels cost, we’ll break down this ever popular home improvement project in four sections:
Cost overview
Costs by feature
Project costs by scale
Return on investment
Personal budgeting for your remodel.
The average cost of kitchen remodeling ranges dramatically with variables like size, finish quality, and depth of the renovation differing from project to project. For a general overview, let’s compare a few of the web’s most reputable sources for remodeling costs:
Methodology
• HomeAdvisor collected survey responses from 9,455 members who recently completed a kitchen remodel.
• Remodeling Magazine estimates project costs using Clear Estimates remodeling software, creating detailed construction estimates for each project, and adjusting the cost for each market to account for pricing variations.
• HomeGuide connects people to local contractors for project quotes. The site tracks millions of estimates from local companies and creates reports on averages for their Home Improvement and Repair Cost Estimator.
• Fixr’s cost guides are informed by a wide variety of sources, including their own cost data, specialized books and websites, published cost studies, U.S. government reports, literature reviews of DIY websites, contractors and subcontractors, material suppliers, material price services, and other vendor websites.
How does the cost of granite countertops compare to stainless steel? Will solid wood cabinets stretch your budget? Knowing how the cost of kitchen features differs can help you manage your remodel dollars. Here’s what you can expect to spend on kitchen upgrades:
If you’re planning to replace your cabinets. the size of your kitchen and the materials you choose can drastically affect the overall cost. Wood cabinets can run anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 and up, while a high-end material such as stainless steel could set you back $25,000 to $38,000.
Upgrading your countertops not only transforms your kitchen’s design, but also boosts your home value. According to HomeAdvisor, upgraded countertops can return 25% of their cost in your home value. Real estate agent Stacey Glenn, who sells 21% more homes than the average real estate agent in her market, recommends steering clear of loud or trendy styles. “Natural stone in a neutral color is timeless,” she says.
If you’re planning a major remodel, determine the new kitchen layout before you purchase appliances to ensure they’ll fit the space. If you’re looking for a deal, look for open box discounts and clearance markdowns at your local box store, such as Home Depot. Also, keep an eye out for manufacturers’ rebates that put cash back into your pocket.
According to HomeAdvisor, installation and labor can account for 30% to 35% of a kitchen remodel budget. Your location, type of features being installed, and the size of your kitchen all influence the overall project labor cost.
Now that you’ve got some broad kitchen remodel cost averages and the cost of specific features in mind, let’s dive into the details of kitchen remodels by scale.
Increase your home’s marketability with easy, low-cost improvements. Target the most dated elements in your kitchen to bring your home up to date without breaking out the sledgehammer. Top real estate Douglas Huebner, who specializes in buyer-focused renovations as the CEO and principal designer of The Habitatilist in Newark, NJ, details an easy makeover:
“A minor remodel could be something easy for a homeowner to do. They could easily just change out the hardware and the backsplash. New kitchen appliances, of course, are always a nice bonus.”
• Paint the cabinets: Go DIY for $200 to $600 depending on your supplies, or hire a professional for an average cost of $400 to $1,550. Color wise, adventure outside of white with a gray or navy blue hue, ranked the top color choices for kitchen cabinets in the 2021 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study.
• Choose affordable tile: You can’t go wrong with a timeless white subway tile for a few dollars a square foot like these self-adhesive Metro Blanco peel and stick tiles.
• Install a low-cost countertop: Formica and butcher block look sharp for as little as $75 to $150 per square foot.
• Invest in appliances: Buy new stainless steel appliances in a bundle from big box retailers like Home Depot ranging from $1,398 to $5,102. This upgrade is a big selling point for buyers, with 40% stating they would pay more for a home with stainless steel appliances, the majority agreeing they’d offer an extra $1,850.
For homeowners with a bigger budget, Huebner recommends investing in quality materials.
“If you wanted to fix up your kitchen to sell it, for a medium size kitchen — because obviously, you could add thousands if you start adding square footage — it would probably cost about $20,000 with labor. And that would get you nice, decent cabinets with quartz countertops.”
• Keep the existing layout: Stick to your kitchen’s original layout to cut down on added costs of plumbing, electrical, and structural work.
• Reface the cabinets: While a mid-scale remodel calls for upgraded cabinets, you don’t need to start fresh if your existing structure is in good condition. Instead, save thousands by refacing the cabinets with new doors, fronts, and hardware for an average cost of $4,000 to $9,500.
• Choose simple, but sleek hardware: Buyers might love pulls at $45 apiece, but they won’t add a line item in for them in their offer. Save yourself hundreds by choosing a low cost alternative like these top rated GlideRite 10-pack stainless steel pulls for $24.29.
• Invest in quality countertops: Avoid passé grainy granites, and opt for either a solid color or a veined design resembling marble. Expect to pay $40 to $60 per square foot for granite or quartz, for a total price of $2,000 to $4,500, including installation.
• Add a kitchen island: “The average cost of installing a kitchen island can range quite drastically. Depending on the size and material you decide to go with, a kitchen island can cost anywhere between $800 to $20,000,” explains Keith Melanson, Project Manager of RenosGroup, who has over 13 years of project management experience in home renovations. Kitchen islands are, in fact, one of the hotter kitchen renovation trends at the moment, as every kitchen needs more counter space.”
In a competitive market, a major kitchen remodel can give a higher-end home an edge over the competition. This renovation level entails structural changes such as moving walls, reconfiguring layouts, and adjusting plumbing and electrical lines.
• Mix high and low end finishes: The best design seamlessly melds luxury materials with more affordable elements. Save on hardware, faucets, and lighting fixtures; quality cabinets and countertops will hold buyers’ attention.
Open the floor plan: Modernize your home’s floor plan by opening the kitchen to the dining area or living room. The cost of removing a non-load-bearing wall — a wall that doesn’t support the weight of the floor or roof above — is relatively affordable, at as little as $700. Load-bearing walls, on the other hand, are more complicated to remove and can set you back a few thousand.
• Add a walk-in pantry: In the National Association of Home Builders’ latest What Home Buyers Really Want report, 81% of buyers hankered for a walk-in pantry, ranking it as the second-most desired kitchen feature. Convert an existing space into this coveted feature for an average cost of $1,000 to $6,500.
A chef’s kitchen is designed for functionality and efficiency, with top of the line appliances and a restaurant kitchen inspired layout. With an eye-widening price tag, a chef’s kitchen remodel brings you more joy as a homeowner than it will a high return on investment when it’s time to sell.
• Brighten the room with affordable lighting: Add character with unique pendant lighting over the island or above the eat-in dining table like this Anastasia Antique 3-Light Pendant from Overstock for $106.49 or this Wicker Globe Pendant from West Elm for $199. For lighting below the cabinets, install hidden LED tape lights like this Armacost Lighting RibbonFlex for $30.48 per 98 inches; hire-out hardwire installation runs between $50 to $100 an hour on average.
• Lighting and hardware: Aesthetic elements like lighting and cabinet hardware present an opportunity to save.
• Select chic, wallet-friendly hardware: There’s no reason to spend a fortune on cabinet jewelry when there are affordable alternatives. CB2, Etsy, Amazon, and AllModern offer a selection of knobs and pulls for as low as $3 each, with styles ranging from modern to farmhouse.
• Select high-end appliances: For a top of the line kitchen, you need a Sub Zero fridge and a Wolf Range stove, starting at $4,229 and $4,726 respectively.
• Build durable countertops: Outpricing granite, professional-grade stainless steel countertops cost $70 to $215 per square foot at an average of $7,500 for installation.
• Design a functional layout: Layout is everything, so expect to splurge custom cabinets running an average of $700 per linear square foot. Huebner describes the layout of a recent chef’s kitchen his team designed:“I laid out the kitchen so that we have all the areas covered. I have a prep area with its own sinks and a stove nearby, a cook area with its own trash and storage, and then a separate cleanup area where there’s another sink, trash, and dishwasher with its own storage for dishes. Then finally, a large pantry wall that’s just a ton of storage.”
For a tailored estimate, Kukun’s Home Renovation Cost Estimator predicts the cost of your kitchen remodel based on your location, kitchen size, scope of remodel, and quality of finishes. Designed with sellers in mind, the tool also estimates the project’s return on investment by analyzing recent sales data.
In a recent survey by Porch.com, buyers ranked a remodeled kitchen as their most desired home feature, admitting they’d spend on average $4,570 over budget to secure a home with this inspirational space.
“It’s what I called the AF: the aggravation fee. Whoever goes through the aggravation, gets the fee,” Huebner.
“If you are the seller and you go through the aggravation of the kitchen renovation, and you deserve to make the profit. Or, if you’re a buyer and you’re going to buy somebody’s old, outdated kitchen, then you have to go through the aggravation of renovating. So you should get the fees and should buy the house at a lower price.”
When planning the scale of your kitchen remodel, keep future homebuyers in mind to maximize your investment return. Generally speaking, kitchen remodels rarely bring a 1:1 cost to value exchange, so don’t expect a ‘spend more, get more’ dynamic.According to Remodeling Magazine, a minor kitchen remodel with midrange finishes adds on average $18,927 to your sale price, yielding 72.2% ROI. Comparatively, a major kitchen remodel with upscale finishes adds $80,284, but only recoups 53.9% ROI.
While lower cost kitchen models might be the way to go for most homeowners, it’s not necessarily the route you should take. Glenn points out that you should consider spending the “appropriate amount of money” for the type of home you have. Do you have a starter home, a mid-level home, or a luxury home?
For instance, if your home belongs in the upper echelons of the market, budget materials won’t cut it with your buyer pool; you’ll need a mid-scale to major remodel to fetch a top sale price.
Conversely, if you have a mid-level home and install a chef’s kitchen, future buyers in your home’s price point may not fully appreciate the high-end fixtures and appliances the way you do. For tailored advice, consult a top real estate agent in your market. They’ll let you know what buyers are looking for in your home’s price bracket.
Before you start a Pinterest vision board and stalk interior designers on Instagram, you’ll need to map out a budget for your project. While your ideal remodel budget is unique to your home and financial situation, we’ve pulled together a few tips to help get you started.
According to Home Advisor, you should spend 5% to 15% of the home’s value on your kitchen remodel for the best return on investment. For instance, if your home is worth $300,000, then a modest remodel budget is $15,000.
When determining how much budget you should allocate to each part of your remodel, follow the one-third rule: spend one-third of the budget on cabinetry, another third on other upgrades including countertops, backsplashes, sinks, flooring, and appliances, and the final third on labor.
If you’re investing a fair sum in the remodel, bring in a professional designer to protect the quality of the final product. Professional kitchen designers charge on average $100 to $200 per hour, so leave some room in your budget for their services.
Last, but not least, set aside 15% to 20% of your budget for any unexpected problems that arise during the remodel. This is your insurance to cover extra costs for mending the termite damage, plumbing leaks, or mold you might discover when you rip out those cabinets from the last century.
Whether you plan to sell your home in the near or distant future, it never hurts to reach out to a real estate agent with your questions on your kitchen remodel’s return on investment. They can lend an objective eye on design choices, share what upgrades buyers crave in your market, and connect you to reputable local contractors.
According to an August 2020 Bankrate survey, 58% of homeowners pay for home upgrades using money from their checking or savings accounts. But a lack of cash in the bank doesn’t mean you have to nix your dream of a chef’s kitchen. You could finance your remodel using a credit card, a home equity loan or line of credit, or a personal loan.
Just proceed with care, warns Glenn. “My initial thought is ‘hesitation,’” she says about using home equity when financing a remodel project — especially if you aren’t planning to live in your home for the long term. When you borrow money to remodel your home, it’s easy to overspend, she says. “You can get more easily carried away.”
If you’ve weighed your options and you think borrowing money for your kitchen remodel works for your financial scenario, consider these available options:
Even people who fear cooking love a beautiful kitchen — elevate yours and buyers will flock. “The kitchen is the most important room,” Huebner reiterates; “you can’t go wrong in improving your kitchen before the sale, because it’s gonna help sell your house faster and more money.”