One of the best parts about owning a home is having the opportunity to create your own HGTV show in your own home. You can remodel and refurbish any part of your house according to your taste and get the chance to live like a completely new person after.
For most people, the kitchen becomes the limelight of such projects; after all, there are so many things you can change. From sparkling new countertops to appliances that do what you want them to, there’s no limit to your imagination!
But the idea of expenditure can rain on your parade, and that’s something we don’t want. To help you make better sense of how much a kitchen remodel might cost, we’ve given you a comprehensive guide below!
What Affects The Cost Of Remodels?
When you’re remodeling your home, there are two primary factors that will be responsible for the total cost:
Location
This might be completely obvious but where you live will greatly affect how much you’re charged for each task and item in your kitchen remodel. Not only will the costs differ based on which state you live in but they’ll also differ based on your locality.
For example, the cost of appliances and labor will be more expensive if you live in a metropolitan area as opposed to if you live in a small town. Also, if you didn’t know already, kitchen remodeling costs are cheaper in the south of the country as compared to the north. Data by The Home Depot proves this where they state that a mid-range kitchen remodel in Titusville, FL could cost $56,639 whereas a mid-range kitchen remodel in San Francisco, CA could cost $77,460.
Type Of Remodel
Depending on whether you want to undertake an upscale or a mid-range kitchen remodel your costs will vary by a large margin. When you go for an upscale kitchen remodel, everything from your tiles, cabinets, and appliances to your faucets and hardware will cost significantly higher.
How Much Does A Kitchen Remodel Cost?
We’ve now come to the question that you’ve wanted the answer to! According to data by HomeAdvisor, your kitchen remodel can cost anywhere between $12,567 to $50,000 depending on the size of the kitchen, the materials used, and whether you want a mid-range remodel or an upscale one.
However, we’ll break these costs down for you depending on the size of your kitchen remodel, and also give you a rough idea of what these might entail.
Minor Remodel
Estimated Average Cost: $24,000
A minor remodel is definitely the cheapest of all the options since the changes you will make to your kitchen won’t include work that takes up too much money. However, they will make a difference to your existing kitchen and give it a new and refurbished look.
The main goal in minor remodels is to preserve the footprint of the kitchen and carry out small changes that bring out the best parts of the space. The work that’s done is usually something you can do yourself without professional help and the materials used won’t be top of the range.
Here are some changes that can be made in a minor kitchen remodel:
- New fresh paint on the walls
- New faucets, sink, and countertops
- Updated appliances
- New flooring
- New entry-level cabinetry
Major Remodel
Estimated Average Cost: $69,000
The cost of a major remodel shoots up significantly because the materials used are better and more additions are made to your kitchen. In a major remodel, you will also have the opportunity to create spaces that make your life more convenient like customized cabinetry or better tiling behind the countertops.
Below are the things you can do and get for a major kitchen remodel:
- Customized cabinetry
- Deeper and spacious sink in new countertops
- New flooring
- Freshly painted walls
- A garbage disposal system
- Updated appliances
- A kitchen island
- Custom lighting
Upscale Remodel
Estimated Average Cost: $136,000
As you might expect, upscale remodels will usually have materials and items that fall under luxury goods and are high-end. Not only is every detail of the kitchen made to serve you, but the look is also amplified to make it the best of the best. Upscale kitchen remodels also involve changing the original footprint of the kitchen like breaking down a wall or shifting the kitchen island. All of this leads to a huge increase in the total costs.
To give you an idea of the changes that can be made in an upscale kitchen remodel:
- Customized cabinetry that has high-end and customized features and accessories
- The latest appliances
- Freshly painted walls
- Flooring that imitates hardwood or tiling
- A built-in water filtration system
- High-end countertops usually made of marble with a large-sized sink
- Ceramic or glass tile backsplash
- Customized lighting that includes general and task lighting
Undertaking Home Improvements That Pay You Back When You Sell
If you haven’t thought of this point before, it’s high time you do. Remodeling your kitchen can be an expensive job and one that you might not undertake in the same home again. So why not make it worth the money so that when you sell, the remodel helps increase your home’s value?
According to data by the online finance website Moneycrashers, when you do sell your house, you can expect to get anywhere between 50% to 120% of the investment you made for your kitchen remodel back. That’s a big amount, and you can keep the following points in mind to ensure that you get the bulk of your investment back:
- Don’t make your kitchen way fancier than the other areas of your house.
- Don’t make your kitchen fancier than the ones that your neighborhood houses have.
- Keep your kitchen’s theme in tune with the rest of the house.
- Concentrate on refurbishing drainage, electricals, cabinets, and flooring first if you have a smaller budget.
Electronics like fridges and dishwashers keep updating and depending on when you sell, they might not add any value to your kitchen.
Also See: Tips For Moving And Packing Electronics | Moving A Dishwasher? | Best Home Staging Tips
How You Can Save Money While Undertaking A Kitchen Remodel
Now that you have an idea of the costs, you might have wondered about ways in which this cost can go down. We all want to save money wherever we can, and in a kitchen remodel, a little money can go a long way. Below we give you a few tips to save money without compromising on the kitchen of your dreams:
1. Make A Detailed Budget And Don’t Sway From It
However small the project might be, making a detailed budget will always help you reach the finish line without much stress about the money. This is also true of a project as gigantic and glamorous as remodeling a kitchen. While we’ve given you estimates of how much it might cost, those are average numbers, and you can spend much less based on your needs.
Researching enough and making a detailed budget at the start itself will help you save on small things. We’ll give you examples of questions that you can ask yourself to help you make a budget:
- Do you need to change every single thing in your kitchen or can you refurbish some items?
- Do large appliances like your fridge and oven need to be replaced?
- Do you just want to replace the sink and faucets or the entire drainage system?
- Do you want to change the tiles behind the countertops or will a simple coat of paint do?
You can make a list of what you want and don’t want. Put everything that you can’t compromise on under a category of “must-haves”. The items that you list under here will be those that might take the biggest chunk out of your budget, but they’re also items without which your kitchen remodel might feel incomplete.
But we’re all guilty of adding multiple things to a must-haves list and going overboard, so be careful not to do that. If you do, you’re just increasing your budget and it’s best to sit back and review the whole list again.
Budgeting Tip: Don’t forget to keep a number that’s close to 10% to 20% of your total cost only for contingency and overheads. While it is possible that you’ll stick to your budget, external factors like bad weather or medical emergencies can hamper the timeline and push up the cost significantly.
2. Can Certain Things Be DIY-ed?
Doing something yourself can save you a mountain of money and that’s what most people do when they want to save a little cash here and there. But you might be wondering if it’s something that can be done for a task like a kitchen remodel, and we’re here to tell you that you totally can!
With all kinds of information available on the internet, it won’t be hard for you to find tutorials and information that outlines the job at hand. You can also watch videos on YouTube where you’ll find videos of everything from painting and installing kitchen cabinets to choosing the right refrigerator.
If you still want professional help, you can always contact multiple contractors and get quotes for the work that’s cut out for you. By doing your research and taking multiple quotes, you’ll be able to choose a contractor who can get your work done efficiently while saving some money.
Another thing we suggest you do is ask friends and family for recommendations of contractors. If they know anyone personally, they might help you get your costs lowered by a significant amount as well.
Did you know? Data by the National Kitchen and Bath Association shows that 30% to 35% of your total budget can be spent on labor costs alone! So, if you’re doing a few of these tasks yourself, you end up saving that much money.
3. Living In The House During The Remodel
While this is not ideal, living in the house while your kitchen is being remodeled can save you a lot of money unless you have somewhere else to stay for free. That’s usually not the case though, and if the expenditure you have to incur to live elsewhere is pretty high, you might want to consider living in your house while the work gets done.
A trick you can use to escape the noise and dust is to call the workers at times when you won’t be home. This is very convenient if you don’t have kids and have a 9 to 5 job. If living in the house does not seem like a feasible option, we have another trick up our sleeve – ask friends and family if you can visit them for a few days!
You can plan an entire road trip and visit everyone you’ve been wanting to while your kitchen gets remodeled. Once you’re back, you’ll be greeted with a brand new finished kitchen where you can then invite your friends and family for lovely meals!
4. Consider Personal Financing Loans
Unless you have a big stash of money that you can use for a remodel, taking a loan is one of the best things you can do. Think of it this way: is the prospect of taking your money out of an account where it’s earning a high interest better than taking a low-interest loan? Home equity loans also have a large number of tax-deductible components which makes them all the more appealing.
Before you apply for a loan though, we strongly suggest that you have a budget in place for your kitchen remodel and make a decision on the amount you would prefer borrowing. At the same time, don’t keep this decision for the last minute because you’ll most probably have to pay contractors even before the work starts.
Did you know? Many contractors have deals with specific banks in order to make financing schemes available to their clients. Find out if the contractors you might work with have anything of that sort to offer since it makes your task easier!
5. Sell Whatever You Can Instead Of Discarding It
Unless your appliances and other kitchen items are completely beat, we suggest you sell them instead of throwing them out. By selling appliances like refrigerators, gas stoves, and chimneys, you can end up with a significant amount of money in your hands which you can then put towards buying new items.
You can just take pictures of these items and sell them on either Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You can also host a yard sale and put in other items you have, so you also save on the packing and shipping charges. Another thing you can do is ask your friends and family if they’d like to buy any of the items you’re selling.
See Also: How Much Does A Bathroom Renovation Increase Home Value?
FAQs
What Is The Most Expensive Part Of A Kitchen Remodel?
Remodeling your cabinetry will turn out to be the most expensive part of your kitchen remodel. These will usually cost over $10,000 and they are followed by appliances that cost over $8,000.
What Does Home Depot Charge To Install Cabinets?
According to estimates given by Home Depot, you can expect to spend anywhere between $7,000 to $11,000 to build cabinets for a kitchen that measures 70 square feet. This cost can go over $26,000 if your kitchen is over 200 square feet in size.
How Much Does An IKEA Kitchen Cost?
A complete IKEA kitchen will cost anywhere between $14,000 to $19,000 depending on the items you choose. This includes cabinetry, appliances, and accessories.
Conclusion
Remodeling your kitchen can be an exciting prospect and one that you will not regret. But if you’ve been worrying about the costs, there are several ways in which you can significantly cut those down and still get the kitchen of your dreams. We hope our piece gave you some idea of kitchen remodel costs and the ways in which you can save money. In the end, your kitchen should feel homely and welcoming to you, so don’t give up on your unique taste!
Read Also: Top-rated Residential Moving Companies |Valuable Home Improvements
