What should a kitchen cost

[TorringtonDean]

I’ve been getting quotes to replace my kitchen. The existing one is 30plus years old and needs to go. But quotes are so variable - from £10k before lockdown to £43k this week from a local supplier. The £43k quote was no different from a £12k Howdens quote. I feel angry and a bit humiliated by the very high quote. It felt like being ripped off by a conman in a bazaar - for example no choice over tiles, just very expensive ones included in the quote which were not even to my liking. My true budget is around £20k. I want to treat myself and get something nice but not to pay over the odds. I have savings. There is no way on earth I would pay over £40k for a pretty ordinary horseshoe shaped kitchen - no island etc. Who is paying that money? I don’t live in an expensive area, average salaries here are not high, I am baffled. Are interest rates so low people just whack it on the mortgage?

What are you talking about? How expensive is a kitchen clearly depends on the quality of the kitchen, it can go from five grand to a hundred grand. People pay for it in many different ways. Why would you be humiliated by a quote. Just say no and move to the next one.

Well the issue is nobody seems to have a clear pricing structure. I go through this rigmarole of the design etc and then all sorts of different quotes emerge. The latest price was insane compared to the others yet the man seemed to look down on me for not instantly paying up. On the whole customers like to feel there is a great product and they can afford it too.

You seem to be projecting a whole lot of your own issues into this! As another poster said kitchens can range from a couple of thousand to hundreds of thousands! Lots of websites will give you individual unit prices so you can price something up yourself or you can get someone to design the whole lot and of course you pay for the privilege.

And just because someone quotes you for a certain tile doesn’t mean you have to stick with it!

No well obviously I’m not going to stick with the crazy plan and I will find my own units and tiles online. Getting someone to install it is another issue. So often they then want you to use their supplier. I can’t do it myself. I have a rough idea of the price of a few cupboards - which is mainly what it is. Plus appliances are not so much. I feel the whole process is opaque at most kitchen firms - no real breakdown and prices drawn up to precisely fit what they think you’d be willing to pay. It’s like buying carpets in Morocco. I’d rather have a medium range kitchen and money to fall back on in an emergency!

Kitchen prices vary depending on the quality of the kitchen. Timber costs more than MDF. Textured surfaces cost more than flat ones. A shaker door costs more than a slab door. Doors imported from China are cheaper than ones manufactured in Europe. Granite worktops cost more than quartz or wood. Etc. I can guarantee you’re not getting the same kitchen for £43k that you’re getting for £12k and you certainly won’t be getting the same level of design or service.

Getting back to the question.....what have people paid for their kitchens?

We just had a new kitchen fitted by wren, in total it was £17.5k that didn't include any appliances/white goods i sourced them myself, but we did go for the top of the range cabinets and worktops. Oh and we didn't use their fitters as they wanted £5k and my fil is a fitter who did it for £1k
Overall service was good, everything was broken down by price and we could add or take thing away with no issues. Maybe give them a shot, no obligation to buy and better quality than many other kitchen suppliers.

Big Bowden’s kitchen and island with pull out larder and American fridge housing. Double sink. Neff and Bosch appliances. Lots of granite. Utility room cupboards and granite. Wood floor. £20k

My next door neighbour recently paid £31k for a solid timber farmhouse style kitchen with an island and quartz worktops plus a built in pantry. Plus another £10k for an Aga and £5k for tiles and decor. My Aunty paid £10k for a grey MDF kitchen with laminate worktops, horseshoe shaped with no island, no pantry or other fancy features. Different prices but obviously different quality kitchens.

I had a Wickes one, cost twenty k, but it was top range appliances, granite work surfaces, large island, and a rangemaster cooker, new lighting, upgrade to electrics etc. I could habe done it cheaper, I could have paid a shit load more.

Because, you know, it depends on the quality of what you want in.

Kitchens are so variable .. you find one you like with a price you like and hope for the best !

I had a local joiner do a bespoke kitchen and it should have cost around £30k . Worktops are quartz and should have been around £6k .. you need to work out what your dream kitchen is and work backwards giving up the stuff you can't afford . I didn't want laminate work stops but you can save thousands by having these .

I feel for you! Shark infested waters.

When I was looking for a Kitchen the first quote I got from Magent was 25k! And this didn't include fitting or appliances!!

There is a reason there is so many people doing kitchens - there are HUGE profits to be made. And let's face it, when you boil it down they're all (well, mostly) MDF/Chipboard with nice fronts.

Eventually, after some very bad experiences with the likes of Howden, Wren and Magnet) we employed a kitchen designer (www.independent-kitchen-designer.co.uk/index.html) and for the price of a single cabinet he designed the kitchen, told us what we should/shouldn't do etc. Tell him who you're using and he'll give you a parts list to order.

We used DIY Kitchens and installed their top of the range in-frame kitchen and spent 7k in total.

We then spent another 5k on a granite worktop with large island. Another 1k on other stuff like sinks/taps etc. So parts came to 13k. I fitted it myself but a reasonable kitchen fitter would have charged 2.5k or so.

So that's 15k for a large kitchen and Island.

PM me if you want me to send you the design he did for us.

I had a full break down foe all my quotes as well, it was all very transparent. Our fitters were here for approx two weeks and inc multiple trades from decorators to electricians.

With a thirty year old kitchen it’s likely the plumbing and wiring needs to be redone. It’s really not as simple as a few cupboards and some appliances.

My parents have a small/ medium U-shaped kitchen and their Wren kitchen is costing around £15,000. That doesn't include the hob or oven (as they don't supply the one they want) but does include a big £2,000 American fridge-freezer.

I had an estimate for a bespoke kitchen for our house from a fashionable but small firm for £20,000-£25,000, but that doesn't include appliances, electrics or plumbing.

It varies enormously and depends on what you want. My parents don't need anything more than the standard, they're not particularly interested in function or materials but they did want an American fridge-freezer. Whereas I am interested in the materials and I want something designed for me that fits my needs, as I spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning and my parents do not.

I've just paid £8k for a solid wood shaker style kitchen from DIY kitchens, in a F&B colour. Been quoted £6k to fit, including plastering, electrics, moving radiators, etc etc. I'm in London. Still gathering fitting quotes though.

Appliances on top.

Forgot to add. Mine included two new rads, plumbing, new lights and electrics.

I would say your budget is ample for a nice kitchen

I recommend if you want granite go to a place that sells by the slab. They then come and take a template of your kitchen and cut from the slab. Works out cheaper

I think you need to try and detatch a little because you’re taking it personally and allowing it to hurt you, when it would serve you better to see that man as a dick, and be glad you’ve had a lucky escape. It’s not about you; it’s about him! And if his approach is to put pressure on people to pay over the odds, imagine what it will be like when he’s ripping you off on materials or doing a shoddy job later. Instead of letting him get under your skin visualise a big dial with an alarm and a red flashing light and think “shit detector” instead!

To come back to your question - it’s very much a case of how long is a piece of string. But you absolutely can expect to get a breakdown on costs and most kitchen designers are happy to substitute some cheaper options to fit in with your budget.

However, the kitchen business is booming at the minute. The more expensive a kitchen is, the bigger the cut they get so it’s not in their interest to spend time on a cheaper kitchen if they can find someone who wants a higher end one. It’s just a seller’s market at the moment.

I used a local kitchen supplier. I think it was a bit over £20k. Maybe £22k

That was quartz worktops (they were about £3k) loads of units including pan drawers, pull out larders and integrated bin etc which are more cost than standard cupboards. Glass up stand and splash back was about £1000 - if I had had it up to cupboards all the way round would have been at least twice that.

rangemaster cooker plus integrated appliances. No fridge though as had that.

Included all fitting and new flooring including levelling it and decorating the room.

I've just had a kitchen from diy kitchens the units came to £3k and that included a larder unit. The granite work tops cost £2k appliances another £1k. We already had a range cooker and fridge so didn't replace those. I think my kitchen looks lovely and I wouldn't spend £40k on a kitchen what a waste of money.

I’ve just a 20 year old kitchen replaced. I live in a 4 bed house, we have lived here from new (20 years). My initial budget in my head was £15k and I thought that was a good amount of money. We don’t know any trades people that could do the work needed. There are so many elements to a new kitchen and a fitter can’t achieve them all, sometimes you need a specialist. I.e plasterer. Because we don’t know anyone and I was very wary of sourcing trades people, we went to a local company that project managed the renovation. We visited the showroom many times, the planner visited our house and took measurements, asked us what we wanted to achieve. We picked our appliances, flooring etc etc. We had our single oven moved to a totally different area to accommodate a double one and additional unit built in on an empty wall. My kitchen was stripped back to the bare walls and floor. I had new radiator, new ceiling and new position lights, full re plaster, decorator, flooring as well as additional plumbing. All of this costs so much more than I anticipated. You also need a skip and some items I.e fridge/freezer need specialist disposal ( if u cant sell them) A new kitchen is not just new wall units and counter tops. You can go as far as you want with it depending on what needs replacing. I then decided I wanted a Belfast sink and quartz tops, all added expense. My final cost was over 10k more than my budget, so £25k in total, I knew the total cost before agreeing to the project and it was a big surprise. But every item and cost was itemised so I could see where the money was going. I absolutely love it. It is beautiful and the workmanship is top notch as everyone was an expert in their job. I was given a start and end date and a six week plan of works, with names of all of the companies/people that would be working on the kitchen. My guess is the big difference in quotes is that some companies have factored in so much more than others.

I'm going through the kitchen design/pricing process at the moment too OP.

I would recommend looking at DIY kitchen and using their online planner as a benchmark for pricing.

https://planner.diy-kitchens.com

I have put my preferred kitchen layout in and it gives me a price for their units which for my kitchen 5 x tall appliance units, 2x magic corner units, 2 x sink drawer units , 2 x drawer units, 1 x dishwasher door & and 2 x tambour units is £4.5k. I can also get pricing for different worktop options, including upstanding, splashback & a large tabletop, I am looking at Dekton which is expensive at £4.3k but could go for quartz which is about half that price.

I have a good local fitter than would charge me about £5k to fit/do plumbing/electrics etc. I then need to add on appliances which I am budgeting at about another £12k for 3 x ovens, full size larger fridge and separate freezer and a dishwasher in a good quality brand such as Siemens plus a Quooker tap.

So my base budget is roughly £27k all in. I am using this compare with everything else.

I am speaking to a couple of kitchen showrooms locally looking at reasonable quality German brands such as Schuller and Beckermann which I am certain will be more expensive. It depends how much more expensive as to whether I opt to go down that route or not. As always it's a price vs quality decision to be made.