Kitchen Remodel costs, scopes and planning guides
The most expensive room per square foot in the house, and the one where keeping the layout saves the most money.
What a kitchen remodel costs
A kitchen remodel runs $15,000 – $65,000, and the single largest lever is not the cabinets: it is whether the sink, the range and the walls stay exactly where they are.
Kitchens are quoted per square foot of kitchen floor because the room is a basket of trades rather than one material: cabinets, counters, appliances, plumbing, electrical, flooring and finish carpentry all arrive on the same schedule. Scope is what separates a refresh from a rebuild, and it is what this cluster is organised around.
Cabinets take the largest single share of a typical budget, appliances the widest range, and moving services the biggest surprise. No estimate here asks for your phone number.
What moves the price of a kitchen remodel
$15,000 $65,000
Full kitchen remodelEvery kitchen quote moves on:
- Scope; a cosmetic refresh against a layout change
- Kitchen area, which is usually smaller than people assume
- Cabinets, the largest single share of the budget
- Whether plumbing, electrical or a wall has to move
Figures on this page are indicative national brackets, not quotes. Your number depends on the size, complexity and condition of the job itself, and on what local crews are charging when you buy. Use them to judge a bid, not to replace one.
What each kitchen remodel scope costs
| Scope | Installed cost per sq. ft. of kitchen | Lifespan | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | $75 – $150 | 10 – 15 years | Doors and drawer fronts, counters, paint, hardware and a new sink. Nothing moves, nothing opens, and the layout you have is the layout you keep. |
| Mid-range remodel | $150 – $250 | 15 – 25 years | New cabinets, counters, appliances and finishes in the existing footprint. What most American kitchen remodels actually are. |
| Upscale remodel | $250 – $350 | 20 – 30 years | Semi-custom or custom cabinetry, stone counters, panel-ready appliances. The budget shifts decisively toward the product and away from the crew. |
| Layout change | $200 – $450 | 20 – 30 years | Moving the sink, the range or a wall. Every relocated service is plumbing, electrical, permits and a longer schedule, which is why it costs what it costs. |
Installed cost covers the trades and finishes for the scope named, in an existing kitchen. Appliance packages, stone counters, moving services and removing a wall are priced on top; the cost guide sets out what each adds.
How Home Palais reads a kitchen quote
Every foot the sink moves is a plumber, an electrician, a permit and a week. Layout is the line item nobody writes down
Kitchen questions, answered
What share of the budget do cabinets take?
Typically the largest single share, ahead of counters, appliances and labor. It is also the line with the most room to move: refacing or replacing doors on sound boxes costs a fraction of new cabinetry and changes the room just as visibly.
How much does moving the sink cost?
Enough that it deserves its own decision. Relocating supply and waste lines means a plumber, an electrician for anything nearby, a permit and inspections, and it typically adds 10 to 35 percent to a remodel that would otherwise be straightforward.
How long does a kitchen remodel take?
Four to eight weeks for a mid-range job in the existing footprint, longer if the layout changes or cabinets are made to order. Countertops add a week of their own, because they are templated only after the cabinets are set.
Does a kitchen remodel pay for itself?
Partially, and minor remodels return more than major ones in every survey that tracks it. A modest kitchen brought up to date recovers a far higher share of its cost than a high-end rebuild in the same house.
Can I live in the house during the work?
Usually, if you set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else and accept several weeks without a sink. Dust control matters more than most homeowners expect, and so does agreeing where the crew stores materials.
The calculator prices kitchens per square foot on the same national data as every guide on this page; no phone number, no lead form.
Measure the room Before the first quote