If you are thinking of renovating or remodeling your kitchen this year chances are you are wondering what the real cost of remodeling a kitchen in 2015 is.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
So I’m introducing you to this guest blog post as written by Leslie Carothers, CEO of the social media strategy + PR firm, The Kaleidoscope Partnership, for Leslie Hendrix Wood, an interior designer who lives and works in Midland, Texas.
Leslie’s blog, Hadley Court, is an award winning multi-author blog. It’s won the “Best New Design Blog” award at the Design Bloggers Conference and was named 1 of the Top 25 Home Design Blogs To Follow in 2014, by FLIPKEY, the sister site to TRIP ADVISOR.
With the popularity of HGTV who’s instilled unreal expectations of the scope, process, time and cost of real projects, It is my hope that this post will give you a much better understanding of the real costs involved in luxury kitchen remodeling. Without further ado:
How much does it really cost to remodel a kitchen?
With Houzz’s early 2014 House and Home survey [the largest of its kind ever conducted ] showing that over 22% of the 192, 536 registered users polled said they were going to remodel a kitchen soon, we thought it was time to take a fresh look at the question at the start of the New Year. So, today we’ll explore
How much does it REALLY cost to remodel a kitchen – in 2015 ?
One of the reasons we wanted to take a look at this oft asked question again – and in this way- is because the Houzz survey indicated an average amount homeowners planned to invest in their kitchen remodels and it was quite low according to some of the country’s top professional kitchen designers and remodelers that we surveyed for you. We wondered why they thought the figure was so low and decided to ask them, as they are the ones working in the field every day with readers like you who can afford a professional designer, but still aren’t sure what a kitchen remodeling project should really cost in today’s market.
In addition, the fine print in the HOUZZ survey number was missed by many. The fine print said:
“Mean [average] kitchen spend is among those who hired a pro and DIY {did it themselves] to complete all or part of their project. It also
includes both major and minor renovation projects.”
So, Houzz’s average price for a kitchen remodel, included DIY projects and minor renovation projects and that skewed the number very low – in the range of 25,000.00.
We don’t think *DIY kitchen remodeling* and *minor kitchen renovations* are what many of you have in mind when you think “kitchen remodeling.” We think you have in mind a whole kitchen remodel, with professional assistance, so you get the kitchen of your dreams, and that’s what today’s post will address.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
Before we start,we’d also like to add that kitchen remodeling shows on HGTV and other channels often leave out many important factors when showing you what the average cost of a kitchen remodel might be – factors like HVAC [air flow] considerations and the correct placement of vents and ducts so mold doesn’t grow in your home causing health issues for your family, interior cabinet pull-outs for storage and organization that make most modern kitchens functional, the labor for construction, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, and the design fees professionals charge to help you design and manage the process of getting the kitchen you’ve always dreamed of having.
We hope today’s post will help you understand the facts of what a kitchen remodel REALLY costs, for a 200 square foot kitchen, in different investment ranges, so you can make somewhat informed financial decisions to get the kitchen of YOUR dreams.
Let’s start with what you will need to consider…according to these top national kichen and bath designers and remodeling professionals who kindly responded to our initial questions:
Kitchen designer and author, Kelly Morrisseau, CMKBD, CID – lead kitchen designer at MSK Design Build in Walnut Creek, CA, Rose Dostal, AIA, of RMD Designs, LLC in Hudson, Ohio, Susan Serra, CKD, CAPS – founder of Susan Serra Associates in Long Island, New York, Kitchen designer and author, Robin Siegerman, CKD in Toronto, Canada, interior designer Carla Aston, in Houston, Texas, Susie Feia, principal of Feia Construction in Waukesha, Wisconsin , Rhonda Knoche, CMKBD, CAPS, owner -Rhonda Knoche Designs, Portland, Oregon, kitchen designer Cheryl Kees Clenendon, principal, In Detail Interiors – Pensacola, FL – and a special thanks to national HVAC expert, Chris Laumer-Giddens, principal of LG Squared in Atlanta, GA.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
Kitchen Cabinetry
The type of kitchen cabinetry you choose will be the biggest determinant of the overall investment in materials [ not labor and not professional design and project management fees, which are discussed later in the post ] that you will need to make in remodeling your kitchen.
Factors that impact your kitchen cabinetry cost will include: the type of wood species chosen, whether the cabinetry style you choose is standard *off the shelf* box cabinetry like you might find at IKEA, semi-custom luxury cabinetry where you have many choices in door styles and finishes and where the construction quality is similar to fine furniture, like you might find from #BlogTourVegas sponsor Wood-Mode, whose beautiful cabinetry is shown in the opening picture, or from #BlogTourVegas sponsor, Poggenpohl, who offers luxury cabinetry with a more modern look.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
Or, it could be completely custom made cabinetry with detailing that coordinates with special details in your kitchen and adjacent rooms, like you see below on the uber luxury completely customized kitchens by Cheryl Kees Clenendon and Susan Serra.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
In addition, other factors impacting cost of cabinetry will be what type of door type you choose [flat panel, inset, etc ] and what type of finish you choose for your cabinetry, for instance, a simple laminate finish, a semi-custom painted finish, or a completely custom finish.
Experienced kitchen designers will be able to show you cabinetry from several different manufacturers and be able to explain in detail why one cabinetry choice is more or less expensive than another.
For the beautiful cabinetry shown in magazines like Architectural Digest, World Of Interiors, House Beautiful, Veranda, Elle Decor, Traditional Home, BHG’s Kitchen and Bath Ideas, you will almost always see kitchen cabinetry that falls in the luxury or uber luxury price range – with exquisite detailing and finishes, as this is what a professional kitchen designer specializes in: helping you have the kitchen of your dreams – a kitchen completely personalized to harmonize with the rest of your home, one that reflect your tastes, how you cook, how you entertain and how your family likes to move about in the kitchen and relax while eating, like the one below by Rebecca Reynolds, CKD, as featured on the cover of Kitchen and Bath Ideas. Noice the ceiling details, the lighting details, the mix of different woods, the dropped soffits, etc. This type of kitchen is why you hire a professional kitchen designer to work with you.
A note: many interior designers will call a professional kitchen designer in to work together with them to create a beautiful kitchen for you. Kitchen design is a very specialized field and if your interior designer requests your permission to add a professional kitchen designer into your budget for just this phase of planning your home, consider agreeing – to get the best results, especially when you are considering a luxury or uber luxury level kitchen remodeling project.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
Appliances
Your next big budget item re: materials will be your kitchen appliances: your cooktop/range, your dishwasher, your refrigerator, microwave, range hood, warming ovens, wine coolers, etc. There are many different price ranges for each and every appliance you can choose, and an experienced kitchen designer can quickly give you an overview of what brands are right for your needs and give you a general price range so you will know what to expect. At the uber luxury end for ranges, for instance, are brands like Le Cornue [shown at the end of this post] and Electrolux Grand Cuisine, shown below.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
Countertops
Of the big 3, countertops will usually be the 3rd largest component of your overall materials budget.
What are factors that influence the price of your countertops? First, your material selection. Do you want a granite, a beautiful white Calacatta marble [the rarer marble, often confused with white Carerra marble- a less expensive option ], soapstone, recycled glass? Do you want a completely customizable high definition printed laminate from #BlogTourVegas sponsor and Texas HQ’d WILSONART?
http://hadleycourt.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-remodel-a-kitchen/
Do you want custom colored concrete, or stainless steel? Your material choice will be your first decision to impact your countertop pricing.
Next will be the thickeness and type of edge detailing you prefer. Edge detailing greatly impacts countertop pricing, especially with granite and marble. Slab marble, as shown below, is very popular in today’s luxury and uber luxury kitchens.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
Next, will be seaming.
What type of special cutting might be involved to resolve seaming issues so you don’t have unsighly seams ruining the flow of your countertop and trapping harmful bacteria? The picture below shows you the value in working with a professional kitchen designer that has excellent sub-contractors who are able to resolve seaming issues ahead of time, before a slab ever reaches your home.
Many of you probably don’t realize show much care, time and work goes into resolving just the seaming issues on granite or stone countertops – a small aspect of what goes into giving you the overall kitchen of your dreams, but professional kitchen and interior designers do.
Professional kitchen and bath designers are worth every penny of the approx. 20% or so they typically charge in design fees of your overall project investment. Imagine if you got this wrong? There goes your entire countertop and you would need to do it all over again and spend again – not to mention your lost time and the aggravation and how this would put all the other trades behind in their ability to finish their work, and the project overrun costs associated with that.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
So, what DOES it REALLY cost to get the kitchen of your dreams?
The graphic below shows you the latest data from REMODELING magazine, just out for 2015. Keep in mind that these are national AVERAGES, and many factors will impact the overall price, including the region of the country you will live in, and the availability of the best sub-contractors at any given time as labor is typically 60% or so of the overall investment you will make in your kitchen and the subs command premium prices, especially in areas of the country where there is high demand for their services.
The best professional kitchen designers, however, will insist that you wait, if at all possible, and invest in working with their team of trusted subs and tradespeople that they’ve worked with over a long period of time. Your professional kitchen designer knows who really delivers on time, who communicates with the other subs well, and who takes care of the inevitable problems on a jobsite with speed and fairness and aplomb.
This is part of the expertise they bring to your project.
Word to the wise to save money: bringing in your own tradespeople to save money if you’re working with an experienced professional kitchen and bath designer is not a good idea as there are so many trades involved in a major kitchen remodel. Disrupting the knowledge that these tradespeople have developed about each others work methods over time, through working on a team with your professional kitchen designer, will not be worth it. It disrupts their work flow and communication patterns on your job site and causes headaches and delays, and these cost you more money in the long run than you will have saved.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
After looking at this, please realize that this data does not take into account the SIZE of your kitchen. So, if you have a very large kitchen, you’ll need to add to these figures.
If you want UBER luxury and completely custom, your kitchen price – depending on the size of your kitchen – will be anywhere between $250,000 to 600,000 or more. Certain ranges, for instance, are $100,000 or so – like the one we shared above and the range and hood combination from Le Cornue, shown below.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Remodel a Kitchen in 2015-by Leslie Carothers for Hadley Court Blog
These ranges are being put into many New York City penthouse kitchens, where cooking is a form of entertaining and where personal and professional chefs are often called upon to prepare meals for an important occasion at home.
From the survey of professional kitchen designers, remodelers and HVAC experts surveyed in this post, who are currently working in their respective specialties every day, in major metro markets like San Francisco, Houston and the New York City area, their answer regarding the investment needed for a professional kitchen remodel for an approximately 200 sq. foot kitchen was $120,000 – $150,000.
For those working in secondary real estate markets, their number was a little lower, approximately $80,000.00 for a 200 sq. ft. kitchen remodel.
Lastly, here is a list shared by these experts about the other factors that could/will impact your kitchen remodeling investment.
Plumbing Fixtures
Lighting
Cabinetry Hardware
Flooring Choice
Ceiling Treatment
Window and Door Replacement
Wall Removal
Range Hoods
Painting
Architectural Molding
Interior Cabinetry Storage and Organization Built Ins and PulloutsPlumbing
Electrical Wiring
Local Zoning and Code RequirementsWe would love to know what your experience with pricing has been if you’ve recently remodeled a kitchen and, if you’re a professional kitchen and bath designer, we’d love to hear your comments on this post, too.
We hope this post has been helpful in answering your question, “What Does It Cost To Remodel A Kitchen – in 2015?” and again, a sincere thank you to the professional kitchen designers, remodelers and HVAC experts who took the time to give us detailed feedback for this post – to insure accuracy.
Leslie Hendrix Wood and I look forward to seeing many of them at #KBIS2015 , the National Kitchen and Bath Association tradeshow next week and we can’t wait to bring YOU, dear readers, our thoughts about the best new products and ideas for your luxury kitchens that we see at #KBIS2015 and Leslie also looks forward to bringing you her #BlogTourVegas sponsors exciting new kitchen + bath introductions, here on Hadley Court.
Leslie Carothers
for
Leslie Hendrix Wood
Founder, Editor In Chief
Hadley CourtInterior Designer
Midland, Texas~~~
Gracious Living. Timeless Design. Family Traditions.We invite you to please follow Hadley Court on our other social channels, too, by simply clicking on each of these links.
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Layout of Countertop on Granite: Paramount Granite Blog
Many thanks to the Leslie’s for this real insight into the costs of kitchen remodeling.
As both a realtor and an interior designer I feel strongly that it’s important to keep my clients well informed. And, while this article was recently released on the Hadley Court Blog, I also want to share it as I feel that the information should reach as wide an audience as possible. Won’t you share it with your friends who are thinking of remodeling? Thanks!
Cheers from Sonoma County!
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