How Much To Spend on a New Kitchen?

How much to spend on a kitchen and what is deemed as an expensive kitchen is very much a relative thing as well as being inline with ones price expectations.

If you haven’t purchased a new kitchen for several years (and perhaps you have never purchased a kitchen!) then prices can sometimes be alarming since its not just the cabinetry / furniture itself, but also, worktops, appliances and filling - aside of any necessary building and trades requirements such as you new electrics and plumbing.

DIY Sheds: However, as a ‘rule of thumb’ by going to one of the DIY sheds and buying an ‘off the shelf’ lay on door kitchen, expects to pay from between £3,500 to £6,000 for cabinetry / furniture. Then worktops, fitting and appliances around an additional £3,500 to £4,500 depending on quality of appliances and whether you opt for laminate or stone worktops. This means a total cost of around £7,000 to £11,00. At this price, you will have something that’s presentable BUT not made to measure with standard cabinets, finishes and a mediocre quality / specification which if looked after should last 7 to 10 years before door hinges, drawer mechanisms and external finishes start to wear out.

Well known mid to lower end / High Street Brands: Going to a High Street, well known mid market brand, cabinetry / furniture could increase to £5,000 to £7,500, with fitting being an additional £1,500 to £2,000 plus your choice of laminate or stone worktops and appliances. Such a kitchen will again have standard cabinet sizes and finishes but hopefully, a slightly higher grade specification and build quality. For this you would be looking from anywhere between £15,000 to £20,000 plus.

Depending on style / type of kitchen and how much you spend, the life expectancy, depending on use should be anything from 10 to 15 years.

The Luxury Bespoke, In-Frame Brands: For a bespoke / high-end, in-frame brand using a well known ‘trophy’ brand, cabinetry/ furniture would be around £25,000 to £30,000. For this, you would have made to measure cabinetry / furniture scaled and sized to suit exact dimensions and made from wood veneered MDF (sometimes a solid timber). Doors would normally be 5 x piece items hopefully made of a hardwood and painted in a colour shade of your choice. The doors would be hung within a frame using proper, recessed butt hinges (although sometimes concealed hinges are used or specified). Drawer boxes should be timber, dovetail joined and on soft close systems.

The finished bill can / will be upwards of £38,000 and often more (£50K isn’t unusual) since with such a kitchen, expensive granites / stones, appliances and accessories are the ‘norm.’

The life expectancy should be much extended because of the higher grade materials and improved build quality . But - BUYER BEWARE! Whilst you are arguably getting a better quality, you are very much paying over the odds for the prestige of owning / showing off a ‘luxury brand!’ Whilst ‘bespoke,’ for such brands to get the volumes they require, they will try and steer you down a design path that very much suits them and you will pay ‘handsomely’ for any ‘specials’ such as curved doors or special finishes.

A Bespoke, In-Frame Kitchen from a Small, Family Run Manufacturer. If you want to show off a trophy brand then this option isn’t for you! However, if you want a genuine, custom-made service, with the highest possible levels of quality BUT at a realistic price - and this is something that you value over ‘brand value,’ then this is the kind of company you should be looking for; every town and city has them! Do your due diligence and do your online research. Look at their customer reviews and don’t be afraid to ask to be taken to see installation or look around their workshops.

With such a company, you are very much ‘the customer’ rather than just another sale for the sales person! They will work with you to achieve exactly what you want without compromise. You will have flexibility of finish and cabinet size and won’t be overly penalised for any special requests.

You will get solid timber cabinets, proper hardwood - 5 X piece doors hung within a frame using recessed butt hinges and dovetailed drawer boxes on soft close systems. Usually, nothing will be too much trouble to them since you are ‘special’ and significant and will undoubtedly recommend them on; that’s how many such good companies stand the test of time.

Cabinetry / furniture will be around the £15,000 to £18,000 price mark. YES…..not a great deal more than some of the standard High Street brands plus fitting, work-tops and your choice of appliances . Final project costs can be anything from £27,000 to £37,000 (with appliances, worktops and fitting - give or take).

The main consideration for going down this route is that this furniture, besides being totally unique to you and your property, is very much a long-term investment since it will last and last. In years to come, tops, handles and colours can be changed to freshen up the look BUT the furniture will be as good as the day it left the workshop. Furthermore, the graceful, classical in-frame style will remain in vogue - indeed as it has done for the last 150 years!

Churchwood Design is one such family run, bespoke design and manufacturing kitchen business. If you want true quality and levels of service at a realistic price, get in touch - regardless of where you are situated in the UK.