In my market (Philly suburbs) a painted Brookhaven kitchen (semi custom) with high end appliances is estimated at $150K.

Thank you! This is so helpful.

Remodeling Magazine has done an industry survey for 27 years. Their numbers would say 158K is average for an upscale kitchen. But, if your kitchen is larger or smaller than 200 square feet, your numbers will change. If you are doing a super upscale designer kitchen, like so many of the Houzz inspiration pictures, your numbers will only go higher.

https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/major-kitchen-remodel-upscale?y=2022

I would say closer to $200k where we are.

2018 Los Angeles - complete kitchen gut/remodel, high end - Total $220K.

Labor alone was $50K. Woodmode cabinets in Ribbon Mahogany wood. Appliances SZ/ Wolf & Miele. Custom Modern-aire 48" rustic brass hood. Quartzite counters (3 slabs). Encore Tile handmade backsplash. Pruskin handmade solid bronze hardware.

We sold in 2020. Had I know we were going to decide to move I would have skipped the custom items like backsplash, hardware and inside drawers stained to match exteriors. Probably would have downgraded the cabinets one notch too. I had picked things I loved and planned on enjoying for 10 - 15 years! We got all our remodeling dollars back and made some profit on the property, although covid uncertainty in 2020 reduced some of our profit. Prices shot back up a few months later!

I would not want to be doing any kind of building/remodeling project in LA these days.

Wow, I didn't expect it to cost so much. But we're in western New York, so the prices won't be as high as L.A. Still, the remodel I'm dreaming sounds a lot like yours, Chispa. Everything will be new -- except the floor.

It's good to have this wide context. Really gives me a sense of how expensive things are these days. Thanks so much!

Floored You: Tile Designers -- the link to Remodeling Magazine is great. Much appreciated!

That's good advice, thanks! We are planning to work with an experienced kitchen designers and use the best materials. They're expensive, but these comments make me think it's how it has to be. Skilled labor might be the toughest aspect. Not much of around, I think. Thanks again for taking time to answer!

When working with a designer, establish actual budget numbers instead of "high end" or "best materials". There is a wide range in cost of materials. I recently had a client spend over $75k just for their kitchen appliances. And one that spent $50k on only their countertops. Unless money is no object, you will still be limited by your budget and will still need to make compromises. Per @User's response, set your expectations with your designer early on so you understand what type of value your budget can provide.

This will vary by location. She numbers I provide are what I've seen from other's kitchen renovations online and are ballpark numbers. But high-end, custom, cabinets, hire people to do all the work. You'll easily be around or over $100k.

Use some budget cabinets (IKEA with 3rd party doors is great), still hire out the work, you can probably get down to the $50k.

Want to get your hands dirty and do cabinet install, but still hire everything else out, you can probably get to the $20-30k.

This will vary by location. She numbers I provide are what I've seen from other's kitchen renovations online and are ballpark numbers. But high-end, custom, cabinets, hire people to do all the work. You'll easily be around or over $100k.

Use some budget cabinets (IKEA with 3rd party doors is great), still hire out the work, you can probably get down to the $50k.

Want to get your hands dirty and do cabinet install, but still hire everything else out, you can probably get to the $20-30k.

Kristin Petro Interiors, thanks so much, that's great guidance. We're trying to get some price range figures from our designer. Will keep trying! Money certainly IS an object, so I want to be careful.

Thank you all for sharing your insights! I'm setting expectations with my significant other for a future remodel. He gets the garage, I get the kitchen. :)

I don't know whether I am sorry or glad that I don't know what the total for my kitchen remodel was 🤷🏼‍♀️🤫🤣 It was part of a gut remodel so some costs were for multiple aspects but at a certain point I just laughed and wrote the checks.

I have a small urban kitchen so my costs for materials would be lower but I am not sure labor costs are that much lower for small kitchens and bathrooms because they have to come in and do a lot of the most expensive work whatever size you have like plumbing and electrical.

Although your labor costs will be lower in western New York than Los Angeles where @chispa and I remodeled at approximately the same kind, a lot of the costs are for materials which will be the same wherever you are located - Encore tiles which I also used for my backsplash will be the same price and I suspect that some costs like marble or other stone might be cheaper in Los Angeles because we have a unique system in that people actually go to the stoneyards in the Valley and pick up the slab which their fabricator picks up. There are so many of them located in a certain area of the Valley that I suspect there is very competitive pricing.

I think the only rational approach is to decide what you want or can afford to spend and budgeting a 20% contingency and then determine what you can get for that amount and then set priorities unless your budget is literally unlimited.

My neighbor did a high end kitchen remodel for $80K- I have the same size kitchen and did floors, lighting, backsplash, cabinets and quartz counters for $23k installed. From shopping around i would say expect $60k on the low end and $100k on the higher end.

Two differing opinions -- from Suzanne A and Verbo. Both are useful. I guess people have different experiences depending on the area of the country and other factors. Thank you for taking time to answer.

Verbo has a point in that high end is very expensive and there's no getting around it no matter where you live. But, it's also kind of relative, which is why there are different opinions. For some people, GE Cafe appliances are high end but the truth is, they aren't. That's not to say they aren't quality and you wouldn't be happy with them. It's like shopping at Bloomingdales, thinking it's high end and then heading over to Saks or Neiman Marcus. LOL! However, the price of truly high end appliances, cabinets and hardware is the same no matter where you buy them. They never go on sale and there are rarely any deals to be had. Labor costs for a kitchen remodel can vary widely though and that's another reason why you're seeing differing opinions.

So, apologies to the OP for hijacking your thread a bit. But I’m gonna revise: I went back and read many posts and Verbo does have some good advice. I exaggerated and I apologize for that. However, I maintain that losing the attitude will help this advice be received. Carry on.

L thomas, Wow, what a great renovation! Your kitchen must be amazing, and it sounds as if you got a lot, really a lot, for your money. Thanks for all the details. You've given me a lot to consider.

A major portion of the cost is cabinets. In your area you can check Amish cabinetmakers like this one. Amish Kitchen Gallery - High Quality Kitchen Cabinetry in WNY

L Thomas - I'd love to see photos and I'm curious what the breakdown was of labor/materials. In Boston, I'm getting estimates that are about 40-50% labor for my kitchen. Thanks!

dan1888, thanks so much for the link! I'm going to check it out.

@L thomas I'm hoping that the contractor recommended by out cabinet seller is as wonderful as yours!!! He gets great reviews so Im hopeful. I agree that it sounds like you got excellent value for your money. We live in one of those city suburbs where you get the feeling that the neighborhood alone adds 20-30% to labor no matter what you have done. It's frustrating.

Hi Sally - here are some photos. Excuse the meat on the counter, I was about to throw some steaks on the grill. I went to grad school in Boston and lived there for 6 years. One of my favorite places!!! It is a little tough to tell exact labor vs materials, as the contract wasn’t broken down that specifically. Rough carpentry, for example, was $14k on the contract. How much of that was materials vs labor, I’m not sure. From what materials I do know, I’m fairly confident in estimating labor was 40%-45% of the cost. Cheri - I completely understand. Often folks in my neighborhood will joke (lament) about ‘the Grosse Pointe tax.’

I started a thread at the beginning of the remodel that has some progress photos as well, I’d you’d like to see. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6250941/grosse-pointe-blank

I think it depends on what you consider high end. I did custom cabinets, café appliances, reconfigure-moved walls (header beam) and pantry, refinished original floors, all new electric and lighting, replaced one window (custom size), new exterior door, Cambria quartz countertop, new sink and faucet, disposal, and custom window treatments for about 60k+. I didn't replace the dishwasher but will next year. That is another 2,300 for the Bosch benchmark. I also added a pocket door to the laundry. My kitchen has a small footprint in a 1910 home.

I took my kitchen to the studs and ended up having to pay a mason to fix an old stovepipe hole in the chimney (newly exposed) and put in a new chimney liner. I don't count that as I consider the new liner a life safety issue.

I also want to add my husband works in construction and bartered some of the costs....electric and drywall.

edited to add I live in upstate NY (Eastern) In Western NY your home cannot handle a 100k+ makeover unless you're in a very specific area.

Cafe appliances are not high end. They’re attractive, and a step up from LG, and KitchenAid, but they’re not high end. Wolf/Sub Zero, Miele, Thermador, Gaggenau, are high end.

Agreed but my neighborhood did not support wolf and most in upstate NY will not. I also added high end is relative. In Western NY most enclaves are not going to support super high end.

L thomas, I love the look of your kitchen! Are the counters soapstone -- or bluestone? Thanks for the photos.

Sherry Brighton, thanks for all the helpful info. You're right about central to western to southern NY (not quite sure how to characterize it). We've already put way more money into the house than we'll ever get back!

Does anyone have experience with or an opinion on Blue Star, Bertazonni, or ILV ranges? We'd prefer an induction top.

Chez - counters are unoiled soapstone. I’m not a fan of Bluestar. If I were to do a range with an induction top, I’d likely consider Miele and Wolf, with Bertie as a close runner-up.

Also Chez - thank you for the compliment!! I should have lead with that. Rude on my part.

I'm leaning toward soapstone now that I've seen yours. And many thanks for the take on various ranges. I like the look of Bertazonni, but looks aren't everything!

@chez moi - as mentioned here, "high end" means different things to different people. I want to echo @Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc.'s advice about not using descriptors like "high end" or "best materials". A picture tells a thousand words - if you don't have a Pinterest account yet, open one, and start uploading photos of kitchens, or kitchen materials that appeal to you. Photos will help express what you are looking for.

Think about things that add to the reno expense that are must-haves vs want. Examples: whether you want your cabinets to meet the ceiling - which means you need to know how tall your ceilings are. What finish on your cabinetry - painted, wood, stain, special treatment like cerusing. How big of a sink do you want. What about appliances - wall ovens/cooktop combo or range, and what width do you want cooktop or range, what width fridge do you want. A hood cabinet surround or a metal hood. And a big expense is the correct ductwork for the hood. You mentioned soapstone counters (love them!); note they need a skilled fabricator experienced in soapstone. These are all decisions that alter your budget.

These are what high-end kitchens look like in my mind - I cannot afford them!

Let's just say that a kitchen with Bosch and Miele appliances is equivalent to a Lexus and not a Rolls Royce.

For most people in the US a Lexus would be considered to be a "luxury" automobile and would generally be purchased by upper middle class people in terms of income.

Eh, Rolls Royce is just a BMW now and Land Rover the finest in Indian engineering by Tata Group!!

;-)

M Miller, thank you for the great advice and the photos! Beautiful aesthetics in those kitchens -- and simplicity. At least one had the advantage of a lovely window, which we won't have, for sure. But it is very helpful to have visuals for inspiration and guidance.

@L thomas - I LOVE LOVE LOVE your kitchen! It's timeless. I lived in MI (go Green, go White) for grad school and really appreciated Michigan, especially the area near Lake Michigan. @User - you are so right. Labor is 2/3 of the cost, and the materials, esp. in Boston are another 2/3!

My kitchen appliances include paneled Bosch dishwasher, Cafe Appliance range with double ovens, and Fisher-Paykel paneled fridge. I'm not really into cars, so can't compare, but this kitchen, along with gorgeous custom cabinets, feels just right to me. It's costing about 2x what we expected - thanks to the pandemic.

I don’t think i’d consider anything in my kitchen exceptionally high end (except maybe cost lol given labor costs in a vhcol area) but for induction we absolutely love our miele 36” cooktop! Can’t go wrong there, and at least compared to the gas range prices i’ve seen quoted here may be reasonable!

lharpie -- Thanks for this tip! I haven't found much info about induction ranges, so this is good to know.

It is now 2023. Gut reno for high end kitchen, 20’x 25’ size— 250k. NY suburbs.

Wow! Way more than I thought. But we're in central/western NY state, so I expect it will cost less. Much less, I hope.

@NoGo's post is nonsensical. As noted in this thread, there are so many variables such as choice of cabinets, cabinet finish, counters, appliances, flooring, that the $250K number is meaningless without that context. I suspect the comment was to brag, not to help you.

20x25 is a 500sf kitchen. $250k = $500/sf. That doesn’t sound at all crazy to me if indeed the entire space is kitchen and its a true gut. But also, that’s an unusually gigantic kitchen. I’m paying more psf for my kitchen (Fairfield County, CT), and I’m keeping major appliances! It is semi high end, but nothing crazy.

Inset cabinetry, big island, high end apppliances, etc..
250k is for real. It is not to brag.

Our kitchen is about 13’ by 15’. Out of interest, I enquired what a rough estimate would be for one of my favorite cabinet lines - Bulthaup. Not surprisingly, I guess, I would have been looking at a minimum of $200K. It was closer to $100K for a local company in the metro Phoenix area. Both for white oak.

Ours is not even the most expensive type of cabinet (Adelphi). Appliances like 48” subzero, FP dishwasher, etc..cost 30k give or take. And we are using Design-Build firm, I guess that is why it is costlier too. HIGH END comes with the high price. I went through a lot of back and forth with the designs, layout, and components for the kitchen but cost really doesn’t go down that much. We were told that a lot of the cost comes from the type of cabinetry and we are gutting bigger than normal kitchen. Kitchen walls down to studs, new floors, and adding windows.
Maybe project location also has some influence on the price??I don’t know.

Project location definitely influences price. But if your kitchen is really that big, it's literally 2x the size of a normal (actually, larger than normal) kitchen. So that is definitely a big part of any sticker shock people are experiencing.

My kitchen is less than half the size and I'd estimate (I'm doing a lot of other work to my house too) it is about $175-200k, all in. It has been completely gutted, and is getting new floors, inset cabinetry with custom detailing (decorative brackets), new windows, counters will be marble and/or soapstone, decent but not crazy expensive hardware and fixtures. But I am keeping my Sub-Zero fridge and Viking range, which saves me almost $20k. And I made other choices to keep a reasonable budget, like doing a stainless panel behind the range for a backsplash instead of tile, and keeping most of the appliances in the same location. My lighting is Visual Comfort, not Urban Electric; my faucet will be Waterstone or something equivalent, not Waterworks. I'll probably do a simple stainless sink instead of a $1,500 farmhouse sink. And so on. It's definitely "high end," but it is not the level that you would see in a magazine.