@User Thank you for the response. That makes sense. I am sure a lot of professionals have sadly had their time wasted by people who take their designs and then buy and install themselves, and i can appreciate why that would be frustrating. In having no experience in a project this size, I was viewing it as one project, when it is a a little bit of two. I need to get my design handled first, and then get quotes. Thank you for your assistance in educating me a bit.

And yes i had a project amount in mind. I was planning on around 30k. I will be looking for cabinets, countertops, backsplash and a new oven. I have priced the oven I like and it should be within budget. However, I realize the need to be flexible since so much has increased in price since Covid. I have 30% more reserved in case my budget is unrealistic for what I desire. We live in a tract home so I want a kitchen that looks nice, but I also realize that going to extravagant would price us out of neighborhood specs if we ever chose to resell. Researching average kitchen costs in a typical area has been a little challenging as well, probably due to volatile costs these last few years. So it's possible I'm in for a rude awakening with my budget goals, and if that's the case we will adjust.

Do you have any opinions on in person kitchen Designers vs E-Designers? I imagine the in person would be better, since it's a professional taking measurements instead of myself and therefore less room for error?

Thanks for your input.

View from the other side.

In a subdivision with basically similar kitchens and floor plans.....and if you are at 30 k , I would seriously go to Ikea and use their planning program .[they actually install now] You can even start here w something on graph paper . If you have the basic configuration whether L or U or galley shape ...... placements and sizes/ feature of cabinets can get very close to finalized w help from many on Houzz. here are two Ikea kitchens

Family Kitchen · More Info

Classic white kitchen in Australia · More Info

thats why she should start here w layout and specs of what is desired..... when a " hoped for " end result is laid out along w budget/ size/ desired specs all will get modified/ adjusted. sometimes a few modifications w slightly increased budget is all thats needed. sometimes a lot more adjusting /or postponing. Between Ikea and RTA its not known if 30 k would be impossible until more info is put up. Some people have done really good work/ stayed within a budget w some DIY and RTA cabinets.

The average kitchen remodel in my market is over $100k. A $30k budget would be appropriate for a kitchen "refresh"...keeping cabinets, flooring and appliances and changing countertops, backsplash, hardware and lighting.

Your process should be - (1) define what you mean by "renovation" (refresh, gut, or something in the middle), (2) define budget - talk to one or two pros to get a very very back of the envelope idea or do your own research, (3) double that number, (4) think hard about whether you really want to do this, and then and only then (5) hire an independent professional (architect with lots of kitchen expertise or kitchen designer). Hiring an independent professional is the best way to vet the quality of the materials you're getting and to stay on budget and have someone representing only your interests when interfacing with cabinetmakers, counter fabricators, etc. Kitchen centers are usually tied to a few brands in each category that may or may not be what's best for you, and they have a vested interest in increasing the budget. Independent pros do too, but it's not as direct an interest for them.

Do you have a design plan? did you want to change layout? with limited budget you may need to keep layout and just replace cabs/counters so you don’t add electrical and plumbing and flooring costs. best to price out cabs/counters now. pre covid we talked to 3 GCs. we had a hand drawn design (and priced out all of our major choices like cabs/counters/appliances) and 2 gave us full quotes. one wanted a better design first but gave us ballpark number that was accurate. we just added half bath and again found someone willing to give free estimate based on hand drawn design by me. a second person gave ball park number too. even in the bay area there are definitely people out there still that will do that but probably smaller independent gc’s not design build companies.

Unless you are in a very high cost of living area, you can do an Ikea kitchen update for $30K. We did just that last year, using a professional team for cabinet installation, electrical, and plumbing. We didn't make major floorplan changes and didn't take down any walls. That's assuming you'll be happy with finishes that are appropriate to that level of investment (e.g. we spend $200 on a faucet, $400 on a sink). I used an online kitchen planner familiar with Ikea layouts and that was a big complement to using Ikea's design services. If your design and goals are modest, you can do it. Be aware that many of the kitchen pictures you'll see here are from $$$$$ projects.

I agree with Linda and M Miller. You can probably pull it off with your budget (depending upon where you live) and you certainly don't want to over-upgrade your home's kitchen compared to the rest of your house and the neighborhood.

You do have to start doing the legwork and "homework" to get a firm idea of what you want and what you can afford.

I started out just like you, and was stunned at the first few quotes from some recommended kitchen remodelers. So, I started shopping and reading, and thinking hard about what I wanted to achieve with the remodel - in my case, it was same footprint, but better utilization of the space and more functional, and just plain more, storage, This forum, and the now-defunct IkeaHackers, Ikea, and even Better Homes and Gardens magazine gave me lots of ideas for the features and layout - not all of which I could use, of course.

The shopping part is to see what is out there, and what it costs. Don't be afraid to look at EBay, Lowes, etc. Once I knew what I wanted, I started shopping hard for bargains, clearance, sales, floor models and so forth. I ended up finishing the project, complete with all new appliances, for close to half the cost that I had been quoted - and the only DIY was buying nearly everything, except the new window, myself, and doing the wall painting.

Look at every bit of your kitchen - lighting, counter space, storage space, trash space, window, traffic flow, sink, etc. What works and what doesn't? what can/should be improved?

Find the "Read Me First" thread on this forum - and read it!

I suggest that you post a detailed sketch of the space (footprint) with accurate measurements of everything (including doors and windows) here, along with photos of the current kitchen.

THEN start looking for a contractor with a list in your hand of exactly - each component - of what you want him to do.

I often wonder where the posters who say to expect to spend $120K for a decent kitchen actually live. Is everyone in LA or NY?

I am in metro Detroit, which is an average COLA. I am finishing up a kitchen and laundry room renovation, with the kitchen 17' x 11.5', all drawers on the bottom. We tore everything down to the studs, and used local-made painted and walnut custom cabinets, Corian counters, cork floors, marble backsplash and all Bosch appliances. All contractors were licensed and insured professionals, and the only labor my husband and I contributed was painting. We are coming in around $60K.

15 years ago I did a similar sized kitchen and laundry project in a different house. All of my selections were similar to what I mentioned above, except I used IKEA cabinets (that we assembled ourselves) and marble counters. That project came in about $25K. Again, 15 years ago. I estimate today that project would be $35-40K today. And it was a decent size kitchen.

I tell you all this because if you've never done it, you have no idea what these things can cost.

I'm curious as to how big your project would be, and how expensive your area is.

Unless you live in SoCal, a $30K kitchen is doable, and I think IKEA is your best option to achieve that.

Nicole

Thanks for all the feedback. It seems clear that our budget is unrealistic, and we need to reassess. I had done some research on website like Home Advisor etc. to get ballparks for kitchen renos in our area, but I am guessing the pricing just isn’t up to date since all the drastic increases and volatility with labor and materials since Covid. Thank you for the frank feedback. It makes sense now why I was probably getting the blow-off from professionals I have reached out to, and I am guessing they were just all too nervous to be the bad guy and let me know that my budget was not very realistic for this current climate.

@M Miller Valuable insight that is very objective. I need to spend more time getting a wider range of options under my belt to have a better idea of which type of service suits me. People can have very STRONG opinions one way or the other when it comes to design, and I appreciate the candid points you mentioned. Renovations should be an option to anyone, even if they aren’t rich. You just have to adjust your expectation to match your budget.

@User I am not opposed to Ikea cabinets as I have actually found a number of designers that praise their hardware quality, and the variety of cabinet front companies widen the options. However, I appreciate that there is a difference in quality with these types of cabinets vs. custom wood cabinets. And ultimately, my budget for either option is not suited to current costs, so an adjustment is needed.

@hue HUE I am so glad that you mentioned the design fees are separate and on top of your set-aside budget. This probably seems obvious to many, but I honestly had not considered that. I am realizing that this is much more of a two-step process – Design service – THEN reaching out for quotes to fit within the budget. I was getting confused mostly by the fact that each company was expecting me to pay for those services, which seemed redundant to get 3 different designs paid for. Now I realize I just need to get that design first, then re-contact those companies and be vocal about the fact that a design is already done.

@User This was an eye opener! Duh! It makes so make sense that a budget represents a percentage of CURRENT home values, since that is a better representation of current labor and material costs. Thank you for saying that. Using this formula made me come up with a budget of more than double what I was assuming, so I definitely needed to be told that.

@Linda I am in Southern California. Not the most expensive area of it, but the cost of living in our area is pretty high when compared to other states, and I think my budget reflected more Pre-Covid numbers. It’s become more challenging to get accurate ranges for where you should be, so I think the info I found was just outdated. Even with an IKEA kitchen, I think my budget needs to increase probably 40-50% at minimum. But it’s a relief to finally have that better understanding. It’s hard to know if people are just “over-selling” you but hearing so many different perspectives is giving me a better overall picture.

@toktam raee

I did read the “Read Me First” but I am so clueless that I still wasn’t understanding! But thank you for the reminder I will read that over again with a new understanding.

@nicoletouk I was filled with such promise by your message until whack! The line "Unless you live in SoCal" because of course, that's where I live. It's what I need to hear though. These notes are all giving me a major wake-up call and I appreciate it.

Amanda, take a look around at Emily Henderson's website. She has done some beautiful kitchens that, sadly, are not in your budget BUT she has several employees and website contributors that have shared their IKEA kitchens, and they are mostly in SoCal! I think some include budget breakdowns, so that would help you, too.

Nicole

@nicoletouk Thank you so much I will do that.

Amanda, we're outside of Boulder, Colorado which is a fairly HCOL area. A week of a skiller worker/team's time goes for around $5,000 here (based on my experience and that of a friend who redid a rental last year). Cabinet assembly took about a day. The most time-consuming aspect was building & leveling ladder boxes for the base units (rather than relying on the standard rail & legs). We moved a peninsula over a few inches so they spent some time patching up the floor with spare pieces.

I did a high end kitchen remodel in LA in 2018. Just the labor was $50K and appliance package also close to $50K. Total project ended up over $200K.

I live on the other coast and an avarage kitchen remodel is well north of 75k . Ikea saves you alot on cabinets but to have ikea kitchen cabinets installed by a gc here in Ct is almost as much as the cabinets cost and you still end up paying north of 60k and now are stuck with ikea cabinets. Ikea is only a sound budget choice for those who can install them themselves.

@roarah This mirrors what i spoke to a designer about the other day. She commented that a lot of GC's hate working with Ikea kitchens, and will sometimes up-charge labor to make up for the hassle. So any savings on materials ends up getting spent extra on labor. Its possible the "average quotes for your zip code" info I found online might not have included labor at all which distorted my view of what I thought I needed to budget. Or those calculators could just be totally made up. Everyone on here seems to be pretty consistently saying the budget I thought I needed really only works for a DIY Ikea kitchen. We don't have the time to do this project ourselves, so we definitely need a large budget change. Reading all this comments has helped us to have an honest conversation about where our budget really needs to be. Frankly, for SoCal, needing installation, our answer is basically at the very least double what we assumed. We've decided to increase our budget to 70k. We are working on finding somewhere to get the design done first and then after that maybe some of our quotes will come in under that. Most likely not, based on what has been commented on. But at least now I am ready for that response.

If you want a basic rough design and scope of work for preliminary pricing, I have a virtual colleague who does exactly that. Then you can decide if your chosen contractor can provide the final design work with their pet designer, or if you want to continue to get unbiased help.

Hey there Amanda, I'm in SoCal, too. Definitely do the Ikea planner route. Ikea has good value and a nice planning tool for pricing out that level of cabinets.

Upthread, someone mentioned that a budget of $30,000 would only cover countertops, backsplash, lighting and hardware. OK, come on people. Amanda and I live in a very HCOLA, but you can't tell me that hardware (drawer pulls can be had for a few hundred dollars from myknobs.com---I know because I just changed out my knobs. Let's say, $1,000-$2,000 seems pretty generous. Lighting? I have a big kitchen and changed out about 16 can lights using LED screw-in retrofit replacements at about $20/each from HD. I had my electrcian replace the undercabinet lighting with LED. Wasn't expensive. Let's overbudget at $2,000. Add a chandelier or 3 pendents, on a budget. Are we up to $5,000 yet?

Backsplash: can be a diy job, or a good handyman can do it. Don't go crazy with expensive tile, and it won't cost as much. I'd ballpark $1,200. I think you can do that.

Counters: Yes, it's going to cost, but you can do the perimeters with prefab quartz or granite for a very, very reasonable cost. Go visit some local stoneyards and ask to see the prefabs. Maybe butcher block on a center island. I think you could do all of this for $15,000.

Again, a HCOLA area, but this is feasible, imho.

^^^ what Mrs. S. said.

You don't have some kind of deadline that you are working against, do you? Then you have time to do that homework and planning, that's been mentioned regarding options in materials and sellers,before you go looking for a designer and a contractor. You will be far better off if you have a specific list of what you what and how you want it, instead of a vague request for a design and/or estimate.

And, as previously mentioned, you can post a sketch of the space, with your goals, in a new thread here. There are several frequent posters with a knack and a liking for design - at the very least you will get good ideas of what is feasible and what you really want, if you then go to a paid designer.

You really should also take advantage of the free Ikea planner (Barker Cabinets also has a free planner tool, and you might like their cabinets.)

There really are installers out there who do like Ikea kitchens - I think this idea that "contractors hate them" may be partly because so many work with designers who source and sell their own affilliated brand of cabinets, and they protect those relationships.

It is certainly possible to hire a contractor to do everything except buy and install the cabinets - then you can get the cabinets from Ikea (if that is your choice) and use their installation service.

PS. I didn't use Ikea because their cabinets would have required wasting some space in my small and oddly shaped kitchen (otherwise, I was sold on them). Instead, I found a cabinetmaker about 50 miles away who made frameless cabinets and could custom size where needed. A bit more but not a whole lot more than Ikea.

I live in Los Angeles and did a gut remodel in 2018

I think the $30,000 budget is doable but you have to be willing to work for it by doing a lot of research and a lot of legwork.

Hiring an independent kitchen designer is unrealistic for your budget. They just aren't interested in a small project because there isn't enough money for it to be worthwhile. Also, independent kitchen designers are pretty rare anyway whatever the budget since it is not a really viable business model - but that is a different issue.

Start reading about cabinet construction and then visit a lot of kitchen and bath stores which sell cabinets. The advantage of SoCal is that there are LOADS of them around. When I did this in my original research I found that they carried a range of cabinets but the difference was that the least expensive stores would have Kraftmaid/Omega as their main choice while the higher end would have those options as their least expensive cabinet.

You can make an appointment with one of the designers and if you bring in your measurements and a diagram of the space - with some pictures of what you like - as well as features you will be able to get an idea of what the cost would be and whether you would like to work with that designer. Since you have researched construction, you will also be able to figure out which lines are well priced for the quality.

Many of them will provide a preliminary layout with an approximate cost and you can compare costs between the various lines. No one is going to come to your house to measure and provide you with detailed plans until you commit but you can get a very useful idea of what to expect in terms of costs. However they will use their layout software to do a very preliminary design with a ballpark figure. Even if your final cost is a bit higher it will at least enable you to compare prices of comparable designs with different cabinet lines.

While you don't want to get poor quality there are certain things that can be changed relatively easily like faucets and even cabinet pulls. Delta and Moen offer high quality at a reasonable price IF you are willing to compromise on style since that can be upgraded easily down the line. In SoCAL there is a unique system where you go to the stoneyard and purchase the stone directly. There are items like a backsplash that you don't have to get right away

ETA My kitchen cost significantly more than $30,000 as I did have a lot of high end features including custom cabinets and a custom copper sink from Havens.. i honestly have no idea of cost because it was a gut remodel of my entire condo and because i just kept writing checks 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️😂😂

However I did at one time approach it as a limited remodel of a kitchen on a limited budget. I made the rounds of the cabinet stores and would have made choices that were more of a compromise driven by price. For example, a wall oven is much more expensive in every way than a stove because the cabinet costs money, you need two appliances, the installation is more expensive AND in my case I had to upgrade the electrical panel because each appliance needed its own circuit amd I now had wall oven, imduction cooktop and microwave drawer where i previously had only a stove and countertop top microwave. 🤷‍♀️😂

In my market, and I suspect most HCOL markets, remodeling costs are up 40% or more from 2018. Even experienced pros are reeling from sticker shock these days.

And sure, if your kitchen is so poorly done or out of date you absolutely need a remodel, then DIY quality or pre-fab butcher block countertops might be an improvement. But if you have high expectations for a custom look done by professionals, be prepared to pay much more than your current budget allows.