Do you know how much a complete kitchen remodel costs in Sterling? Labor must be included in the calculated cost. It should be a full-size kitchen remodel that includes replacing cabinets, countertops, appliances, tiles, and work. How much do you think this kitchen renovation will cost in 2023? Let’s calculate.
I started planning our kitchen remodeling. We knew we wanted to remodel almost every room, but the kitchen was our priority. It’s our most-used space in the home, and I wanted that space to bring me joy! And kitchen remodeling typically have a great ROI (return on investment), so it felt like a good place to start. Robert and I were fortunate enough to have made a profit selling our first home, so we had some money to invest. And we chose to invest a lot of it into our new home. Here’s how we spent it in our kitchen.
Total cost
Locality caveat: We live in Sterling VA. This kitchen would probably cost a different amount in different parts of the country. I have no idea what labor costs in California or New York or West Virginia…and materials could very well cost different prices depending on where you live, too. Maybe you can find a nice blogger closer to home to help you out if 100% accuracy is important to you.
Trade work and Labor
This is going to be a huge chunk of your budget! If you’re planning a total DIY remodeling, congratulations, you can skip ahead to the Materials section.
Design services: $1,500
I have a confession. I consulted a local interior designer to begin our kitchen project. She helped with configuration, recommended a contractor (who we loved and hope to use again in the future), and helped with sourcing some materials like our range and the custom-made hood. I don’t talk about this experience much because unfortunately, the relationship ended poorly for us. (No, I will not get into the details.) I do think that a designer is still a great way start if you have no idea where to begin. My tips for finding the right designer for you is a whole other blog post, but I will say that it’s imperative to know where your money is going and to set those boundaries from the get-go. That being said, I know of many, MANY lovely interior designers that I would happily recommend.
In the end, we paid the designer about $1500 in total for her hourly services.
Contractor: $12,000
Our kitchen was about a 5-6 week project from start to finish, and our contractor cost us $12,000. This included demo, cabinet installation, crown molding and trim work, tile installation, painting the trim work to match the cabinets, adding the glass inserts to the top cabinets, building drawers for the cabinet towers, and installing our microwave and trim kit. He was pretty much a one-man show and did all of the work himself, with the exception of a little help with the demo and the backsplash tile installation.
Electrician: $5,600
Caveat: this cost also included adding recessed can lights throughout the kitchen and family room space. I think this was the majority of the cost. We also paid this invoice through the designer, not the electrician himself.
In addition to the recessed lighting, we hired an electrician to move all of the lighting around in the kitchen. He removed the fan over the island and installed pendants, and then reconfigured new electrical panels. He also hung a chandelier over the kitchen table (which I then made Robert switch out for a different one months later, hahaha), and installed two sconces over the kitchen sink.
Plumbing: $1,500
After the cabinet pantry was demo’d, we found a water line hiding inside. So a plumber relocated that into a different wall for us. He also hooked up our sink, faucet, garbage disposal, and dishwasher. He was amazing and came out on a Saturday morning to reinstall our faucet right after the countertops were in so we didn’t have to keep doing dishes in the utility sink!
Materials and Sources
I worked pretty hard to make sure we purchased everything for the lowest prices possible. One of my biggest tips is to source materials during major sale events! For example, I bought a lot of these during the Black Friday sales (we started our renovation in January), and we saved thousands of dollars that way!
Cabinets and crown molding: $12,600.
Cabinetry is likely going to be the biggest chunk of your budget (other than maybe labor). And the range of cost here is wide—stock cabinets (that you can buy pre-made from a store or wholesaler) will obviously be less expensive than custom-made cabinets. We were told custom cabinets would cost us 2-3x as much.
Countertops: $6,800
Quartz made the most sense for us because of the durability and price point. I LOVE real marble, but it wasn’t practical or within our budget. I think this material gives a pretty similar look at a much better cost.
For further information about kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and countertops or to add granite, marble, or quartz countertops to your kitchen and vanity tops to your bathroom, call Potomac Kitchen & Bath Now! You can also make a free appointment to get service in:
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