It’s … Average size, including the eating area, maybe about 24x12?
These photos are from right after the reno
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We did our north end/just outside Seattle kitchen remodel I don’t know how many years ago (15?), but we’re still very happy with it.
IIRC, it was ~$60-65k for roughly the same footprint, hardwood floors, new cabinets, counters, appliances, etc. Wolfe gas cooktop, Dacor double ovens & warming drawer, Bosch d/w. We separately bought the appliances from Albert Lee, plus sink, faucet, lighting etc online to save the contractor markup (they were fine with it).
I think my sister figured she paid $8K per piece (shower, toilet, sink & vanity, along with the flooring and paint) 6–ish years ago. Basically an update to an existing bath with nothing exciting about it.
Labor costs are high around here and materials will never be back to pre-covid prices.
I’d like to reconfigure our second floor to expand the master bath and closet, but the $$ & energy to do so are just mentally beyond me at the moment.
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My son is remodeling/enlarging a house he bought last year on Long Island. Just the kitchen cabinets are $100K without countertops, appliances, tiling, plumbing, flooring etc.
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This completely blows me away. $150k kitchen remodel is a huge chunk of our home value, even in a HCOL area. OTOH, it’s a 60s house and last remodel was in 1991 by prior owners, who got the plastic-covered pressboard cabinets and formica counters. Said counters are falling apart (we actually had to replace one run because they were detaching from the wall). Can’t get a fridge or stove wider than 29" without taking out a wall.
A lot of our neighbors with our split level model have upgraded and moved walls to make things more open, but I don’t know that we’d recoup the cost. Would also make sense to add a powder room to this level while we’re at it for aging in place, but that would also involve $$$ as we’d have to create space on a level that’s only 600 sq ft to begin with (and who wants a bathroom in the living room/dining room/kitchen?).
Not sure how long we’ll stay in this house, but there is a LOT of inertia keeping us here and not changing anything, though it’s not accessible at all.
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If you live in a part of the country where remodeling is at a premium and everyone has a waiting list, then you’ll likely be paying on the high side as contractors can just throw crazy numbers out there because there’s so much demand. Ask about the possibility of getting their prices on things like appliances or get them on your own and just pay for the installation. Definitely buy your own lighting, faucets and cabinet hardware as prices for those things can vary widely.
I would advise against GC’ing the job yourself unless you have experience doing so. Finding quality and reliable contractors is HARD. Getting them to show up to your job is HARD. A good GC is worth the money.
For cabinets, don’t get caught up in all the bells & whistles (pull out accessories, spice racks, lazy Susan’s, etc.) Those things drive up the prices.
Lots of scams with remodeling. Find someone who has reputable references (check them!) and don’t give all of the payment upfront! If someone comes in with a significantly lower bid than everyone else, then beware because there’s likely a reason. Make sure you negotiate a timetable upfront for completion of certain benchmarks and inspect the work yourself. Demand that punch list items be completed before final payment is issued.
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We did a complete kitchen remodel of a galley kitchen back in 2010. Our home was built in 1959 and had the original kitchen. We got estimates and designs (which included removing a wall and ceiling height cabinets) that started in the 20k range before appliances, flooring, counters sinks and labor. We ended up designing our own kitchen at IKEA. We purchased the kitchen and picked it up from the warehouse (appliances included). The entire kitchen cabinets and appliances came to just under $6000. The labor, floors, sinks and countertops added another $12k. We kept our old refrigerator as it had just been purchased about 5 years prior. We did do all of the cabinet assembly. It was 22 cabinets so that took some work. I got pretty good at it after assembling a few cabinets especially those with drawers. We designed it so that all of the under counter space was drawers with the exception of the sink area. It’s been 14 years and we still like it. Is it high quality wood? No but it’s holding up great. The appliances are still working and look like new the stove and microwave are a white glass front. I love them as they’re so easy to clean. I look at my kitchen as the difference between a Mercedes and a Subaru. The Mercedes is a beautiful car and functions wonderfully, however, the Subaru still looks pretty nice and functions wonderfully. Given my budget I had no choice but I got a lot more than I expected for the money spent.
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Our kitchen is pushing 25 years old and the previous owners put in furniture quality cabinets. I can’t imagine the cost. They are absolutely gorgeous and I would never dream of replacing them. So yes, I agree — if you do a classic style, high end cabinet they can be one and done and keep them forever.
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I love this analogy!!! Mercedes vs Subaru. I don’t have the Mercedes budget and would be fully happy with the Subaru results.
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We redid our kitchen just over a year ago. It cost about $36000. We refaced cabinets, new quartz counters,backsplash, light fixtures and new island but reused old island top. Same fridge, but got new dishwasher, stove and range hood. Also a new farm sink and faucet.
We had a tiny wall oven that we took out and replaced with cabinets.
We removed soffit and had to have pipes moved. I painted the inside of cabinets to match the refacing. I reused the cabinet hardware.
We originally went to Home Depot to see about project - the project manager who came to our home was horrible. We went with a local refacing company. No project is without issues and we had a few, but overall it was a good experience and I love my kitchen.
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It’s been about 18 years since we redid our kitchen. We ripped it all out, moved a couple of walls, moved the sink location - all added to the cost. But we got completely new gorgeous cabinets, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Vinyl floor was changed to hardwood. We didn’t go with top of the line in anything that we did - just focused on making it more functional for us. Cost was a little over 50K at that time!
Have loved the kitchen since. Only this past year, did we replace the dishwasher - might have to replace the cooktop/hood (just have to convince my H that we need a new one!).
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We did a total gut job on a master bath in Summer of '22. Cost was $23K. Moved plumbing. Got rid of tub and have a bigger walk-in shower. The only downfall of the project is we lost a sink. We now only have one sink in the bathroom. It totally doesn’t affect us as we don’t ever get ready at the same time. I do worry about resale. On the other hand the shower is extremely nice to use.
It will be interesting to see where the latest trends are when we go to sell in 10-12 years. I already have heard people moving away from the Millenial Gray walls with white cabinets.
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Pro hint. Ask for a contractor discount. We have never been refused since we were buying a lot. Don’t buy your appliances at best buy. I can give you a contact at ABT in Illinois. They will beat any price and can get anything made. One of the largest dealers you never heard of. I had a small business and they shipped around the US for me. Anyone in Chicago knows about them. They kinda negotiate,when your buying a whole kitchen.
Ask your contractor if you can use their number to buy stuff but you pay for it right away. They usually just don’t care unless they are a large operation which goes to… Don’t use the very large operations… Lol…
Going to stone quarry like places they will deal with you on price and have better stuff usually. Negotiate on the install. I want them to install not the contractor. Same with flooring. It’s like asking colleges for more money “I was going to use my contractor but I would rather use you if we can hit this number on price”… Lol.
Also watch what you buy. A 600 dishwasher still cleans the dishes. I spoke to Maytag reps and they admit sure some fancy stuff but your paying mostly for cosmetics but that can be important also. Watch out for anything that connects to the internet. These things just break down the line. The more sensors etc the more expensive to fix. You can still get the look you want without breaking the bank. My friends $2,000 dishwasher broke after warranty and it’s too expensive to fix.
There are definitely areas you can save money on.
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Whether you are buying basic, low end appliances or the fancy ones- READ THE MANUAL!
I have a very basic Maytag front loading washer that is going on 20 years old. It has had three or four hiccups- all fixable by reading the manual and spending ten minutes watching a pro on YouTube. I have friends who have burnt out Dacor ovens and Sub-Zero fridges and very high end stoves-- most attributable to human error. Once the motherboard goes… it’s all over.
No, appliances aren’t built for 25+ years like those our parents bought. But a lot of repairs and expensive replacements can be avoided by READING THE MANUAL. No, you cannot wash 15 heavy beach towels loaded with sand and driftwood in your machine and expect it to perform as well as when you are washing a load of nylon/poly workout clothes. You cannot put several pots of hot soup and stew in your expensive fridge and be shocked the next morning that the milk has soured and that the thermostat is showing an error message.
Common sense folks!
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Definitely agree! Our house was built 30 years ago. The city “lost” our plans. We had to pay the Architect to design our old plans and then design new plans to square everything up. This took months and dollars and inspections.
When we were getting the estimates from different companies, a number of them didn’t show up. One of the estimators had originally worked on our houses. He told us why the design was out of whack. He said that originally, there wasn’t enough support for the second story and roofline; the builder couldn’t get approval from the city and had to add support beams in areas that didn’t make sense. He was not surprised that there was no design on record for this model.
We are the original owners. All of my neighbors have been in remodel mode within the past year. This has not been by choice. It’s because our houses are falling. Our kitchens were made with particleboard.
@Knowsstuff is correct: your contractors will give you their discount. We have a spreadsheet and we bought all the cabinet hardware, the flooring, mortar, the appliances, sink, faucet, etc. We bought all of this on our own in order to stay somewhat within the budget and recoup the fees from the city, the architect and the engineer.
Our contractor told us exactly when he and his crews would be here and when some of his staff were ill. He showed up every morning at 8 am and his workers didn’t leave until 4 pm-they took a lunch from 11 to 1130. I didn’t mind paying higher labor costs, because these guys always showed up when they said they were coming. They were here almost daily for three months. I always knew when to not expect them. I always knew when the inspectors were coming. I knew exactly what was in the contract on each page.
This guy has a year waiting list, minimum so if I had to pay extra, I didn’t mind because the workers are respectful of my property except for the slider (until the scorpion, then they were really scared).
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I love anecdotes as much as the next person, but prices from pre-covid aren’t especially illustrative of what stuff costs now.
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So I have a place that will fix the motherboard controller for $150. They do all the national stores. So not game over and their super easy to install. Ask me how I know. All our appliances are over 25 years old. Appliance parts pro and repair clinic can get you the parts with videos. I don’t want to change the thread just Just saying. In reality there are only a few companies that make all the brands so their parts are very similar. Ask me how I know 
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Great deal. I have a neighbor who has spent thousands on replacements (the problem with high end appliances and building cabinetry around it is you don’t have the option of just buying a stove and plugging it in!).
You are a good consumer!
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I have done quite a few renovations in my days, one was a complete reno of a house - 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, moved few walls in the house, and a 3 tier balcony that had more square footage than the house.
The second one was the big kitchen and finishing the basement.
With all the renovations I purchased the materials and I owned them. I wasn’t thinking so much about the discount. I was concerned if a contractor should run away with my money. I still remember my ex telling me that I worried too much. Well, the first contractor did take our money and ran, but luckily I still had all the materials and I got another contractor to finish the job.
When I did the kitchen and basement renovations, I loved the contractor’s work, but didn’t like his work ethics. For three months, the first thing I did every morning was to call his house to make sure he was coming to my house. I got to be really good friends with his wife. She would tell me “Jim is going fishing today. You talk to him to make sure he goes to work.” I paid him based on milestones rather than % completed (e.g. all electric wired, drywall is up, cabinets installed, etc). He was a bit disorganized, at some point he had over 80% done and I haven’t paid him much yet. But we managed to get everything done on schedule. His wife wanted me to be his PM.
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Been there and done that and why I fix everything… Lol. The sizes have changed since 1995 and I am not changing the cabinetry… Lol
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Interesting thread as my sister in law is redoing a kitchen in her rental. I had heard she was going to use Home Depot but I don’t know why she and her long term significant other are supervising the job and using subcontractors she got from a retired contractor friend.
My husband is a general contractor but no longer building. He has done some recent updates type of jobs on rentals using a handyman. It saves a lot if you have someone good and you have time and knowledge to supervise. Not something he would advise for everyone but for him it’s worked. These also weren’t high end properties.
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