KITCHENS EXPRESS joomla templates

What will your kitchen Cost?

The kitchen cost and budget is determined by four important factors: The first factor is type of cabinet, Stock, semi custom or custom.  The second factor depends on appliances if they standard or professional grade.  The next factor is the Countertops.  They can be from the cheapest laminate, stone, solid surface or tile.  The last factor is accessories that you may include in your kitchen.  Such as lazy susans, glass doors, special cabinets, and detail on moulding.

Another thing to keep in mind is to answer a simple question, “Why are you remodeling.”  This question will help determined your budget.  This could be a major remodel of your kitchen, updating your kitchen, or rental property.  This will help you determined what your budget should look like.  This addresses the many factors that affect budgets, and will give you some guidelines to help you determine what you can and should spend on getting the kitchen you want.

There is also many ways to determined your Budget.  The first is allowances that are predetermined by a loan such as a new home built in a development or you’re a loan that was approved such as a refinance loan.  What ever it is this is very important and should be consider into your planning as it could be a starting point to budget your kitchen.  This will help determined if you could spend that extra money into stainless steel appliance or upgrading your cabinets from particle board to wood cabinets.  

Some other factors to determined if you are remodeling are: the age of the house; current value of the house; and whether you plan to stay in the house more than a few years.  You should consider your finances and the ROI, “ return on Investment.”

Calculating the Kitchen Budget

The Budget is very hard to determined but a good rule of thumb is to set it at around 5% to 15% of the total home value.  This obviously would change depending on how much more you would like to add to your kitchen remodel as special features.

The entire kitchen project (including cabinets, appliances, Countertops, flooring, lighting, trim molding, & wall coverings) should cost no less than 5% and no more than 15% of the current value of your home ... with approximately 50% of the total cost allocated for cabinets (including accessories and trim).

Please remember, this is only a guideline, but it does provide a fairly solid measure when trying to establish your budget.

The High-End Custom Kitchen

There are people that are willing to go all out on their kitchen remodel.  They want the best cabinets, appliances, and accessories will greatly increase the cost of the kitchen, rendering the typical budget percentages inappropriate.

Even at the high-end there are limits. The adage "anything goes" does not apply. The total cost of high-end custom kitchen should not exceed 20% of the current market value of the house. Spending more could reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

80/20 Rule: All projects have a way of growing beyond initial budgets, no matter what the amount. Plan on spending only 80 percent of what you can afford. Put the additional 20 percent in reserve to cover changes, unforeseen problems, and miscellaneous charges.

Cost Allocation

Once you have determined your budget, deciding where and how it should be spent can be confusing, especially with all of the options that are available.

A recent national survey conducted by the National Kitchen & Bath Association offers a guideline for allocating your construction budget.

They found that on average, consumers working with a kitchen designer, spent 48% on cabinetry, 18% on Countertops, 15% on appliances, 6% on faucets/sinks/plumbing, 5% on lighting/electrical, 5% on flooring and 3% on wall treatment/molding/trim.

How much you actually spend on what, will depend on your priorities and willingness to compromise. If you really want a $3000 range and the cost is more than the allocation for appliances, you may be able to adjust your spending in the other areas, and still have the type of kitchen you want.

The table below illustrates the cost allocation for the 3 budget levels for a $300,000 house, based on the NKBA figures.

Your Money's Worth

Manufacturers typically offer several levels of quality within each budget range. This actually makes easier to spend more on the items that mean the most to you, a little less on other things, and still have the type of kitchen you really want.

Below is a summary of what can be expected within each budget level for our sample $300,000 house. This summary is by no means complete and is intended only to provide a quick comparison of features.

Remember: All projects have a way of growing beyond initial budgets, no matter what the amount. Plan on spending only 80 percent of what you can afford. Put the additional 20 percent in reserve to cover changes, unforeseen problems, and miscellaneous charges.

The High-End Custom Kitchen
In addition to being larger, the budget for the high-end custom kitchen is usually allocated to more than one room (butler's pantry, scullery, larder, etc.), increasing the number of cabinets required, as well as duplicate appliances for convenience.

However, the same percentages used to allocate expenses for the typical kitchen project can also be used as a guideline for the high-end custom kitchen.

The table below uses the 20% maximum budgets for the sample $500,000, $750,000, and $1,000,000 homes.