Kitchen Renovation Cost Guide

At Aireno, there are some questions we receive more often than others. However, there’s one that stands out: How much does a kitchen renovation cost?

If you’re currently considering a  kitchen renovation in your home, this is important to understand because you don’t want to put yourself into debt. Likewise, you don’t want to make sacrifices on certain features and then end up realising you could have spent more. From the very beginning of the process, communication regarding costs and budgets is essential – something we take seriously at Aireno. In this kitchen renovation cost guide, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide on exactly how much a kitchen renovation will cost in Australia.

Once you’ve finished reading, get a free, instant and fixed kitchen renovation quote for your own home through clicking the link.

What is the average kitchen renovation cost in Australia?*

When considering the budget for a kitchen renovation, there are some important questions that need to be answered:

• What are your main goals with the space?
• Are you happy with the current size and layout?
• Do you require any special features or functions?
• Do you want to use existing designs or get materials custom-made?

Of all the considerations, the size of your kitchen is perhaps the most important. While the average kitchen renovation cost is around $12,000, there’s no reason why those with a small kitchen can’t spend under $12,000 on a kitchen renovation. Meanwhile, a larger kitchen could potentially exceed $60,000.

Here’s a loose guide based on size:

Where does the money in a kitchen renovation go?

Materials:

As an extension of the average costs, let’s break it down a little more because we can provide some advice on the different materials you’ll need. For most building companies, they recognise materials in three different categories; kitchen benchtop costs, cabinetry costs, and finishing touches.

Kitchen benchtop costs:

Of your total budget, benchtop costs are thought to take up between 10% and 15%. Of course, the amount you pay will depend on the size of your kitchen and also the thickness and style you prefer. If you partner with a professional designer, most will suggest saving your budget for an island.

At Aireno, we’ve loved seeing the evolution of cabinets through the years. As a result, we now have great choice and the price you pay will depend on these choices. There are three types of cabinets; stock, semi-stock, and custom.

• Stock Cabinets – These are the basic units that you can purchase from home centres, and you can pay as little as $80 per cabinet to get started.
• Semi-Stock Cabinets – Found at the likes of Bunnings and Ikea, these cabinets are slightly more expensive because you’re paying for quality. Cheaper versions are still available, but you can also get some designs up to $1,000 per cabinet.
• Custom – As the name suggests, these cabinets will be made to order. On the one hand, you get unique cabinets and jealous guests. On the other, you could find yourself paying a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $1,500 per cabinet.

Finishing touches:

Finally, it’s all well and good having the foundation of your kitchen but it won’t come alive until you add the finishing touches. Remember, you may need appliances, and these can cost up to $5,000 in total.

Elsewhere, kitchen mixers can fall between $250 and $1,000, lighting could cost $150 per unit for installation, and a tile backsplash costs an average of $1,800. At this point, you’re seeing how a kitchen renovation can quickly build up in price.

Labour:

Though you can choose a cheaper material to save money, something you don’t want to compromise on is labour. If you’re going for a full kitchen renovation, you’ll need to consider the demolition and disposal as well as design and installation.

Of course we like to hope for a perfect project, unexpected costs can sometimes arise so there needs to be a contingency for this. What happens if the plasterboard beneath the wall tiles need to be repaired? In some cases, this can cost $2,000 alone.

Other considerations include;

• Plumbing – $3,500
• Electrical Permits/Plumbing – $2,000
• Waterproofing -$1,000
• Floor Protection – $900

Important considerations when it comes to kitchen renovation cost

Layout

Before getting started with your kitchen renovation, you need to think about whether you want a simple renovation or whether you want to alter the whole layout of the room. If the latter, a registered architect will need to draw up designs bearing the building codes and laws in mind. Therefore, these sorts of projects tend to start at $30,000.

When you change the layout, everything gets more expensive because you’re increasing the required material and labour. This, coupled with the design process and permit filing, can increase the required work. This being said, you also get a beautiful new kitchen that keeps you smiling for years to come.

Budget and resale value

Next, we have your budget. Often, we speak to homeowners who are only focused on the present. At Aireno, we encourage you to also consider the bigger picture. Before you spend any money, think about resale value and the impact any changes will have.

In order to make a profit (or at least break even), we believe you should spend no more than 8% of your home’s value when renovating a kitchen. Let’s say your home is worth $900,000, you shouldn’t really spend anything more than $72,000 and still expect to make money from the investment.

If you’ve been reading this guide with a panicking feeling inside, don’t worry. For those without the budget to renovate, you still have options to bring a new lease of life to the room.

For example, why not upgrade your appliances? Not only will they add new character to the room, you can also buy energy-efficient models and reduce your electricity bills.

Although we tend to have a human nature to want everything changed immediately, there’s nothing wrong with breaking it down into smaller stages.

Other kitchen renovation cost considerations

So far in this guide, we’ve spoken about the importance of size, layout, your goals, resale value, and your choice of materials, but what other considerations should you keep in mind? When you work with our brilliant team at Aireno, we’ll explain a concept known as the ‘working triangle’.

Essentially, the idea is to reduce the walking distance between the most important features of the kitchen. Rather than walking around an awkward island or a long distance from fridge to sink to oven, the appliances sit as the points of a triangle. The size of the triangle will be unique to your home, but the concept will allow for easy cooking and a positive experience.

Complete breakdown of kitchen renovation cost

To finish this kitchen renovation cost guide, we want to talk a little more about average renovation and installation costs. All things considered, the majority of people spend between $18,000 and $46,000; the average falls at the lower end of this range at $25,000. Below, you can see more information regarding the specific costs your project may require. Keep in mind that these are averages across all projects, so your renovation may be higher or lower.

Installation

In terms of installation, we can see above that it accounts for 17% of the project cost. However, these costs can be broken down further depending on what the builder is actually installing. In fact, we can go even deeper because the very best appliances will cost more to install than smaller appliances.

In the table below, you can see the cost of installing each item with the lower and higher estimates (based on quality and size).

Get an instant, online kitchen renovation quote!

Thanks for reading, we hope you’ve now got more of an idea of how the whole kitchen renovation process works. If you need help, even with bathroom renovations and things like exterior and interior painting, feel free to get in touch today. If you have questions or concerns about your potential home renovation project, our experienced team will be ready to help.

When you choose us, you’ll be assigned a project manager who will focus on your project. Whenever you have questions or want to talk through ideas, they’ll be ready to listen and provide their own input. What’s more, we have licensed and trusted tradespeople so you can always be sure of a great job.

Just in case you aren’t convinced just yet, we use transparent pricing (there’s no nasty surprises) and we take care of your every need from start to finish. Get started today with an instant kitchen renovation quote and you could have your dream kitchen in no time!

Click here to get a instant kitchen renovation quote in 60 seconds! 

(*These figures are based on our quoting data, with the average cost of a basic kitchen renovation in Sydney standing at $20,376 a standard renovation costing around $25,000, and a premium kitchen renovation sitting at around $48,000.)