What is a Realistic Kitchen Remodeling Budget?

As a designer, I’m all too familiar with the often touchy subject of budgets and how difficult it can be to make clients understand what’s realistic and what’s not. Some experts say that a realistic budget for a kitchen remodel should be approximately 10 to 20 percent of the value of your home. I think this is a good rule of thumb however I do think your location will influence those numbers.

For example, if you live in the middle of Oklahoma perhaps a budget of 7 to 8 percent of your home’s values will be enough. Likewise, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area your budget could be higher than 20 percent of your home’s value.

The kitchen is not the place to get stingy on your budget either. Aston Smith at Kitchen Design Trends blog points out the importance of good quality materials. She explains it doesn’t make sense to rip out good quality cabinets, even if they are old and replace them with new cabinets of lesser quality because you could actually be decreasing the value of your home. So it’s important to invest in the best quality materials that your budget will allow, especially when it comes to cabinetry and plumbing fixtures. What To Look For in Quality Kitchen and Bath Cabinetry.

When budgeting for your kitchen remodel, there are plenty of quality low cost materials that you can use to help keep your costs down. For example, install laminate floors instead of stone or wood floors and use GE appliances instead of Subzero or Wolf.

The good news is, if done right, most kitchen remodels add value to your home and if you sell you should be able recover your investment.

Read more of Aston Smith’s advice on the importance of a realistic kitchen budget.