Our Full Kitchen Renovation Cost Breakdown

Our kitchen renovation cost $40,929. Fully hired out, the same project runs $60,000 and up depending on your market. The gap between those two numbers comes down to one thing: labor. And labor is the one thing you can actually control when you know how to use your tools and can put in some sweat equity.

This is a full line-by-line breakdown of where that money went, from the permit to the cabinet hardware, along with what we chose to hire out and what we did ourselves. If you’re planning a renovation of your own, the specific numbers matter less than the decisions behind them. Here’s how we made ours!

Watch the full video here ↓ ↓

Set a Budget Aligned With Your House, Not a Generic Number

We’re in a colonial-style home, and the kitchen needs to compete with what’s around it in the neighborhood. So this isn’t builder-grade everything — the finishes reflect the house and the price point. But we were intentional at every step about where we spent and where we pulled back.

Permitting & Demo

The first check we wrote was for the permit. We were removing a load-bearing wall, reworking some electrical and plumbing — and that requires a permit. Ours was only about $100. It protects you at resale, and it’s the kind of thing that shows up during inspections.

Demo day was my dad, my brother, my husband, and me. One day, full gut. The dumpster was $446 — rental and haul combined. A half-day demo crew in most markets runs anywhere from $500 to $1,500. We did it ourselves and paid for the dumpster.

Item	Cost
Permit	$100
Dumpster Rental & Haul	$446
Total	$546

Contractors

Electrical was $3,800. We hired a licensed electrician for all of the big stuff, making sure our appliances were circuited correctly, moving a few outlets and light fixtures. If electrical is wrong, it’s a fire risk and a liability when you sell. So, we decided to bring in the professionals for it.

Plumbing came in under budget at $1,438. We moved the sink to the bow window wall, which meant new water supply and drain lines. We didn’t run plumbing to the island — no sink, no ice maker line. The second you add plumbing to an island, that number climbs fast. We skipped it by design, and the kitchen functions exactly the way we need it to.

We hired help from our family, and that was about $5,900. My dad and brother drove down from Wisconsin — both are in construction — and they spent a couple of weeks helping with the build. Cabinet assembly, cabinet install, the bow window framing, the load-bearing wall work, the stacked crown molding. We had to call in some reinforcements for this project, especially with a busy toddler – so that we could speed things up. It was some of the most valuable money in this budget.

Item	Cost
Electrical	$3,800
Plumbing	$1,438
Family Labor	$5,900
Total	$11,138

The pattern here is worth naming directly: hire out the work where a mistake is expensive or dangerous, and put your sweat equity into the work where a mistake just costs you time.

Structural Work & Bow Window

The bow window was $1,022. It replaced a sliding glass door that was eating up the entire back wall — a wall we couldn’t put anything on because of the door. Once the window went in, we had a full cabinet run, counter space, and the sink overlooking the backyard – which was a feature I had always dreamt of for this space.

Item	Cost
Bow Window	$1,022
Total	$1,022

Cabinets

Cabinets were $5,925. They were RTA — which means Ready to Assemble. We ordered them flat-packed and built every box and drawer ourselves, and then my dad and brother installed them. Custom cabinets for the same run would have easily doubled or tripled that number. RTA takes more time upfront, but the quality held up and the savings were real.

Cabinet installation runs $1,500 to $3,000 in most markets — sometimes more depending on scope. So, having family on site to help with that was an incredible asset.

Item	Cost
Cabinets (RTA)	$5,925
Total	$5,925

Countertops & Island

Countertops are where we chose to spend a bit more, and I’d make the same call again. The quartz for the main run was $5,786 through Home Depot — full measure, fabricate, install. The process was easy. The wait was not. We had plywood countertops for a long time. But the finished product — the OG edge, the color — was worth the wait.

The island countertop was $1,617. I went back and forth on doing a butcher block top for contrast, but we loved the quartz enough that we matched it on the island. And it was the right call for the space.

The island cabinet itself came from Facebook Marketplace for $300. I was close to ordering a custom piece built to the exact dimensions I needed but then I found this one. Right height, right footprint, structurally solid. It needed a new countertop, which was already in the plan, and it fits like it was made for the room.

Item	Cost
Quartz Countertop, Main Run	$5,786
Island Countertop	$1,617
Island Cabinet (Facebook Marketplace)	$300
Total	$7,703

Sink & Faucet

The sink was $589. The faucet was $522, and it’s one of the places in this kitchen where spending a little more was the right move. The finish, the profile — it reads way more expensive than it was. A faucet is something you touch every single day. It’s worth getting one that is good quality.

We bought a nice bridge faucet for the kitchen and had it installed for a day before switching back to our cheap temporary faucet. My Son loves to help with the dishes, and this one is a bit more kid-friendly… So we will install the nicer faucet eventually – when the time is right.

Item	Cost
Sink	$589
Faucet	$522
Total	$1,111

Appliances

We waited for Black Friday and bought the full KitchenAid suite as a bundle. Appliance bundle sales are key — if your renovation timeline gives you any flexibility at all, it’s worth planning around them.

We also stayed with electric and didn’t convert to gas. Running a new gas line to a kitchen that doesn’t have one means permits, a licensed gas fitter, and real cost. We made that call early, and it kept the appliance budget low.

The refrigerator was $1,875, the stove was $1,950, the dishwasher was $524, and the microwave was $739 for a total of $5,088

Item	Cost
Refrigerator	$1,875
Stove	$1,950
Dishwasher	$524
Microwave	$739
Total	$5,088

Finishing Details

The backsplash — tile and all materials — was $230. That backsplash is one of the most commented-on parts of the kitchen. It’s centered on a vintage Delft tile tray I found on Facebook Marketplace, framed with trim tile, and surrounded by a small brick-format mosaic. The tray was a Marketplace find. The tile was inexpensive. The install was us. $230 total.

Drawer pulls and knobs were $438 for the full kitchen. This is a place I like to hunt for a good deal – I had my eye on these high-end-looking pulls for $89 a piece but sourced similar ones for $8 a piece.

Lighting — two pendants. The Anthropologie pendant above the island was $516. And the simple pendant above the sink was from Wayfair for $131.

Item	Cost
Backsplash (Tile & Materials)	$230
Drawer Pulls & Knobs	$438
Island Pendant Light	$516
Sink Pendant Light	$131
Section Total	$1,315

Material Hauls

Material hauls are the line item that surprises people most when they’re budgeting a renovation. The big stuff is obvious — cabinets, countertops, appliances. But the lumber, drywall, paint, stain, screws, shims, caulk, primer, sandpaper — it accumulates over months across multiple store runs, and it adds up to a real number.

Home Depot was our main source at $3,952. Ace Hardware was $1,507. Lowe’s was $1,622. That’s $7,081 in materials across the project. Build that category into your budget before you start — it doesn’t show up all at once, but it will show up.

Item	Cost
Home Depot	$3,952
Ace Hardware	$1,507
Lowe’s	$1,622
Section Total	$7,081

Full Cost Breakdown

Here’s the full total, item by item, in the order we spent it.

Line Item	Cost
Permit	$100
Dumpster Rental & Haul (Demo)	$446
Electrical	$3,800
Plumbing	$1,438
Family Labor	$5,900
Bow Window	$1,022
Cabinets (RTA)	$5,925
Quartz Countertop, Main Run	$5,786
Island Countertop	$1,617
Island Cabinet (Facebook Marketplace)	$300
Sink	$589
Faucet	$522
Refrigerator	$1,875
Stove	$1,950
Dishwasher	$524
Microwave	$739
Backsplash (Tile & Materials)	$230
Drawer Pulls & Knobs	$438
Island Pendant Light	$516
Sink Pendant Light	$131
Home Depot Material Hauls	$3,952
Ace Hardware Material Hauls	$1,507
Lowe’s Material Hauls	$1,622

Total: $40,929

The Full Picture

So all in, we’re at $40,929. Full gut renovation — new layout, load-bearing wall removed, bow window, RTA cabinets, quartz countertops, full KitchenAid appliance suite, re-routed plumbing, re-routed electrical.

The savings in this project didn’t come from cheaper materials. They came from labor. Demo, cabinet assembly, cabinet installation, trim, drywall, painting, backsplash, etc.—we did all of that ourselves. That’s where the real money stayed in our pocket.

If we’d hired all of that out — you’re looking at $20,000 to $30,000 more on top of what you just saw, depending on your market. That’s the difference between a $40,000 kitchen and a $70,000+ kitchen. Same kitchen. The gap is labor, and labor is the one thing you can actually control when you know how to use your tools and aren’t afraid to jump in and learn as you go.

I hope these numbers give you a general idea of what to expect for your own kitchen renovation project, and I hope this motivates you to do some of the work yourself, because the cost savings are significant!!

Check out the DIY backsplash project HERE!