My sister and I both bought our properties at the same time (she copied me!!! 😉 and is currently deciding on a new kitchen. She came to me and asked ‘How much does the average kitchen cost?’ because it’s hard to know how much you actually need to spend to get what you want and she assumed I’d have a wise answer, but I didn’t have a clue!

£12.5k, quite a lot of that was the stone pic.twitter.com/ys6VihUeQK

— Kate Valentine (@vipermama2) September 12, 2018

How do you know what is normal to spend when there are a million different aspects to it, some worth the money, others not?

(Oh, and if you want to tell me how much yours was/what the process was like etc – please let me know in the comments!)

How much does the average kitchen cost?

Long story short (but you’ll want to read on – trust me!) according to Householdquotes.co.uk, the average cost of a new kitchen is £8,000 – including VAT and fitting BUT excludes all the appliances and preparation work that might be needed.

£10k all in. pic.twitter.com/TRX9gcY6q9

— Nicola (@pemlife) September 12, 2018

BUT – that’s not detailed enough for me or anyone really. 

You need appliances though, so that number isn’t ideal. Let’s say you need a cooker/hob/oven, (£380 seemed a fair price from B&Q) extractor fan (£95) and a fridge/freezer (£350) bear minimum – the average cost of a kitchen then jumps to £8,825. Bear in mind that if you get the applience through the kitchen company, it’s going to cost more.

BUT we’re not done there – according to homeadviceguide.com, the average price of getting your kitchen fitted is £3,000. So drumroll, the actual average cost of a kitchen is a whopping £11,825! 

The units, cooker, hood and tiles got on a deal from Homebase were £2k. Removal of old kitchen £50. We had the bathroom done at the same time and fitting for the 2 was £1.3k.

This was in 2014 when Homebase was part of Home Retail Group. Not sure if negotiations are possible now. pic.twitter.com/jpG6KKkzZF

— Phil Cox (@Connect_Croydon) September 13, 2018

But is it that simple?

I know what you’re thinking, ‘How much does the average kitchen cost is a stupid question because it depends on the size of the kitchen and the stuff you want in it’. Well, I have two things to say to you. Firstly, rude. Secondly, you kind of have a point.

And you know what, average schmaverage. If you’re smart, you can get a seriously expensive kitchen for the fraction of the price. And I can tell you’re smart as you’re here. (Flattery will get you everywhere I hear!)

So some things to consider when it comes to the average kitchen cost – the size of your house, the things you want in your kitchen (do you want a dishwasher for example?!), and the quality of material (my sister is currently debating a £3k granite stone top, or you can get one that looks like it, made of chipboard, for a few hundred quid).

Costs to consider

Kitchen units

On average a small kitchen requires six units to be fitted. Typically four are ground units and two are wall mounted.

A medium kitchen requires about eight units and a large kitchen around 12 that is fitting.

The cost of these literally depends on the materials you use. I’m going in materials a little later, but at this point think about the layout and whether you want to go minimal or maybe traditional.

The type of kitchen doors and draws

The cost of a new kitchen depends a lot on the quality and quantity of the doors and draws that are to be fitted. They make up a big chunk of a kitchen.

Do you need expensive solid wood draws? You can get much cheaper wood finished ones, which look really good but cost 90% cheaper than a luxury wooden door. A good veneer, that is thick will look just like wood.

The carcases are the units which the doors and draws are attached to. Basically the framework. The truth is unless you open the doors, no-one is going to see what they are made of. That said, the denser the material, the longer they will last. So weigh it all up

The price for these materials is drastically different, depending on whether you get chipboard, MDF, timber, plywood etc.

Typically most high-street kitchen companies will offer cabinets at a standard size which makes it easier to fit everything together.

That said, you can find some that will make and design bespoke units, using specialised carpenters and joiners that will make it fit perfectly. Obviously, this will cost a fortune!

How much are kitchen worktops?

Your kitchen worktops are probably the most important thing you’ll buy. In Great British Bake Off terms, they are the ‘showstopper’.

A kitchen worktop needs to be hard-wearing and resistant material to water, head and withstand heavy usage.

You know though, use a chopping board no matter what you spend. It always makes me die inside a little when I see friends bashing away at veg with a knife right on the worktop.

The most popular materials are laminate, wood, granite, quartz, marble, Corian and stainless steel (though I swear the only thing people in Grand Designs use is polished concrete!).

Granite can cost from £200 per m2 as compared to a laminate surface which can be about £50 per m3. Something super fancy like marble or quartz can be around £350.

Laminate worktops are the most popular worktop type in the UK and are made from high-density chipboard, plywood or MDF with a hard wearing laminate. Finishes are typically designed to look like wood, marble and granite. They’re easy to maintain and typically last the life of your kitchen. Yeah, a good and cheap choice!

Granite is the most popular natural stone for worktops and looks FANCY. It’s a very tough material but because it is so porous, it needs to be regularly sealed around every six months. It’s also really heavy, so you are unlikely to be able to put it on top of cheap cabinets.

A kitchen specialist will usually charge around £150-£200 per day in labour, and for an average sized kitchen, though the job shouldn’t take any longer than a day to complete.

Where you live is a major factor in how much it costs to replace kitchen worktops. A tradesman in London, for example, is going to cost a load more than those in Scotland.

If you’re thinking of doing it yourself, you have to be extra careful because the finish is so important, and yet one little slip may mean you have to start again with new material.

Kitchen appliances

The kitchen company you use will happily provide the appliances for you, but that money saver in me reckons you can source them yourself more cheaply if you can wait to buy them during sales, such as Black Friday.

As I said above, for the bare minimum, and it’s probably doesn’t tick off everything on the ideal kitchen list, the average cost of the appliances you’ll need in a kitchen come to £825.

But a hob/oven, fan and fridge freezer really probably isn’t enough. You may want a microwave, dishwasher, nice sink/taps, washing machine, tumble dryer etc. God, I wish my kitchen was fancy enough to have lights like the picture below!

If you’re baller and live in some sort of P. Diddy house (like my current references there?), you may want one of those fancy Smeg fridges, or one of those Instant boiling hot taps (my personal dream), waste disposal unit, coffee machine, a wine cooler – there’s so much.

The average/normal person though – probably spends around £2,000 on these items initially.

You know, wait for the sales, especially Black Friday in November and the January sales where tech and electronics will be the cheapest they are going to be in the year.

When I asked my sister’s kitchen fitter if they get a good price on appliances, we assured me they did… but you know… they have to make it worthwhile, so they have to be taking a cut. Personally, I’d be hunting out for coupons, deals and sales instead.

Kitchen installation and re-wiring costs

Urgh! The costs keep coming right? This is typically included within your installation costs – but if you were thinking of installing the kitchen yourself, the re-wiring alone could cost you between £150 and £1000 depending on the number of changes you need.

I really don’t recommend you try doing this bit alone unless you know what you’re doing!

Quick tip, try and keep the new cooker/oven somewhat in the same place as your old one to avoid the prices racking up if you want it moved to where there is no wiring.

What kitchen company do you use?

The company you use to design and install your kitchen really impacts the price of the final product.

A kitchen company will remove the existing units, install new ones, add the fittings, floorings as well as wall tiles. Oh, and the plumbing and decorating. If you want, they also will provide and instal a built-in hob, cooker, dishwasher, extractor fan, kitchen sink and the taps. They’ll do whatever you need – for a price.

I would certainly do your research when choosing a kitchen company because a lot of them have a bad reputation. I have no personal experience but when I asked my followers for feedback I got a lot of people saying that Wren had ripped them off in the past, so be so careful.

I got a kitchen from Wren but it was a horrific experience. Poor quality and the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. Had a 9 month battle to reject it for a refund. So, all I can say is avoid Wren Kitchens like the plague. I’m now getting a quote from Howdens

— wren kitchens review (@mywrenreview) September 12, 2018

So whether you’re going for a big company or a smaller local one, see what people are saying on social media about them. Get a personal recommendation and ask for references.

I know that kind of thing can be embarrassing, but there’s a lot of money at stake and a lot of con-artists out there.

The average cost of a kitchen if you install it yourself

But you know what, if your somewhat handy, you could (many do!) buy yourself a kitchen second hand or from somewhere like B&Q or Ikea and install it yourself, saving you an absolute fortune.

I’m not expert in building, and maybe if you aren’t either – you shouldn’t do this, but I’m not your mother and a load of people on Twitter are telling me how they did it successfully, so let’s say its an option!

All done by ourselves, carcasses for the units already there, so new doors, worktop, walls floor done by us. Cost about £800. pic.twitter.com/mDOTtZyQY0

— Red Rumm (@ReddRumm13) September 12, 2018

First off, the odds are it will take you about a month to complete if you are going to install your own kitchen.

Flat pack kitchens are cheaper to transport and store, so cost less than rigid ones. Although these flatpack kitchens are cheaper initially, it’s important to factor in the cost of assembling the units. If you’re not going to do it yourself, the cost of labour can seriously add us, especially if there are parts missing.

Ask you can see from the tweets though, there are lots of people out there who did it themselves and they look amazing.

Brought from B&Q went from drab to modern fitted it myself was half the cost…3k to buy nearly as much to fit pic.twitter.com/jdHH5GI08G

— paul coomber (@pfclja) September 12, 2018

You may find this whole Twitter thread useful.

How to pay for your kitchen the smart way

You know what I’m going to say – if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Save up and find ways to cut back to get the kitchen of your dreams.

That said, it is very worth putting a portion of the amount of the kitchen on a credit card. This is because if you buy anything that costs between £100 and £30,000 using a credit card (NOT DEBIT CARD), then the card firm is jointly liable with the supplier if things go wrong.

This applies even if you pay just a small portion of the total on a credit card. I’m not going to go into how it works here (it does though!), so will let the boffins at MoneySavingExpert.com explain more.

Oh, and wait for the sales if you can. After Christmas and pre-Easter are the prime times for kitchen sales If you can wait until then to get a new kitchen, they could save a ton of money.

GET A DISCOUNT!

Yep, you can negotiate, and you should. No promises but I’ve been told by a few people that you can often get 40% – 60% off the price of the kitchen if you play hardball.

Got to Howdens / they do 18mm Carcasses and excellent doors, they will discount by up to 60% / pay someone to install properly

— Chris (@BoringGeordie) September 12, 2018

Get a quote. Then get more quotes. Get as many as possible. Then go back to the first and say you have a better quote – and so on. Watch how the prices fall.

You have to remember that these kitchen salespeople are exactly that, salespeople. They work on commission and have wiggle room. Put on your Del Boy hat and get that price slashed.

Can update instead of replacing your kitchen?

You know, you don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater if you’re sick of the way your kitchen looks. You can do bits and bobs to improve it for a few hundred quid.

In fact, the super clever Vicky from the blog I Beat Debt, totally transformed her kitchen for under £100! Plus it looks amazing. Check out her post on how she did it.

Replacing your kitchen cupboard doors and drawer fronts is a lot cheaper than a total renovation and can completely transform a tired kitchen. It could cost around £142 a door, if you were going to get five damaged doors replaced.

Many people don’t realise that you can also buy second hand.

This sounds like a faff, but it isn’t necessary if you have a standard kitchen rather than one of those super expensive ones where cabinets were made to fit the room. Doors are typically a standard size.

Consider a new paint job (maybe a bold feature wall?), a new worktop which could completely change the look and feel of the space. Spending a few quid of luxe taps, handles and nobs can make a draw look totally different.

When we bought our flat (oh, you have to read all the drama that came with that!), we inherited a kitchen that was totally fine. It was the least of our problems when there were holes in our roof, walls and the boiler didn’t work when we moved in.

So guess what – I’m going to try and totally revamp our current kitchen for under £300. Check out my new plans.

I’m going to concentrate on new tiles and shelves and see if that can get me the look I’m trying to get. If not, will add paint and maybe a worktop. Let’s see what we end up with!

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I’d love to know how much your kitchen cost? Or if you did it yourself? Let me know in the comments!

Want more DIY ideas?

• Check out my guide on what the average loft conversion costs.
• What is the average cost of a conservatory?