So you'd like a new kitchen, but can't spend €20k in the process. You have some options

Shay Lally Quantity surveyor

IN OUR BRAND-NEW series, The Big Reno Clinic, experienced quantity surveyor Shay Lally provides answers and solutions to the big (and little, but important) questions you may have about making the most of your home.  

This week’s question

I’m budgeting for a renovation before we look for builders. What’s the cheapest way to do a kitchen?

They all seem expensive, even Ikea. My sister’s kitchen is tiny and cost €20,000!

Could a carpenter build one from plywood and make it look good? I’m not looking for fancy…

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Shay says

Short answer: kitchens are expensive, but you have more options than buying new off the shelf. Ex-display and second-hand kitchens are two of the best ways to bring the cost down without compromising on quality.

A kitchen is where most of us spend a lot of our time, so it needs to be functional, hard-wearing and suited to how you live. That doesn’t mean it needs to cost €20,000.

I’ve renovated many houses for clients over the past few years, and every kitchen was different. The three that stood out each had real personality, and none of them cost €20,000.

One was in an apartment, one in a red-brick Victorian and one in a two-bed town house. What each kitchen had in common was a client who knew what they wanted, shopped around, and spent what they could afford rather than stretching themselves.

The price of a kitchen depends on who you ask. I recently told a designer a client’s kitchen budget was €20,000 plus VAT, for cabinetry only, with no counter tops or appliances. Their immediate reaction was that it was very low. Yet I’ve seen very good kitchens come in well under that.

Separately, I asked an interior designer I know whether her projects are all bespoke. Her answer: it depends on the budget. A generous budget gets bespoke items; a smaller one gets off-the-shelf. That’s what good design looks like: working with the budget, not against it.

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An expensive kitchen doesn’t automatically mean a better kitchen. A clear picture of what you want, and time spent shopping around, will get you further.

On your plywood question: a carpenter-built kitchen is an option worth pricing. Get a quote for labour and materials and compare it against ex-display and second-hand before you decide.

Where to save

• Ex-display kitchens. Kitchen companies sell off showroom kitchens, often at a big discount.

• Second-hand kitchens. Some very good ones are listed online. A good paint job can transform them.

• Appliances. Get a price from your kitchen company and compare it with electrical retailers.

• Counter tops. Shop around. I recently saved 40% on mine by going with a different supplier.

The trap: forgetting the costs around the kitchen. If the kitchen is part of a full renovation, electrics, plumbing, insulation and flooring are already in the budget. If you’re only replacing the kitchen, budget for:

• Stripping out the old one: cupboards, tiles and getting the room ready.

• Changes to electrics and plumbing to suit the new layout.

• New lighting, if you want it.

• New flooring, tiles or engineered timber.

• Plastering, carpentry and painting.

Your roadmap

• Decide what you actually need: layout, storage, how you cook.

• Set a budget you can afford.

• Price the options side by side: new, ex-display, second-hand, carpenter-built.

• Shop appliances and counter tops separately.

• Get quotes for the strip-out, electrics, plumbing and finishing before you commit.

Key takeaways

• Kitchens vary hugely in price, and more expensive doesn’t mean better.

• Ex-display and second-hand kitchens are the biggest savers.

• Shop around for appliances and countertops. The savings can be big.

• Budget for the strip-out, electrics, plumbing, flooring and finishing, not just the units.

• Spend what you can afford, not what other people say they spent.

Shay will be back next Sunday to begin answering our readers’ questions and help them move or improve. Follow more of his work on his popular Houses to Restore Instagram account.