How to Appropriately Budget for a Renovation

2/1/2022

Your kitchen is a functional disaster, and you’ve been living with it for as long as you can, but you’ve decided enough is enough – it’s time to renovate! It’s not working for your family anymore and you don’t want your toddler to be a teenager before your kitchen finally functions for how your family uses it. You’ve crossed that first hurdle, but now you’ve hit the second hurdle – how much does it cost to renovate a kitchen?!

Picture of an ugly, half torn apart kitchen.

So you start to Google and to ask around with your friends and family, but there’s such a wide range. I’m here to tell you that’s not as simple as a Google search or asking around. Even if you watch all the HGTV shows, YOUR renovation investment amount is going to be uniquely you. So where do you start?

First step is talking to a professional. You may be thinking – of course you recommend talking to a professional, because you’re a professional. *Ding ding ding* I AM a professional, and that’s exactly why I recommend it. I see too many people go into a renovation with unrealistic expectations, and usually those expectations are too low.

One of the most heartbreaking experiences I see all too often is when a general contractor comes in and gives a potential client a number to complete their kitchen – let’s say $40,000. Then the contractor gives them a list of allowances and tells them to go out and select their flooring, cabinets, backsplash tile, etc. While the client is out selecting flooring, they’re looking at all the $2 per square foot options and saying to themselves “this is not the quality I had in mind.” So they select the $5 per square foot option. They say to themselves, “It’s just one thing, it shouldn’t change the budget too much.” But this happens over and over. Each allowance is just too low to get the quality of kitchen they want. Next thing they know, their “$40,000” kitchen is $80,000.

Picture of an interior designer looking at wood flooring samples.

Or an even worse scenario (and yes, I’ve seen this exact scenario happen to a family member). The client isn’t given any allowances, but diligently selects everything they want. The contractor installs everything, then gives the client a huge bill for 50% more than originally estimated. When questioned about the overage, the client is told that they selected higher-end finishes than he used in his original estimate, and this is just how much they owe him.

Picture of a heterosexual white couple looking at a paper in shock.

I don’t want this to happen to you! This is why I am a firm believer in going through the entire design phase with a professional prior to getting a final investment amount estimate. You need to know exactly what type of finishes and fixtures you want before an adequate price can be put to your renovation.

Now maybe you’re in the pre-planning phase, and you don’t want to bring in a professional just yet. In this case, I’d recommend downloading our Pricing Guide. It provides various ranges based on the type of renovation to give you an idea how much you’ll most likely end up spending.

Have any questions about our pricing guide or how much your renovation is going to cost? Send us a message or book a complimentary discovery consultation.

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