#Jennifer s Kitchen Renovation: What It Really Cost - A Budget Breakdown

Type of Project: Kitchen remodel

Location: West Village, New York, New York

Type of building: 300 square foot apartment in a co-op building

Jennifer's kitchen renovation is finished, and it is beautiful. Some of you are probably wondering: how much does it cost to transform a broken-down NYC apartment kitchen with falling-apart walls into a dreamy space like this. Let's break it down.

From Jennifer:

As much as I would have liked to save money on this project, I don’t have any experience doing renovation work. So I knew that this wasn’t going to be a DIY project, which meant a bigger budget for labor. And our co-op requires the use of licensed electricians and plumbers for all alteration work, so I couldn’t use experienced-but-not-professional friends or referrals on the project.

One surprise hit on the budget was the electrical work, which was almost $1,700 more than the preliminary estimate. Because of new city codes, the electrical panel had to be replaced and relocated, which meant a great deal more electrical work than was planned for. The other surprise was the cost of the cabinetry. It came in $2,200 higher than the original estimate, mainly because I didn’t take into account all the extra pieces (side panels, door pulls, hinges, etc.) that would have to be purchased separately for each cabinet — because IKEA sells everything separately. And of course, there’s the cost of labor and materials in New York City, which can be much higher than in other places in the country.

It seems amazing to me that such a tiny little kitchen could end up costing so much. But the costs shown here also include the (beautiful) flooring for the kitchen, living room and bedroom, as well as a new closet to replace the one that was demolished in order to expand the kitchen into the living room. Both great investments, since my floor looks fantastic and the closet goes all the way to the ceiling, providing much more storage space than the old one!

Budget Specifics.