How Much for a New German or Italian Designer Kitchen?
Are you embarrassed about asking the price of a fancy new designer German or Italian kitchen in a posh showroom? Before you step over the threshold, here's how you can guesstimate a budget for a premium kitchen.
Know the Property Market in Your Area
In the UK, the Government publishes statistics for the average price of a property based on HM Land Registry data. Study this data for your region and property type.
Visit your local Estate Agent, collect similar price data to your property or one you'd like to purchase. From the data work out:
The purchase price for a market average property,
The purchase price of a doer-upper.
The premium price of a doer-upped.
Know your market, to set your budget.
The 10% by Value Rule
When I started in kitchen design, I knew nothing, my contact from our first brand and my first love, Dada, quoted the 10% Rule of Thumb.
10% of a properties value is in the kitchen.
The first kitchen I designed in 1999 was for my own home, it cost £15,000, and the house was worth around £150,000 at the time. Every client's kitchen I've designed since has cost roughly 10% of the property value.
Think Like a Property Developer
Property Developers use this 10% rule for kitchen budgets. Based on the UK average property price for September 2020, here's a typical Developers budget for three property types with premium kitchens:
| Property Type | UK Average House Price | Kitchen Budget 10% |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | £232,042 | £23,204 |
| Detached | £375,492 | £37,549 |
| Large Detached* | £1,000,000 | £100,000 |
| *Estimate |
My home from 1999 is now worth around £350,000, 10% by Value budget to replace the kitchen will be £35,000 these days.
Bagged a bargain?
For a doer-upper, work from the done-up value. For example, a doer-upper bought at 25% below the UK Average House with a done-up value 15% above it, allocate the following premium kitchen budget:
| Property Type | Doer_Upper Price | Done-Up Value | Kitchen Cost | Budget % of Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | £174,032 | £266,848 | £26,685 | 15% |
| Detached | £281,619 | £431,816 | £43,182 | 15% |
| Large Detached* | £750,000 | £1,150,000 | £115,000 | 15% |
| *Estimate |
For a doer-upper, allocate 15% of the purchase price to the kitchen budget. For the semi-detached above, 15% of £174,032 is a budget of £26,685 (10% of the Done-Up Value), for a large detached bought for a bargain price of £750,000, budget over £100,000.
Does it Work?
You must be a brave Property Developer to spend 15% of your hard-earned purchase price on a premium kitchen.
My client Steve uses this strategy to target Premier League football players, managers and football agents in Manchester. Steve buys mundane 20-year-old apartments and budgets 15% of the purchase price to transform the kitchens into super-cool modern living spaces.
Premier League Football Apartments
Property Developer invests 15% of purchase price in premium Italian kitchens for Manchester Footballers.
Calculate Like a Quantity Surveyor
OK, your not a Property Developer, but you want to extend your home.
What budget should you allocate for your forever home?
Learn to Budget in £ per sq. ft
You have to think like a Quantity Surveyor and calculate a budget in £ per square foot (£ per sq. ft) or £ per square meter (£ per sq. m).
| Property Type | UK Average House Price | Kitchen Budget 10% | Kitchen Area sq.ft | Cost per sq.ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | £232,042 | £23,204 | 200 | £116 |
| Detached | £375,492 | £37,549 | 300 | £125 |
| Large Detached* | £1,000,000 | £100,000 | 500 | £200 |
| *Estimate |
From experience, the average kitchen area per sq. ft is shown in the above table with the cost per sq. ft in the last column. Expensive property types bear a higher budget per sq. ft.
Use, or adjust these rates per sq. ft to calculate a budget for your property type. For example, if you extend the area of a semi-detached property by 25% to 250 sq. ft increase your budget to £29,000 (250 x £116).
My kitchen in 1999 was 300 sq. ft, today's budget would be £34,800 (300 x £116); similar to the 10% by Value Rule above.
But Property is Ridiculously Expensive Around Here
The cost of doing business will be more expensive around you too.
A premium kitchen showroom's overheads will be more expensive.
Construction labour and materials will be more expensive.
Increase your budget for local service from a local showroom.
| Property Region | UK Average House Price | Kitchen Budget 10% | Kitchen Area sq.ft | Cost per sq.ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | £496,485 | £49,649 | 200 | £248 |
| South East | £366,763 | £33,676 | 200 | £168 |
In London, using the 10% by Value Rule, raise your budget to £250 per sq. ft.
If you've got the time, find a showroom from outside your area in a low cost region.
Employing a local Architect to prepare scaled drawings to send to a non-local showroom will help.
Innerform covers the whole of the UK. Our showroom overheads are low.
Contact Us to discuss to your project.
What Can I Justify Spending on My Property?
Budgets of between £116 - £200 per sq. ft (£250 per sq. ft in London) will buy you a super-premium kitchen.
Decide how long you will be on the property. Budget lower for shorter, higher for longer.
If you want to up the design specification, budget higher.
Will it be your forever home? Tough call, cool kitchens are Karma.
Weigh up all the options. Work the calculator.
I'd suggest £150 per sq. ft (£1,615 per sq. m) as a fair guesstimate.
For a kitchen of 200 sq. ft, this equates to a budget of £30,000 (200 x £150).
Don't be Embarrassed
Now cross that fancy showroom threshold with confidence.
You won't make a fool of yourself with a good budget.
The showroom staff will be super friendly (remember, most can't afford the products they sell).
10% by Value Rule of Thumb is a starting point, the final price will depend on specification.
Talk like a Quantity Surveyor in £ per sq. ft. Embarrass them in their posh showroom.
Budget Big. A Kitchen Done-Up Well will add Value.
Value Engineer the final design.
Enjoy the journey.
Negotiate.
