Kitchen Renovation Costs in London: 2026 Price Guide

I need to clear something up first: a kitchen renovation and a kitchen extension are completely different projects with completely different budgets. An extension involves groundworks, foundations, and structural steel. A renovation is about transforming the kitchen you already have: new units, new layout, new everything, but within your existing walls. If you're not digging foundations, this is the guide for you.

Kitchen Renovation Costs at a Glance

Here's what our clients across Greater London are spending in 2026. These are fully finished prices including design, all trades, and the kitchen itself.

Project Scope	Cost Range (2026)	Timeline
Like-for-like refresh (same layout)	£8,000 – £15,000	2–3 weeks
New layout (no structural changes)	£15,000 – £25,000	3–5 weeks
New layout with structural work (RSJ)	£25,000 – £40,000	5–8 weeks
Full gut and high-spec redesign	£35,000 – £60,000+	6–10 weeks

💡 Builder's Truth: The kitchen units are often only 30–40% of the total project cost. People focus on choosing cabinets and forget about the electrics, plumbing, plastering, flooring, tiling, and decoration that go around them. I've lost count of clients who budgeted £10,000 for the kitchen itself and had nothing left for the building work.

Kitchen Unit Tiers: What You Get for Your Money

This is where the biggest variation lives. Let me walk you through the tiers so you can budget realistically for a typical London kitchen (12–16 linear metres of units):

Tier	Brands	Units + Worktop Cost	Quality Notes
Budget	IKEA, Wickes, DIY suppliers	£3,000 – £6,000	Functional. Laminate carcasses. 5–10 year lifespan.
Mid-range	Howdens, Wren, Magnet	£6,000 – £12,000	Solid carcasses. Better hinges and drawers. 15–20 years.
Premium	Bespoke joiners, Harvey Jones	£12,000 – £25,000	Handmade to measure. Solid wood. Lifetime quality.
German/Luxury	Schuller, Nobilia, Hacker, SieMatic	£18,000 – £40,000+	Engineering precision. Soft-close everything. Built to last decades.

My honest recommendation for most London homeowners? Howdens mid-range with a quartz worktop. It's the sweet spot. The quality is genuinely good, the soft-close hinges work properly, and it'll look great for 15–20 years. I fit Howdens more than anything else, and there's a reason their trade suppliers are on every high street in London.

Worktop Comparison

The worktop is the surface you touch, cook on, and see every day. Choose wisely:

Material	Cost per linear metre	Durability	Maintenance
Laminate	£40 – £80	5–10 years; scratches and burns	Wipe clean, avoid hot pans
Quartz (engineered)	£250 – £500	20+ years; non-porous, very hard	Almost zero; wipe and go
Granite	£300 – £600	25+ years; very hard	Needs sealing annually
Dekton / Neolith	£400 – £700	25+ years; heat and scratch resistant	Virtually indestructible
Solid wood (oak/walnut)	£150 – £350	15+ years; develops patina	Oil regularly, sand out marks

What About the Electrics?

This catches people out more than anything else. In older London homes (and let's be honest, that's most of them), the kitchen electrics were wired decades ago for a cooker, a fridge, and maybe a toaster. A modern kitchen renovation needs circuits for:

Oven and hob (separate circuits for induction)
Dishwasher
Washing machine (if still in the kitchen)
Fridge-freezer
Multiple worktop sockets for small appliances
Under-cabinet and plinth lighting
Extractor fan
Boiling water tap (if fitted)

In homes across Hackney, Islington, and Walthamstow built before the 1970s, the wiring simply can't handle this load on the existing circuit. You'll likely need a partial or full rewire of the kitchen, a new consumer unit, and Part P certification. Budget £1,500–£3,500 for the electrical work alone.

💡 Builder's Truth: If you're switching from a gas hob to induction, check your electrical supply first. An induction hob draws 7–8kW. Many older London properties only have a 60A main fuse, which can't handle the hob plus everything else running. You may need an electricity board upgrade (free from your DNO, but takes 6–8 weeks to arrange). Plan this early.

The Realistic Timeline

Here's what a mid-range kitchen renovation with a new layout typically looks like, week by week:

Week 1: Strip-out: old kitchen removed, walls stripped, floor lifted if needed
Week 2: First fix: electrics rewired, plumbing re-routed, gas disconnected and reconnected in new position
Week 3: Plastering, floor prep, tiling splashbacks or walls
Week 4: Kitchen fitting: units, worktops, sink, taps
Week 5: Second fix: appliances connected, flooring laid, painting, snagging

During weeks 1–3, you won't have a functioning kitchen. Plan for it. Clients in Wandsworth and Streatham often set up a temporary kitchen in the dining room: a microwave, a kettle, and a camping stove. It's not glamorous, but it gets you through.

Structural Changes: When You Need Steel

If you want to knock through to the dining room or remove a load-bearing wall to create an open-plan space, you'll need a structural engineer and a steel beam (RSJ). This is where a renovation starts overlapping with the territory covered in my open-plan kitchen guide.

Budget £2,500–£6,000 for the steel, propping, installation, and making good. Add a structural engineer's calculations at £400–£800. This always needs building regulations approval, though not usually planning permission.

Is It Worth Renovating or Better to Extend?

If your kitchen is a decent size but just dated, renovate. You'll get a beautiful kitchen for £15,000–£25,000. If your kitchen is genuinely too small, no amount of new units will fix a 6 square metre galley kitchen. That's when you need to think about an extension.

The crossover point is usually around £30,000–£35,000. If your renovation budget creeps that high because of structural changes, upgraded electrics, and premium finishes, you're approaching the cost of a modest rear extension that would give you more space and more value. Have a look at our kitchen extension cost breakdown to compare.

💡 Builder's Truth: Don't buy the kitchen before you've instructed a builder. I've had clients order a German kitchen costing £20,000, only for us to discover the walls aren't straight, the floor slopes 30mm across the room, and the gas main runs exactly where the island was planned. Get the building assessment done first. The kitchen design adapts to the room, not the other way around.

Planning a Kitchen Renovation?

I'm happy to take a look at your current kitchen, discuss what's possible within your budget, and give you an honest steer. 27+ years of fitting kitchens across London means I've seen every layout, every problem, and every solution. No charge for a chat.

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