Cost & Budget Guides
Where a Kitchen Cabinetry Budget Actually Goes
Updated 2 min read
The short answer
Kitchen cabinetry is priced per cabinet, not per kitchen, so the total is driven by how many boxes there are and what is inside them. Drawer banks cost more than door bases, integrated appliance panels cost more than standard doors, and a hood surround is a separate piece of joinery. The items most often missed at budgeting stage are the panels nobody thinks of as cabinets.
Relative cost by cabinet type
Rough relative effort, taking a plain 600mm door base as the baseline. Useful for understanding why two kitchens of the same size quote differently.
| Cabinet type | Relative cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 600mm door base | Baseline | One box, one door, one shelf. |
| 600mm three-drawer base | 1.6–2× | Three boxes, three slide pairs, three fronts to align. |
| Corner unit with pull-out | 2–3× | Complex carcass plus a proprietary mechanism. |
| Full-height pantry | 2–3× | More material, more shelves, taller doors to keep flat. |
| Integrated appliance panel | 1.5–2.5× | Built to the appliance spec, with its own hinge geometry. |
| Hood surround | Separate item | Effectively a small piece of architecture, not a cabinet. |
| Island with waterfall ends | 2–4× | Structural, finished on all sides, stone coordination. |
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The line items people forget to budget
None of these are upsells. They are real parts of a finished kitchen that rarely appear in an early mental estimate.
- Finished end panels wherever a run is visible from the side.
- Toe kick and plinth material along every base run.
- Filler strips at walls, tall units and appliance gaps.
- Scribe moulding where cabinetry meets an uneven ceiling.
- Cabinet interiors: adjustable shelving, cutlery inserts, waste pull-outs.
- Under-cabinet lighting and the electrical work to feed it.
- Removal and disposal of the existing kitchen.
- Drywall repair behind whatever came out.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
- Why do kitchen quotes vary so much for the same layout?
- Usually because they specify different things. Carcass material, drawer box construction and hardware grade are the three biggest hidden variables, and they are frequently absent from a quote unless you ask. A quote 30% below the others is almost always a lighter product rather than a better deal.
- Are drawers really worth the extra cost over doors?
- In base cabinets, yes, for almost everyone. You can see and reach the entire contents of a drawer; the back half of a base cabinet with a door is where things go to be forgotten. If budget forces a choice, put drawers where you cook and prep, and doors where you store rarely-used items.
- Does an island cost more per foot than a wall run?
- Yes, usually noticeably. An island is finished on every side, often carries seating overhang support, and frequently involves services. A wall run has a back you never see and a wall to fix to.
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