If you’re considering updating your kitchen, cost will likely be one of your biggest considerations. But how much should you expect to pay? And what’s driving recent price changes?
How much will my new kitchen cost?
Just as kitchens come in all shapes and sizes, so do kitchen renovation budgets. The exact cost of your updates will depend on several factors like the work required and the quality of materials used. This makes it quite difficult to provide an average cost for a fully installed new kitchen.
That said, here at Smart Kitchen , we’re forecasting the price of a new kitchen to increase by about 7% this year. And this is an expectation shared by the whole industry, with all major companies predicting a price increase. In fact, some of the biggest kitchen suppliers have already increased their prices by up to 9%.
Why are prices increasing?
To put it simply, the global pandemic has made it much harder to source materials and skilled labour. The restrictions put in place to manage the spread of COVID saw many important industries wind down, at least temporarily. They also limited the ability to ship things in from overseas, severely impacting the supply of certain materials, such as stone.
As a result, the cost of everything from timber and particle board to edging and laminate has increased globally. And the cost to ship some materials in from overseas has more than quadrupled due to container costs increasing.
Labour costs have also increased, as higher wages are required to attract skilled trades and fill staffing gaps. This has been further exacerbated by Victoria’s mandatory building registration requirements for many key trades (like carpenters and waterproofers).
But it’s not all bad news, with a growing number of builders starting to offer kitchen renovations. This is in response to the increased demand for these services and has made the market more competitive. However, be aware that builders add their markup so it is cheaper for you to source your cabinets direct from an experienced supplier like Smart Kitchen . In addition, using a third-party builder can be risky with some big builders, like Probuild, recently going into liquidation due to building costs escalating with builders unable to recoup those costs due to the terms in the building contract.
How are we keeping our new kitchens affordable?
While the cost of a new kitchen is increasing, you’ll always get a great deal when you work with Smart Kitchen . This is because we manufacture all our products here in Barbados, so we are less impacted by global supply chain issues. We also supply all our cabinets fully assembled, which significantly cuts down your installation costs.
What’s more, our experienced team are experts in tailoring designs to suit a wide range of styles and budgets. They can also recommend creative ways to achieve the look and function you want for the price you need. From choosing more cost-effective materials (wood-look laminate as a stone substitute is particularly popular right now) to optimising your existing floor plan, there’s plenty of ways to keep the costs down.
Best of all, when you work with Smart Kitchen , you’ll get to enjoy your new kitchen sooner. While other kitchen companies currently have 3 – 6 month wait times ours are less due to Barbados manufacturing.
In our opinion, it’s unlikely new kitchen prices will fall any time soon – however, they could continue increasing. As such, if you’ve been thinking about tackling that long overdue update, we suggest making a start right now. For more information on how to do this, contact Smart Kitchen today to set up your free in-store design and quote.