A $60,000 kitchen and a $160,000 kitchen are both called a "kitchen remodel," and that is why the question "how much does a kitchen remodel cost?" gets such unhelpful answers. They are different projects. One keeps the walls, the plumbing and the gas line where they are and replaces what you can see. The other opens the room to the living space, moves the utilities, and is built around custom millwork and stone. The difference is not taste. It is construction.
This guide explains what kitchen remodels actually cost in Los Angeles and Orange County in 2026, what sits inside each level of the range, which decisions move the number most, and how to keep the budget from drifting. The ranges come from our own design-build projects, not from a national average.
The short answer: $55K to $175K+
Most kitchen remodels we design and build in Los Angeles land between $55K and $175K. A kitchen that keeps its footprint and replaces cabinets, counters, appliances and lighting sits at the low end. An open-concept chef's kitchen with a structural wall removed, relocated plumbing and gas, fully custom cabinetry and slab stone sits at the top, and can go beyond it when the finishes and the structure demand it.
| Project level | Typical range | What usually drives the cost |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh in the existing footprint | $55K–$85K | New semi-custom cabinets, quartz counters, appliances, lighting and backsplash; plumbing, gas and walls stay where they are |
| Full remodel, same footprint or minor changes | $85K–$125K | Custom cabinetry, an island, some relocated plumbing or electrical, tile, layered lighting, upgraded appliances |
| Open-concept or chef's kitchen | $125K–$175K+ | A load-bearing wall removed, relocated utilities, fully custom millwork, pro-grade appliances, slab stone, new windows or doors |
These are working ranges, not quotes. The real number depends on the age of your home, whether the layout changes, what the walls and floors reveal, and the materials you choose. The rest of this article explains each of those in practical terms so you can place your own kitchen on the table above.
What is inside the number
Homeowners tend to compare bids by the total. It is more useful to compare what each total includes, because the same $100K can buy a very different kitchen depending on where it goes.
Cabinetry
Usually the single biggest line item. The spread between stock, semi-custom and fully custom millwork is wide, and it is not only about the doors. Custom cabinetry is built to your walls, your ceiling height and your storage, with interior fittings, integrated appliance panels and finishes that are not available from a catalog. It also has a lead time, often several weeks to a few months, which shapes the whole schedule.
Countertops and backsplash
Quartz, quartzite, marble and porcelain slabs each sit at a different price, and the cost of a slab is only part of it. Fabrication, edge details, waterfall ends on an island and a full-height slab backsplash all add hours. Countertops are templated after the cabinets are installed, which is why there is always a gap between "cabinets in" and "counters in."
Appliances
A standard package and a pro-grade package can differ by tens of thousands of dollars, and pro appliances often need more than a bigger budget. A 48-inch range needs a proper hood and make-up air, a built-in refrigerator needs a precise cabinet opening, and several of them need dedicated circuits or a larger gas line.
Plumbing and gas
Moving the sink to an island means a new drain run under the floor. Moving the range means moving the gas line. In a home on a raised foundation this is done from the crawl space; in a home on a slab, which is most post-war housing on the Westside, in the South Bay and across Orange County, it means cutting concrete.
Electrical
Modern kitchens want dedicated circuits for the dishwasher, disposal, microwave, refrigerator and countertop outlets, plus under-cabinet, pendant and recessed lighting that meets California's Title 24 energy code. Homes built before the 1970s often have a panel that cannot take the load, and a panel upgrade becomes part of the kitchen budget.
Structure
Removing a wall between the kitchen and the living room is the single most transformative move, and the one with the most engineering behind it. If the wall is load-bearing, it is replaced with a beam and posts sized by a structural engineer, permitted, and inspected. In Los Angeles, where seismic requirements are strict, this is not a place to guess.
Finishes, design and permits
Flooring that ties the kitchen to the rooms around it, paint, hardware, plumbing fixtures, drawings, a photoreal 3D model, material selections, plan check and city inspections. Design and permits are a modest share of the total, and they are what make the kitchen legal, insurable and predictable.
The decisions that move the number most
Keep the footprint or open it up
Nothing changes a kitchen budget more than the decision to move walls or utilities. Keeping the sink, range and refrigerator in their current positions and replacing everything around them is how a kitchen stays in the first band. Opening the kitchen to the living room, as we did in our Marina Del Rey kitchen by removing one wall, changes how the whole house lives, and it moves the project into construction, with engineering, permits and inspections.
Custom or semi-custom cabinetry
Semi-custom lines have become very good and are the right answer for many kitchens. Fully custom millwork is the right answer when the room is irregular, the ceiling is tall, the storage has to work hard, or the kitchen is the centerpiece of a home you plan to keep. It is the biggest single lever in the budget, in both directions.
The island
An island is the most requested feature in a Los Angeles kitchen and one of the most expensive per square foot, because it usually brings a sink, a dishwasher, outlets, seating and a slab with finished edges on every side. A large island with a waterfall end can cost as much as the rest of the countertops combined.
Appliances and ventilation
Choose the appliance package early. It decides the cabinet openings, the electrical plan, the gas line size and the hood. A decision to move from a standard range to a 48-inch pro range in the middle of construction is one of the most expensive changes a kitchen can absorb.
The age of the house
Many of the homes we remodel in Los Angeles were built between the 1920s and the 1960s. Behind the old cabinets we regularly find galvanized supply pipes, undersized electrical panels, uneven subfloors and framing that has been notched by decades of small repairs. In pre-1978 homes, lead paint and asbestos in old flooring or joint compound may need testing before demolition. None of this should stop a remodel. It should be in the budget as a contingency, and it is why an experienced contractor's estimate is sometimes higher and almost always closer to the final number.
Where you live changes the job
- Hillside homes in the Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake and Bel Air add access and staging time. Cabinets, slabs and appliances go up stairs, and debris comes down them.
- Condos and HOAs in Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and Brentwood add approvals, insurance requirements, restricted hours and elevator scheduling. Structural changes are usually off the table, so the design works within the existing walls.
- Slab foundations across the Westside, the South Bay and Orange County mean any relocated sink or dishwasher drain goes through concrete.
- Mid-century and Spanish homes in Culver City, Mid-City and Eagle Rock often have the wall between kitchen and dining that everyone wants gone, and the raised foundations that make plumbing changes easier. Our Mid-City kitchen and Eagle Rock kitchen are both examples of a closed, dated kitchen becoming the center of the house.
Browse our kitchen projects to see what each level of investment looks like in a real Los Angeles home, from a refresh in Culver City to complete rebuilds.
What a kitchen remodel looks like, step by step
A kitchen that finishes on time is mostly a matter of sequence, and the sequence starts long before demolition.
- Discovery. An on-site visit, a conversation about how you cook and gather, a look at the structure, the panel and the plumbing, and a preliminary investment range. No obligation.
- Design. Drawings, a photoreal 3D model, and every selection decided: cabinets, counters, appliances, tile, lighting, hardware, flooring. Cabinets and appliances are ordered at the end of this phase so their lead times run while permits are in process.
- Planning and permits. Plan check where the scope requires it, structural engineering for any wall removal, HOA approval where relevant, and a locked schedule and itemized budget.
- Construction. Demolition, structural work, rough plumbing, gas and electrical, inspections, drywall, flooring, cabinets, countertop templating and installation, backsplash, appliances, lighting and paint, in that order. A dedicated project manager and weekly updates.
- Final walkthrough. A detailed punch list, appliances tested, a clean handover, and a warranty that stays with you.
Most kitchens take 8 to 14 weeks of construction, after the design phase. The two things that stretch a kitchen are cabinets that were ordered late and changes made after the walls are open. Both are avoidable.
Common mistakes that cost money
- Designing around a picture instead of a plan. A photo of an island does not tell you whether your room has the clearances for one. The layout comes first, then the look.
- Ordering cabinets before the design is final. Custom cabinets are built to the drawings. A change to the appliance package or the island after the order is placed means remaking boxes.
- Choosing appliances last. They decide openings, circuits, gas and ventilation. Decide them in design.
- Living without a temporary kitchen plan. A kitchen remodel is 8 to 14 weeks. Set up a temporary kitchen with the refrigerator, a microwave and a sink you can use, or budget for eating out. The families who plan for this are far calmer in week six.
- Taking the lowest bid without reading it. A low kitchen bid usually omits something: permits, engineering, the panel upgrade, the hood venting, or a licensed plumber for the gas. In California, verify the contractor's license and insurance before signing.
- No contingency in an older home. We recommend 10 to 15 percent for what the walls reveal. If it is not needed, it stays with you.
Permits and rules in Los Angeles
Replacing cabinets, counters and appliances in the same locations usually does not need a permit. Moving plumbing or gas, adding or changing electrical circuits, removing or altering walls, and changing windows or exterior doors do, and the work is inspected. In the City of Los Angeles that goes through the Department of Building and Safety; other cities in the county and Orange County have their own building departments with similar rules. A licensed contractor pulls the permits and schedules the inspections as part of the job.
California's Title 24 energy code shapes the lighting and ventilation choices, and a range hood that actually vents outside is a code matter as much as a comfort one. Many homeowners are also choosing induction cooking, which removes the gas line question entirely and is worth a conversation in design. None of this is an obstacle; it is the baseline of a kitchen that passes inspection without drama.
A permitted kitchen is not a slower kitchen. It is a kitchen with an engineer's stamp on the beam above your island, and that matters every day you stand under it.
How to keep the budget predictable
Three habits separate the kitchens that finish on budget from the ones that do not.
First, decide everything before demolition. Every selection, from the cabinet finish to the faucet, is cheap to change on paper and expensive to change once the walls are open.
Second, insist on an itemized proposal. You should see what the cabinets, the counters, the appliances, the structural work and the permits each cost, and which lines are allowances versus fixed prices. When something is an allowance, know the number and shop to it.
Third, choose the contractor for the process, not the promise. A team that designs first, shows you the kitchen in 3D, orders long-lead items early and gives you a schedule with inspections on it is a team that has done this many times. That is how our kitchen remodeling work runs, and it is why our kitchens finish close to the number we started with.
If the kitchen is part of a bigger plan, it may be worth pricing a whole-home remodel instead. The trades are already on site, the design language is consistent across rooms, and the cost per room drops. And if a bathroom is on the same list, our guide to bathroom remodel costs in Los Angeles covers that room the same way.
A realistic next step
If you are planning a kitchen remodel in Los Angeles or Orange County, the most useful first step is not choosing a countertop. It is getting a clear range for your specific room, your specific house and the layout you actually want. That takes a visit and a conversation. Request a consultation and we will walk the kitchen with you, look at the structure and the utilities, and give you a preliminary investment range you can plan around.