Renovation Guide
Kitchen Renovation in Sydney: Cost, Timeline and What to Expect
A bespoke kitchen renovation in Sydney typically costs between $30,000 and $100,000+ and takes 6 to 12 weeks from design to installation. Here is what drives those numbers, and how to plan for them.
A bespoke kitchen is one of the largest single investments in a Sydney home, and the range of possible costs is wide. The most useful way to think about budget is not as a single number but as a set of choices: the joinery method, the stone, the appliances, and the condition of the home itself. A-Plan Kitchens has designed and installed custom kitchens across Sydney from its Camperdown showroom since 1984, and the guidance below reflects what those decades of projects actually cost.
What a kitchen renovation costs in Sydney
A new custom kitchen in Sydney generally falls into three brackets. A focused refresh using quality flat-pack joinery, engineered stone and mid-tier appliances starts around $30,000 to $50,000. A fully bespoke kitchen with hand-finished cabinetry, premium stone, and integrated European appliances typically sits between $50,000 and $100,000. Architectural projects with solid timber, natural stone, and a full appliance suite can exceed $100,000. The four factors below account for most of the variation inside that range.
Cabinetry and joinery
Custom cabinetry is the largest single line item. Flat-pack polyurethane doors sit at the entry level; hand-finished solid timber, two-pack lacquer and integrated finger-pull detailing push the budget toward the premium end. A-Plan manufactures and installs its own joinery, which removes a markup layer most renovators pay.
Benchtops and stone
Engineered stone (Caesarstone, Silestone) and porcelain slabs are the Sydney default. A standard island in premium stone typically adds $3,000 to $8,000. Natural stone, waterfall ends and thick profiles scale quickly from there.
Appliances
A built-in oven, induction cooktop, integrated dishwasher and rangehood can range from $4,000 for reliable mid-tier brands to $20,000+ for premium European suites. Specifying appliances early prevents cabinetry rework later.
Trades and demolition
Plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, plastering and demolition are trade-priced and vary with site access. Older Inner West terraces often need switchboard and pipe upgrades that newer homes do not.
How long a kitchen renovation takes
A typical bespoke kitchen takes 6 to 12 weeks from signed contract to final fit-off. The single biggest variable is the cabinetry build time, which is why A-Plan begins manufacture the moment designs are locked. The phases below overlap where possible to keep the overall timeline as short as the site allows.
- 1
Design and approval
2–4 weeks
Site measure, concept drawings, material selections, fixed-price quote and contract.
- 2
Cabinetry manufacture
4–6 weeks
Your joinery is built to spec in the A-Plan workshop while site preparation happens in parallel.
- 3
Site works and install
1–2 weeks
Demolition, trades, cabinetry fit-out, stone templation and final fit-off.
Choosing materials that last
Material choice is where budget and longevity meet. For benchtops, engineered stone and porcelain offer consistency and durability; natural stone brings character but needs sealing. For cabinetry, Blum hardware is the Sydney industry standard for soft-close reliability, and two-pack polyurethane on moisture-resistant MDF handles Sydney humidity better than untreated alternatives. Specifying local, well-supported product ranges keeps replacement parts fast if anything is ever damaged.
Most kitchen renovations in NSW do not need council approval if the work is like-for-like and does not change the room's footprint, but any new plumbing, electrical, or waterproofing must be certified by a licensed tradesperson and, where required, covered by a complying development certificate. A-Plan coordinates these certifications as part of its installation.
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