A complete kitchen refresh typically costs £15,000 to £20,000 in Wiltshire. That is a guide for a project which keeps suitable existing cabinetry and improves the doors or finish, worktops and other agreed details. A smaller or more limited project can cost less; a larger kitchen or a more involved specification can fall outside the range.
The useful starting point is the budget for the whole job, not the price of one door or a length of worktop. Before comparing quotations, establish what you want to keep, what needs changing and which parts of the work each price includes.
Prices checked October 2026. All ranges below are guides, not fixed quotations or minimum charges.
What does a complete kitchen refresh budget cover?
A refresh keeps what is still useful rather than starting again. If the layout works and the carcasses are sound, the budget can go towards the parts you see and use: doors and drawer fronts, worktops, a sink and tap, handles, hinges and selected storage improvements.
Not every kitchen needs all of those changes. Some need a new finish rather than new doors. Others need better drawer access, replacement worktops or a combination of changes. The £15,000 to £20,000 complete-refresh guide is a starting point for that conversation, not a package in which every possible upgrade is included.
The written quotation should identify the agreed scope. You can see the different approaches on the kitchen refresh page.
What if I only want doors, spraying or worktops?
Replacement doors and drawer fronts typically cost £6,000 to £10,000 including fitting for a kitchen with around 15 doors; see the replacement kitchen doors cost guide for the detailed allowances.
Spraying costs £120 to £150 per removable item, with in-situ parts costing more; the kitchen spraying page explains that option.
Replacement worktops typically cost £5,000 to £8,000 including laser templating, fabrication and professional installation, with the sink and tap quoted separately; see what it costs to replace kitchen worktops.
Those figures help you judge the scale of individual changes. They should not be added together and treated as a quotation for your kitchen, because the scope and included fitting need checking first.
What do real Wiltshire refreshes cost?
The Brinkworth refresh came in at £15,000 to £20,000. The homeowners kept the kitchen's layout and cabinetry, with new doors and drawer fronts, Dekton worktops and lighting forming part of the transformation. It illustrates the scale of work behind the complete-refresh guide.
The Devizes refresh came in at £10,000 to £15,000. It included 20 new solid oak doors, new quartz worktops, an undermount sink, mixer tap and an upgraded drawer, while retaining the existing cabinetry and layout.
These are project-specific ranges, not promises that another kitchen will cost the same. Devizes also shows why a guide should not be read as a minimum: the work agreed for one home can come below the broader complete-refresh band.
What makes one kitchen cost more than another?
The number of doors and drawer fronts matters, but it is only part of the picture. The chosen style and finish, worktop layout, sink and tap, storage fittings and the condition of the existing kitchen all affect what needs to be supplied and fitted.
Existing cabinetry deserves particular attention. Retaining it makes sense when it is suitable for the proposed work. If damaged units need replacing or the layout needs substantial alteration, the quotation needs to account for that rather than assuming a straightforward refresh.
Period homes can introduce awkward junctions and hidden issues. It is worth looking beyond the visible finishes before committing the budget. My kitchen planning article explains the checks to make before ordering and beginning work.
What should I check in a kitchen quotation?
Compare the work described, not just the total. A useful quotation makes clear which doors or finishes are included, what happens to the worktops, and whether the sink, tap, handles and storage changes are part of the price.
Check dismantling, fitting, waste removal and any associated plumbing, electrical or making-good work too. Do not assume that two quotations include the same tasks simply because both describe a kitchen refresh.
The published dismantling and new-installation guide is £1,000 to £4,000 depending on scope. Do not add that automatically to door or worktop figures which already include fitting. The itemised quotation is where you establish which work is already covered and which is separate.
How much should I allow for unexpected work?
I recommend a contingency fund of 10 to 15% of the agreed project budget. It allows for unexpected remedial work and for worthwhile improvements or evolving ideas that become apparent in the actual space.
For a £15,000 project, that means £1,500 to £2,250 held aside. For a £20,000 project, it means £2,000 to £3,000. This is a reserve beyond the agreed quotation, not a charge that is automatically added to it.
Deciding the main design, finishes, worktop arrangement and appliance allowances before work starts helps keep changes deliberate rather than rushed.
When should I budget for a new kitchen instead?
If the layout is fundamentally wrong or the cabinetry is unsuitable to keep, spending on new visible finishes may not solve the problem. The published guide for a custom kitchen is £20,000 to £30,000; bespoke cabinetry is £30,000 to £50,000 and above.
Those are guide ranges for a different level of work, not a reason to replace a kitchen that could serve you well after a refresh. For the decision itself, read should I refresh or replace my kitchen?.
How do I get a budget for my own kitchen?
A free Home Design Visit lets us assess the existing kitchen, discuss the changes you want and establish the scope before putting a figure to it. You deal with me from the initial conversation through to fitting.
Replacement refresh doors come from my long-standing UK supplier. Where the agreed design calls for bespoke cabinetry, I build that from raw materials in my Corsham workshop. The quotation should reflect what your project actually needs, rather than treating every kitchen as the same kind of job.
If this sounds like your kitchen, request your free Home Design Visit.
