Guide · Kitchens
How much does a fitted kitchen cost in Ireland?
The honest frame: a bespoke fitted kitchen in Ireland typically lands somewhere between €8,000 and €25,000+, depending on the room, the materials and the appliances. Here's where the money actually goes — and how to get a real number for your kitchen.
A fitted kitchen is probably the single biggest joinery investment a homeowner makes, and it's the question we're asked most often across Drogheda and East Meath: what will it actually cost? The truthful answer is a range, not a figure — because "fitted kitchen" covers everything from a compact painted galley to a full bespoke room in walnut with stone worktops.
Everything below is an estimate range, not a price list. Your room, your material choices and your appliances decide the final number — and the only figure worth planning around is the one in a fixed, itemised quote after a home measure.
Honest estimate ranges
For a properly made fitted kitchen — designed for your room, built in a workshop and installed by the person who made it — realistic frames in Ireland right now are roughly:
- Compact kitchen (approx. €8,000–€12,000). A small galley or L-shape in painted or quality board finishes, laminate or solid-surface worktops, and a straightforward run of cabinets.
- Standard family kitchen (approx. €12,000–€18,000). The most common bracket: a full L or U-shape with an island or peninsula, quality hardware, durable worktops and a well-planned interior fit-out.
- Large or premium kitchen (approx. €18,000–€25,000+). Hardwood or hand-painted cabinetry, stone worktops, a large island, tall housings, integrated lighting and detailed finishing throughout.
These frames cover the cabinetry, worktops and fitting. Appliances are usually the homeowner's own purchase and can add anything from €2,000 to €10,000+ depending on taste — more on that below.
Where the money actually goes
Understanding the split helps you decide where to spend and where to save:
Cabinetry is the biggest share — typically well over half the joinery cost. Made-to-measure cabinets use more material and far more workshop hours than flat-pack, but they fit your room exactly: no filler strips, no dead corners, and carcasses that will outlast the doors hung on them.
Worktops swing the total wildly. Laminate is the budget option and far better looking than it used to be. Solid surface and quartz sit in the middle. Natural stone and solid timber top the range. On a mid-size kitchen, the worktop choice alone can move the total by several thousand euro.
Doors and finish. Solid hardwood doors cost more than spray-painted MDF, which costs more than pre-finished board. A hand-painted finish adds labour — but can be refreshed and repainted for decades, which matters in a room you use all day.
Hardware and interiors. Soft-close hinges and full-extension runners are worth every cent — they're what make a kitchen feel solid ten years in. Pan drawers, larder pull-outs and corner mechanisms add cost each; plan them where they'll genuinely earn their keep.
Appliances, sinks and taps are usually bought separately. Set that budget early — it's easy to spend the price of the cabinetry again if the appliance list grows mid-project.
Bespoke vs high-street: what you're paying for
A high-street kitchen is built from standard cabinet sizes. If your room happens to suit them, it can be good value. The hidden costs appear when it doesn't: filler panels covering the gaps, corners that don't quite work, and a fitter improvising solutions on site.
A bespoke kitchen is designed around your room from the first measure — every centimetre used, every service and socket planned for, and the same person measuring, building and fitting. In period houses around Drogheda with uneven walls and non-standard openings, that difference is the difference between a kitchen that fits and one that was made to.
How to keep the budget under control
- Decide the number first. Tell your cabinetmaker the budget at the measure, not after the design. A good one will design to it.
- Spend on the things you touch. Hinges, runners and the worktop you lean on every day matter more than a fancy interior gadget you'll use twice.
- Mix materials deliberately. Painted doors with one timber feature — an island top, open shelving — gives the bespoke look without a full hardwood price.
- Don't move services if you don't need to. Keeping the sink, hob and main services roughly where they are saves plumber and electrician costs that dwarf joinery tweaks.
Timeline and getting an exact quote
A bespoke fitted kitchen typically takes around four to six weeks from design sign-off to final fit, with the on-site installation measured in days. The process starts with a home measure: we look at the room, talk layout, materials and budget, and then send a fixed, itemised quote — free and with no obligation. That itemised quote is the document to compare against any other price you're given: if it isn't broken down line by line, you don't know what you're buying.
Quick answers
Fitted kitchen cost questions
If your room is a standard rectangle and you're happy with standard cabinet sizes, a good high-street kitchen can be fitted well and will cost less. Bespoke earns its keep everywhere else: awkward layouts, period rooms with uneven walls, wasted corners, or when you want specific materials and a finish that can be repaired and repainted for decades. A bespoke kitchen also uses every centimetre — there are no filler panels hiding dead space.
It should say so explicitly, line by line. Our itemised quotes list cabinetry, worktops, hardware and fitting separately, and note where appliances are supplied by you or priced in. When you're comparing quotes from different makers, check that each covers the same scope — a cheaper bottom line often simply excludes the worktop or the fitting.
A bespoke fitted kitchen typically takes around four to six weeks from design sign-off to final fit. The cabinets are built in the workshop, so the on-site installation itself is usually measured in days rather than weeks — and you get a firm install date before the build starts.
Yes — tell us the number at the measure and we'll design to it. Materials and finishes are the big levers: painted doors instead of solid hardwood, laminate or solid-surface worktops instead of stone, and a simpler internal fit-out all bring a design into budget without touching the layout or the build quality. You get a fixed, itemised quote before any work starts, so the budget you agree is the figure you pay.
Planning a fitted kitchen in Drogheda or East Meath?
The surest way to get a real number is a free home measure. We'll talk layout, materials and budget, then send a fixed, itemised quote — no obligation.
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