A $30,000 kitchen at DADO sits at the bottom of our medium band, which runs $30,000 to $50,000 and is where most of our projects land. At that number you get a medium-sized kitchen with made-to-order cabinetry, a premium finish on the fronts, a quartz counter, a mid-range appliance package, and the sink, stove, and fridge staying roughly where they are. What follows is a representative spec rather than a specific project, so you can see what the number buys and what you would trade to hold it.
A medium kitchen in Vancouver terms is a full L-shaped or U-shaped room in a house, or a generous galley in a larger condo, with enough wall to hold a tall pantry cabinet and a proper run of drawers. It is not a small condo galley, which lands in the $18,000 to $28,000 entry band, and it is not the large open-plan room with a long island, which pushes toward the top of the medium band and beyond. At $30,000 the footprint is comfortable and the layout stays close to what the room already has.
One finish, chosen well. Painted slab MDF in a single colour is the usual answer, because it gives a flat modern front over a plywood box without the cost of veneer. Modern shaker in the same painted MDF is the alternative if the house is older. A veneer accent in rift white oak or walnut veneer is possible on one element, a bank of tall cabinets or a short peninsula, but two full finishes across the whole room is a top-of-band choice, not a bottom-of-band one. Handles are a simple bar or edge pull. Integrated handles are possible, and we will tell you what they add.
This is the part that separates a custom kitchen from a set of boxes, and it is not what you cut at $30,000. Under the counter, drawers instead of doors, on runner systems so a full pot drawer slides out loaded and closes softly. A pantry slider in the tall cabinet so nothing lives at the back. A corner solution instead of a dead corner. Soft-close on every door and drawer. Where the room has the height, a space tower does the work of two cupboards. These are the things you touch every day, and they are where the money in a $30,000 kitchen goes.
A standard quartz counter, in a colour that works with the fronts, with a straight edge rather than a waterfall. A mid-range appliance package: a freestanding range, a standard-depth fridge that sits in a fitted opening rather than behind a matching panel, a dishwasher, and a hood. The cabinetry is built to fit whatever package you choose, so this is a lever you control directly, and moving it up a tier is one of the quickest ways to leave the bottom of the band.
You keep the services where they are, so there is no plumber or electrician moving the sink or the range. You skip the island or keep it small. You choose one finish instead of two. You take standard quartz rather than a thick stone slab. You leave the appliances freestanding rather than integrated behind panels. You skip lighting inside the cabinets. None of those are compromises on the cabinetry itself. The boxes, the fronts, the hinges, and the storage systems are the same ones we put in a $50,000 kitchen.
An island with seating and its own counter. A layout change that moves the sink or the range. A second finish across the perimeter or the island. A thicker stone counter or a waterfall edge. An integrated fridge and dishwasher behind matching fronts. More cabinetry, plainly, because a larger room has more wall. Any two of those and you are in the middle of the band. All of them and you are at the top of it, which is still a long way from the large, fully custom builds that start past $100,000.
To see which end of the band your kitchen falls in, the Vancouver Kitchen Cost Calculator takes size, finish tier, and appliance package and returns a range in a couple of minutes. It is an estimate, not a quote. For the full picture of all three bands, read how much a custom kitchen costs in Vancouver. When you are ready to turn a band into a real plan, book a free consultation at the Kitsilano showroom and we will price your actual kitchen with you.