What a kitchen remodel actually costs in Nashville right now

The first question at every survey is the same, and it deserves a real answer instead of a range so wide it means nothing. Here is what we actually charge in Davidson and Williamson counties this year, what sits inside those numbers, and which decisions move them.

Everything below is a sample figure for illustration. Your number comes from a measured survey, not from a website.

The six scopes we quote most

• Countertop replacement only: $4,800 to $22,000 depending on material and square footage.
• Backsplash and tile only: $2,400 to $11,500, driven more by tile format than by wall area.
• Cabinet refacing with new doors, drawers and hardware: $14,500 to $34,000.
• Small or galley kitchen rebuild under 120 square feet: $32,000 to $72,000.
• Full remodel keeping the existing layout: $68,000 to $98,000.
• Full remodel with walls removed and mechanicals relocated: $98,000 to $145,000.

The five decisions that move the number

1. Whether the sink and range move

Moving a sink across a room means new drain slope, a vent path and usually opening a floor. Moving a range means gas, a new hood duct route and often makeup air. Each relocation adds days of trade work plus inspection time. Keeping both where they are is the single largest saving available to most homeowners, and it costs nothing in design quality if the existing positions are sensible.

2. Whether a wall is bearing

An open plan is the most requested change we get. If the wall carries load, you are buying an engineer letter, a beam, a load path down to a footing and a few days of framing. On a 1960s Green Hills ranch that is usually a five figure line item on its own. We check this at the survey before anyone designs around it.

3. Cabinet finish, not cabinet style

Shaker versus slab barely changes the price. What changes it is what goes on the surface. A single-tone catalyzed paint is the baseline. Stained rift white oak costs more in material and far more in spray time, because each coat cures on the rack before the next one. Inset construction adds roughly two weeks in the shop and shows up in the labor line.

4. The appliance package

A 48 inch pro range is not just a more expensive range. It needs a 1200 CFM hood, which in Tennessee generally requires a makeup air path, which means a damper, a duct and an electrical interlock. The appliance might be a $12,000 decision that carries $6,000 of building work behind it. We would rather show you that during design than during rough-in.

5. Stone selection

Entry quartz and book-matched marble are the same product category and a completely different budget. Exotic quartzite carries slab minimums, more fabrication hours and a higher breakage risk on long island tops. If the budget is tight and the look matters, we will show you which three quartz patterns actually read like stone in person.

The cheapest kitchen is the one where the sink stays put and the cabinetry is built to the inch. Everything else is preference.

What is usually missing from a low quote

When a number comes in dramatically below the others, it is worth asking which of these is excluded: permits and inspection scheduling, electrical upgrades to current code, drywall repair and paint beyond the kitchen wall, appliance installation and connection, floor transitions to adjoining rooms, and the punch list visit after everything is installed. Those six items are commonly left out, and they are not optional.

Where the money is worth spending

• Drawer hardware. Undermount soft-close slides get used forty times a day for twenty years.
• Under-cabinet lighting. It changes how the room feels more than any single other line item.
• Ventilation. A properly ducted hood is the difference between cooking and not cooking.
• Storage detailing. Pull-outs and tray dividers cost less than an appliance and get used more.

If you want a real number for your kitchen, book a survey. It takes about two hours and you get a budget band the same week.