Kitchen renovation cost in Dubai: what the ranges actually cover

# Kitchen renovation cost in Dubai: what the ranges actually cover

Most of the spread comes down to one question: are you replacing what is already there, or moving where the water and the extract go? Everything else, including the marble you fell in love with, moves the number far less than people expect.

Kitchen renovation cost in Dubai: the ranges people actually pay

The figures below are reported market ranges across Dubai fit-out companies in 2026. Treat them as planning input rather than a quote, because the same brief priced in Jumeirah Village Circle and on Palm Jumeirah rarely lands in the same place.

| Scenario | Typical size | Reported range (AED) |

|---|---|---|

| Budget refit, same layout | 5 to 8 sqm | 15,000 to 35,000 |

| Mid-range apartment kitchen | around 10 sqm | 45,000 to 70,000 |

| Premium villa kitchen | 15 sqm and up | 150,000 to 300,000+ |

| Full custom, imported joinery | 20 sqm and up | 200,000 to 400,000+ |

A budget refit at the bottom of that table is honest work, but it is narrow work. You keep the layout, keep the services where they are, replace doors and worktop, retile the splashback, repaint. Nobody opens a wall. If your kitchen carcasses are sound and the flat is a rental unit, that is often the better commercial decision, and refacing at AED 15,000 to 25,000 will return more on a lease renewal than a AED 70,000 rebuild the tenant will not pay extra for.

The mid-range band is where most Dubai apartment owners end up. New cabinetry, engineered quartz, decent appliances, upgraded lighting and sockets, tiling, and minor service adjustments within a metre or two of where they already sit.

Where the money goes inside the number

Kitchens have a predictable budget shape. Once you know it, you can tell within a minute whether a quote is unbalanced.

| Element | Share of budget |

|---|---|

| Cabinetry and joinery | 40 to 50% |

| Appliances | 15 to 20% |

| Countertops | 10 to 15% |

| Tiling | 5 to 8% |

| Flooring | 5 to 8% |

| Plumbing | 5 to 8% |

| Electrical | 3 to 5% |

Cabinetry dominates, so the cabinet decision is the budget decision. Reported rates per linear metre: flat-pack imported units at AED 800 to 1,200, custom MDF with spray finish in the same AED 800 to 1,200 band, solid wood custom at AED 1,500 to 2,500, and imported European systems from AED 3,000 upward. The gap between flat-pack and custom MDF is not price, it is fit. Custom joinery closes the awkward 140mm gap at the end of a run that a modular system cannot, and in Dubai apartments with out-of-square walls that gap shows up constantly.

Worktops sit in a wider band than people expect. Engineered quartz runs around AED 400 to 800 per sq ft installed, natural marble AED 600 to 1,200, and sintered surfaces such as Dekton or Neolith AED 800 to 1,500. On a 10 sqm kitchen the jump from quartz to sintered stone is usually four to six thousand dirhams, which is smaller than the argument it generates.

The line that catches people is plumbing. Leaving the sink and the drainage where they are keeps plumbing at the bottom of its 5 to 8 per cent share. Moving the wet point to a different wall adds a reported AED 8,000 to 20,000 depending on floor level, how far you are from the riser, and whether the new fall can be achieved without raising the floor.

Materials are a character decision before they are a line item

The brief we get most often is "modern, light, not boring". That is a mood, not a specification, and it produces three revisions before anyone commits. It helps to decide the character first and let the material follow.

Warm walnut with a matt finish reads as calm and forgiving. It hides fingerprints in a way high-gloss lacquer never does, which matters in a household with children and a maid's schedule. Handleless fronts with a J-profile or push-to-open give a quieter elevation, and they are now the default in villa work across Dubai Hills, The Meadows and the Palm rather than a design statement.

Marble is beautiful and it is a commitment. It etches with lemon and vinegar, it stains with turmeric, and it needs resealing every 12 to 18 months in a kitchen that gets used properly. If nobody in the house will manage that, quartz gives you the look with none of the maintenance calendar. Say that out loud at the selection stage, not after the invoice.

Lighting deserves the same treatment. A 4000K downlight grid makes walnut look grey and quartz look clinical. Warm light at 2700K to 3000K under the wall units and over the island is a small cost line and the single biggest change to how the kitchen photographs and how it feels at nine in the evening.

Permits: which authority signs off depends on your community

This is where kitchen projects lose weeks. A same-layout refit in an apartment usually needs nothing more than building management approval, a contractor trade licence copy, insurance, and a refundable deposit. Move a wall or a wet point and you are in permit territory.

Reported fee ranges in 2026: community NOC AED 2,000 to 5,000 plus a refundable deposit, Dubai Municipality plan check and permit AED 3,000 to 15,000, and a DEWA NOC AED 500 to 5,000 where the electrical load or metering changes. A villa kitchen involving structural or service alterations commonly totals AED 5,500 to 25,000 in approvals alone.

Which authority applies depends on where you live. Palm Jumeirah, Discovery Gardens, JLT and other Nakheel-developed zones have historically sat under Trakhees, while Emaar communities such as Arabian Ranches and Emirates Living typically route through Dubai Municipality. Zones and delegations change, so verify with your community management which authority applies before you build a programme around it. The same mapping question comes up on every whole-house project, and the villa renovation cost guide covers how approvals stack up across a full villa scope.

Two more constraints worth checking early. If your unit is still inside the developer's defects liability period, altering services can void cover on the affected work. And most towers restrict noisy trades to fixed hours, with tighter windows during Ramadan and a booked service lift slot that decides when your stone can physically arrive on site.

From "I want a new kitchen" to a fixed quote

A kitchen quote that arrives in two hours is a guess. The order below is what turns a wish into a number that holds.

1. 1. Site survey. Measured drawings of the existing kitchen, riser positions, extract route, distribution board capacity, ceiling height, and floor level checks across the room.
2. 2. Layout options. Two or three plans against how the household actually cooks, not against a Pinterest board.
3. 3. Services check. Whether the sink can move, where the new drain falls, whether the extract can reach an external wall or shaft, how many dedicated circuits the new appliances need.
4. 4. Material and appliance selection. Cabinet construction, front finish, worktop, handles, hinges, lighting temperature. This is where the budget is fixed in practice.
5. 5. Priced scope. Every element with a quantity, so you can see what changes if you swap quartz for sintered stone.
6. 6. Approvals, where the scope requires them.
7. 7. Manufacture and installation.

Design work at DOMECO starts at AED 10,000 and takes three to six weeks. Manufacture runs two to four weeks for local joinery and longer for imported European systems. Installation is two to three weeks. A standalone kitchen with no permits and no design stage realistically takes four to six weeks; with a design stage and approvals, eight to twelve.

We fix the scope in the contract and we do not add to it after work starts. If the programme slips on our side, the contract carries a daily penalty. That is easier to agree at quote stage than to argue about in week five.

The four mistakes that cost the most to undo

Waterproofing treated as a bathroom-only item. The zone under the sink and behind the dishwasher gets wet, and in a tower a slow leak reaches the neighbour below before it reaches you. Membrane and a proper upstand under the units is a few hundred dirhams. The failure mode is documented in detail in why bathroom waterproofing fails in Dubai, and kitchens fail the same way for the same reasons.

Moving the wet point without checking the fall. Drainage needs gradient. Push a sink four metres from the riser on a slab you cannot chase and the only fix is raising the floor or building a plinth, which then fights your door thresholds and your appliance heights.

Electrical planned for the old kitchen. Induction hobs, built-in ovens and dishwashers each want their own circuit, and older Dubai apartments frequently arrive with a fraction of what a current kitchen draws. Finding this out after the cabinetry is fitted means chasing finished walls.

Ignoring the season. Summer humidity and heat affect adhesives, silicone cure times and timber movement, and site access in July is slower than the programme assumes. Stone deliveries and imported joinery both lengthen when everyone is renovating in the same window.

FAQ

How much does a kitchen renovation cost in Dubai in 2026?

Reported market ranges run from AED 15,000 for a budget refit that keeps the existing layout to AED 200,000 and above for a full custom villa kitchen. A mid-range apartment kitchen of around 10 sqm typically falls between AED 45,000 and 70,000. The layout decision moves the number more than the finish selection does.

Do I need a permit to renovate a kitchen in a villa?

If you keep the layout and only replace units, worktop and finishes, usually not, though community management will still want a contractor licence, insurance and a deposit. Move plumbing, alter a wall, or change electrical load and you will need formal approval. Confirm with your community management which authority handles your plot before you plan the schedule.

What should a kitchen quote include?

Cabinetry by linear metre with the carcass and front specification named, worktop material and edge detail, appliances by model, plumbing and electrical works, tiling, flooring, lighting, demolition and waste removal, plus site protection. If a quote gives you one lump sum for "kitchen works", you cannot compare it to anything or trace what changes when you swap a material.

How long does a kitchen renovation take?

Manufacture is two to four weeks, installation two to three weeks, so a straightforward kitchen with no design stage and no permits runs four to six weeks on site. Add a design stage and approvals and the realistic window is eight to twelve weeks. Imported European joinery has its own lead time and should be ordered before demolition starts.

Quartz or marble for a Dubai kitchen worktop?

Quartz at a reported AED 400 to 800 per sq ft is the practical choice for a kitchen that gets cooked in daily, because it does not etch or stain. Marble at AED 600 to 1,200 looks better in the hand and needs resealing every 12 to 18 months. Choose marble if you accept the maintenance, not because the sample looked good in the showroom.

Can I move the sink and the hob to a different wall?

Often yes, at a reported AED 8,000 to 20,000 for the plumbing relocation, depending on distance from the riser and what floor you are on. The limits are drainage gradient and, for the hob, whether the extract can reach an external wall or a shaft. Both need checking at survey stage, before any layout is agreed.

What is the difference between Trakhees and Dubai Municipality approval?

They are separate approving authorities covering different areas of Dubai, with different submission requirements and fee scales. Nakheel-developed communities have historically fallen under Trakhees, while much of the rest of the city goes through Dubai Municipality. Verify with your community management which one applies to your address, because assuming wrongly costs several weeks.

Is one turnkey contractor better than a designer plus separate trades?

Separate appointments can work if you have time to coordinate and someone to hold the sequence together. Under a single contract, the design, the joinery, the services and the finishing sit with one party, so a services clash is not a negotiation between two suppliers. Our work carries a one year warranty and a fixed contract price, and you can walk through scope and timing with us via our contact page or WhatsApp on +971 54 307 4888.