Guides

What things cost, how long they take, and what to ask.

Written by Ihor Maksymov. Everything here can be used against us, and should be.

A First Hill kitchen in white with marble counters opening onto a dining room — First Hill/*Kitchen renovation*/2025

Most people meet a builder without knowing what a fair number looks like. That is not their fault, and it is not a good way to start a relationship that will last six months.

These are the answers we give at the studio, written down. They are as useful for checking somebody else's quote as ours, which is the point.

What it costs

01
Kitchen remodel cost in Seattle

Four bands by scope, plus the sales tax, permits and contingency that most quotes leave out.
02
Bathroom remodel cost in Seattle

Why the smallest room costs the most per square foot, and the four decisions that move the number.
03
Whole-house renovation cost

Priced per square foot, and why studs-or-surfaces is worth more than every finish choice put together.
04
What custom cabinets cost

Stock, semi-custom and full custom per linear foot, and the four situations where custom actually pays for itself.

How it works

05
Design-build, or an architect and a contractor?

Two honest models. What each one buys you, what each one costs you, and how to tell which your project wants.
06
How long a renovation takes

The four stretches of a project, and the three things that actually move a date.
07
When you need a permit

What needs one in Seattle and on the Eastside, who is supposed to pull it, and what happens if the last owner did not.
08
How to check a contractor

The five checks before you pay anybody, and the questions that separate a real quote from a hopeful one.

The work behind the guides

A white kitchen with marble counters opening onto a dining room with a walnut table — The wall came down and the table moved in

A renovated kitchen with white oak cabinets, black lower units, a dark stone island and a deep green tiled backsplash — The wall came out and the island took its place

A pale wood and white kitchen with a long island and pendant lights — Wood below, white above, and terrazzo underfoot

A condo kitchen with matte deep green cabinets, marble counters and slim arched pendant lights — Green below, white above, and marble that turns the corner

A period kitchen with green painted cabinetry, patterned tile and a checkerboard marble floor — The window seat, painted the same green as the cabinets

The range wall in white with marble running up behind a stainless range and open shelving — Marble carried up the wall, so there is no line to clean

View from the hallway through an oak-framed opening into the finished kitchen — The opening cut through from the hall, framed in the same oak

The tall run with the integrated fridge and the oven column — The tall wall holds the fridge, the ovens and the pantry

A fluted green island with a thick marble waterfall top — Fluted fronts milled in our shop, marble returned to the floor

The same kitchen from the other end, with the checkerboard floor running through — The whole kitchen, with the table where the wall used to be

White kitchen cabinetry with an integrated hood and warm wood shelving — The hood built in, the shelves in wood

The kitchen seen along the dark stone island, with a black island base and oak cabinetry beyond — The island runs the length of what used to be the dividing wall

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None of this replaces twenty minutes with your floor plan on a table.

920 Dexter Ave N, Monday to Friday. Bring the plan if you have one, photographs if you do not. It costs nothing and it is the fastest way to find out whether what you want is in the budget you have.

Come to the studio Where we work