What a Kitchen Renovation Actually Costs in Dubai
A kitchen renovation in Dubai costs AED 40,000 to 250,000 in 2026, with most apartments landing between AED 60,000 and 110,000 and most villa kitchens between AED 120,000 and 220,000. The kitchen renovation cost in Dubai moves mainly with cabinet area, appliance choice and how much plumbing and electrical work the new layout needs. A repaint and new handles can sit under AED 15,000. A full strip-out with custom joinery and imported appliances can pass AED 300,000.
Below are the price bands we work to, what sits inside each one, and the four decisions that push a budget up or down. If you want the layout side of the planning, the dimensions and clearances post covers aisle widths, worktop depths and island spacing.
The four price bands
Refresh, AED 15,000 to 40,000. Repaint, new cabinet doors and handles, splashback tile replacement, tap and sink swap, a few light fittings. The carcasses stay. Nothing moves. Works take two to three weeks on site. This band suits a rental unit or a kitchen that is structurally sound but dated.
Standard, AED 40,000 to 90,000. New modular cabinets from a mid-range supplier, engineered stone worktops, a new sink and tap, new tiles, repaint, lighting and sockets. Appliances are usually a mix of existing and new, often AED 10,000 to 20,000 of the total. Four to six weeks on site. This is the most common scope for apartments in Marina, JVC and Business Bay.
Premium, AED 90,000 to 180,000. Custom or semi-custom joinery, natural stone or premium quartz worktops, a full appliance replacement, moved plumbing, new electrical circuits, joinery panelling and feature lighting. Six to ten weeks on site. Most villa kitchens in Arabian Ranches and Jumeirah Golf Estates sit in this band.
Turnkey designer kitchen, AED 180,000 to 300,000 plus. Bespoke joinery throughout, imported stone, built-in appliances from Sub-Zero, Gaggenau or Miele, steam ovens, wine storage, motorised pocket doors, a full mechanical redesign. Ten to sixteen weeks. In Emirates Hills and Palm Jumeirah villas we regularly see final accounts above AED 350,000 once appliances are counted.
Cabinets are the biggest single line
Carcass and door joinery usually takes 30 to 45 percent of the total budget. That is the line that decides your band more than anything else.
Modular flat-pack systems, the European brands sold through Dubai showrooms, run roughly AED 1,200 to 2,500 per linear metre of base cabinet. Semi-custom joinery, where a workshop builds to your sizes with a standard finish, runs AED 2,500 to 4,500 per metre. Fully bespoke joinery with veneer or lacquer finishes runs AED 4,500 to 8,000 per metre, before worktops. A typical apartment kitchen has 6 to 9 linear metres of run. A villa kitchen with an island runs 12 to 18 metres.
Worktops sit on top of that. Engineered quartz starts around AED 700 per square metre supplied and fitted. Premium quartz and compact surfaces run AED 1,200 to 2,000. Natural marble and granite run AED 900 to 3,000 per square metre depending on the block, and marble needs sealing on a schedule. A standard apartment kitchen needs 4 to 6 square metres of worktop, an island villa kitchen 9 to 14.
Appliances: the quiet budget breaker
Appliances are the line people quote last and feel hardest. A mid-range full set, oven, hob, extractor, microwave, dishwasher and fridge, costs AED 12,000 to 25,000. A premium built-in set from Bosch, Siemens or Miele runs AED 30,000 to 55,000. A top specification set with a large integrated fridge-freezer, two ovens, a steam oven and a wine unit passes AED 80,000 quickly.
Two practical notes from site. First, built-in appliances need specific cabinet sizes and ventilation clearances, so the appliance schedule has to be locked before joinery fabrication, not after. Second, an appliance upgrade without an electrical check is a risk: induction hobs draw 7.4 kW on their own, which can overload a circuit that was fine for an old gas hob.
Plumbing and electrical: the cost nobody quotes the same
If your new layout keeps the sink and hob in their existing positions, mechanical costs stay low, often AED 5,000 to 10,000 for connections and new isolators. Moving the sink across the kitchen means new drainage falls, and in an apartment that means chasing through a slab or a raised floor, which adds AED 8,000 to 20,000 and one to two weeks. A full rewire of a villa kitchen, new sockets, dedicated appliance circuits, lighting zones, runs AED 12,000 to 25,000 with DEWA-compliant certification.
This is also where the hidden-condition money appears. Once a 15 year old kitchen comes out you find corroded copper, damp patches, or a slab that was patched badly the last time. Budget 10 percent of the total for what the strip-out reveals.
What the timeline looks like
Strip-out and disposal: two to five days. Mechanical first fix: one to two weeks. Plaster, waterproofing where needed, tiling: one to two weeks. Joinery installation: three to five days. Worktop template and fit: ten working days between the two visits, because stone is cut after the cabinets are in. Splashback, plumbing second fix, electrical second fix, appliances and snagging: one week. Overall, four to six weeks for a standard apartment kitchen and eight to sixteen for a premium villa kitchen, plus one to four weeks for design and approvals before anyone touches the site.
Four decisions that move the number most
1. Keep the sink where it is. Drainage moves cost more per metre than any cabinet. A layout that works with the existing plumbing saves AED 10,000 to 25,000 in most apartments.
2. Choose the cabinet system before the design is finalised. Semi-custom joinery at AED 3,000 per metre and bespoke at AED 6,000 per metre give the same look in a rendering but double the joinery line. Decide early so the design is drawn to the system you are buying.
3. Fix the appliance schedule before fabrication. Late appliance changes mean rebuilt cabinets and rework. This is the most common avoidable extra we see.
4. Spend on the worktop and skip the statement tile. The worktop carries wear and resale value. A dramatic splashback tile dates faster and costs more to change later.
Apartment versus villa
In an apartment, access rules the schedule: lifts must be booked, waste cleared daily and working hours follow building management, typically 8am to 4pm on weekdays. Budget AED 3,000 to 6,000 for building charges, deposits and lift bookings, which tenants rarely expect. In a villa you have fewer access constraints but more floor area, higher ceilings to light and often an AC rework, since a new island changes the duct layout. The villa costs post breaks down the wider project budget if the kitchen is part of a full refurbishment.
If you want the numbers pressure-tested against your actual kitchen, book a consultation and we will walk the space with you.
