The short answer
A kitchen renovation in a Sydney apartment costs from $18,000. A standard kitchen runs $18,000 to $25,000, mid-range with engineered stone and custom joinery is $25,000 to $35,000, and a high-end fit-out is $35,000 to $50,000+. Cabinetry is the biggest line at 30 to 40 percent of the total. In an apartment, lift access, a tight galley layout, and strata rules on moving plumbing are what set your number apart from a house kitchen.
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Most kitchen cost guides price a house kitchen with a driveway out front and no one to ask for permission. This one is for Sydney apartment owners, with real 2026 prices and the apartment factors that move the number: lift bookings, a narrow galley footprint, and strata rules the moment you shift the plumbing. Here is what drives the cost, and what your money actually buys.
How much does a kitchen renovation cost in Sydney?
A kitchen renovation in a Sydney apartment starts at $18,000 and runs past $50,000 for a high-end custom fit-out. What sets your number is the size of the kitchen, the finishes you choose, and whether you keep the existing layout or move plumbing and walls. Here is how that breaks down by tier.
| Tier | What it covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Quality laminate or polyurethane, keep the layout | $18,000 – $25,000 |
| Mid-range | Engineered stone, custom joinery, quality appliances | $25,000 – $35,000 |
| High-end | Full custom joinery, premium appliances, natural stone | $35,000 – $50,000+ |
These are our real Fine Touch Group ranges, drawn from 1,000+ Sydney apartment projects. Your exact number depends on finishes, layout changes, and your building. Sydney market guides put a typical new kitchen in a similar band, with quotes commonly landing $40,000 to $60,000 once cabinetry and stone are full custom.
What you get at each budget
Standard kitchen
from, one-off project cost
A full apartment kitchen at a solid, honest standard.
- New custom cabinetry, soft-close
- Quality laminate or polyurethane benchtop
- Tiled splashback and quality tapware
- Keep the existing layout
- Strata approval handled
Mid-range
from, one-off project cost
Engineered stone, custom joinery and quality appliances.
- Engineered stone benchtop and splashback
- Custom joinery with clever storage
- Mid-tier integrated appliances
- Handleless or shaker cabinetry
- Plumbing and electrical handled
High-end
from, one-off project cost
Full custom joinery and premium finishes throughout.
- Full custom joinery, floor to ceiling
- Natural stone or premium engineered stone
- Premium European appliances
- Island or peninsula with waterfall edge
- Feature lighting and detailing
Where your money goes
Cabinetry is the biggest line in any kitchen, at 30 to 40 percent of the total. That is why two kitchens of the same size can quote thousands apart: the joinery, the door finish, and the hardware are where the money sits. Here is roughly how a Sydney apartment kitchen budget splits.
| Element | Share of budget |
|---|---|
| Cabinetry and joinery | 30 – 40% |
| Labour, plumbing, electrical, tiling | 25 – 35% |
| Appliances | 10 – 20% |
| Benchtop (engineered stone) | 10 – 15% |
Indicative split for a Sydney apartment kitchen, consistent with Australian renovation cost guides that put custom cabinetry at 30 to 40 percent and labour at 40 to 50 percent of the total.
“We paid ~$30K a few months ago for a new kitchen including stone.”
“The entire thing ended up costing $18k and was done only a few weeks ago. Keep in mind this is for all cabinets, delivery, demolition.”
Why an apartment kitchen costs more than a house kitchen
The same kitchen costs more in an apartment than in a house, and it has little to do with the joinery. It is the building. Three things move the price, and most cost guides skip all of them.
1. Access and the galley footprint
Materials and old cabinetry go up and down in a shared lift on a booked slot, not through a back door. Rubbish has to be carried out the same way. Most apartment kitchens are galley or U-shaped, which is efficient to cook in but fiddly to fit out, because every cabinet is custom-made to the millimetre to use a tight footprint well. That precision is part of what you pay for.
2. Strata, the moment you move the plumbing
A like-for-like kitchen swap, keeping the sink and appliances where they are, is usually minor work that needs an ordinary resolution from the owners corporation but no registered by-law. The moment you relocate the sink or dishwasher, change electrical circuits, or take out a wall to open the kitchen up, the job can tip into major work that needs a special resolution and a by-law. That adds cost and weeks to the timeline, so it pays to know which side of the line your kitchen sits on before you design it.
Moving the sink is not just a plumbing job
3. Restricted work hours
Most buildings allow noisy work only on weekdays, often 8am to 4pm, with no weekends. That removes the catch-up days a house renovation relies on and stretches the calendar, which is a real holding cost on a kitchen that leaves you without a working bench for a few weeks.
This is the part we handle. In 30 years and 1,000+ Sydney apartments, our strata approval rate is 100 percent. We confirm whether your kitchen is minor or major work, prepare any by-law, book the lift, work to the building's hours, and quote it fixed-price, so the surprises sit with us, not you.
A real Sydney apartment kitchen
Our Bondi apartment kitchen is a good example of the mid-range tier in practice: a galley footprint in an Eastern Suburbs unit, rebuilt with floor-to-ceiling handleless cabinetry, terrazzo-look engineered stone across the benchtop and splashback, gas cooking, and integrated appliances. The layout stayed put, which kept it in the minor-works category and kept the cost in check.
Case study
Bondi apartment galley kitchen
A compact Eastern Suburbs galley kitchen rebuilt with handleless cabinetry, terrazzo-look stone and integrated appliances.
2026 Sydney Apartment Renovation Price Guide
Real per-room costs, the full strata cost checklist, and the questions to ask before you sign. Sent straight to your inbox.
How to budget without nasty surprises
- 1. Lock the joinery layout before work starts. Changing the cabinetry mid-build is the fastest way to blow the budget.
- 2. Decide early whether you are moving the sink. Keeping the layout keeps you in minor works and saves both money and approval time.
- 3. Carry a 10 to 15 percent contingency. Older blocks hide dated wiring and plumbing behind the cabinets.
- 4. Get a fixed-price quote, not an estimate, and check the cabinetry, appliances, and trades are all in it before you compare.
Get a fixed-price quote for your apartment kitchen
30 years of Sydney apartment and strata kitchens. We handle the approval, the access, and the build. Fixed price, no surprises.
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Apartment kitchen renovations Sydney
Custom apartment kitchens by a 30-year strata specialist. Fixed price, strata handled, from $18,000.
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How much does a full apartment renovation cost in Sydney?
Whole-apartment prices by size and by room, plus the strata and access costs no other guide spells out.