On this page
Nobody can give you an honest per-foot figure for a kitchen, and anybody who does is quoting a specification they have chosen for you rather than one you asked for. The same eight running feet of kitchen can differ by a multiple depending on decisions that are invisible in a photograph.
What is useful is knowing which decisions carry the money. There are about five, and most people underestimate two of them.
The running length sets the floor
Every additional foot is another carcass, another shutter, more board, more hardware. This part is obvious, and it is the part people plan around.
What is less obvious is that corners cost disproportionately. A corner either gets a proper mechanism to reach into it or it becomes dead space you retrieve things from with a torch. Corner units are sized to specific cabinet widths and cannot sensibly be retrofitted, so that decision belongs at the carcass stage. A kitchen with two corners is not the same job as a straight run of the same length.
Doors versus drawers is the biggest single lever
This is the one that surprises people.
A door is a panel on two hinges. A drawer is a box — sides, base, back — on a runner system rated to carry load. The hardware alone is several times the cost, before the extra board.
Drawers are worth it where they earn it: the cabinets you open every day, pots and pans, cutlery, everything below counter height where reaching into the back of a deep cupboard is the daily annoyance. They are hard to justify in a tall cabinet holding things you touch twice a year.
Shifting a kitchen from mostly-doors to mostly-drawers can move the total more than upgrading every shutter finish would.
Finish moves the sheet price more than the board does
Once the layout is fixed, the shutters are the next largest line.
Across the Alnoor Lasani ranges we carry, a textured or high-gloss decor is not priced like a flat solid colour. If a budget needs to come down and the layout is already settled, the finish is the honest lever — and it is a lever you can pull selectively. Putting a more expensive finish on the run people see and a plainer one on a utility wall is a normal, sensible split that nobody notices.
What drives the underlying board rates is covered separately in what actually drives board prices.
Hardware is where quotes quietly diverge
Two quotes can describe the same kitchen and differ substantially because one includes soft-closing hinges and proper runners and the other does not.
This is worth being deliberate about rather than letting it be decided by whatever is left in the budget. Hinges and runners are the components under daily mechanical load, they are what fails first, and replacing them later means taking a finished kitchen apart. The kitchen accessories guide covers the Wellmax range we carry and what fits which cabinet width.
Baskets, waste units, spice storage and organisers sit on top of that. Each is individually modest and collectively significant, which is exactly why they get left off an early estimate and then reappear.
Edge banding is the invisible line item
Every cut edge on a fibreboard panel needs sealing. Done properly across a whole kitchen, that is real labour and real material. Skipped on the edges nobody sees, it saves money now and produces a swollen cabinet under the sink later.
It rarely appears as a line on a quote. Ask about it anyway — the answer tells you which kind of quote you are holding.
Where to be generous and where to economise
Spend on the parts that move and the parts that meet water: hinges, runners, the board and shutters around the sink and any wet utility area.
Economise on finish in low-visibility runs, on drawers in cabinets you rarely open, and on grade for board that is hidden and dry. Our board comparison covers which board actually belongs where, which is the difference between economising and simply buying cheap.
Getting a real number
Bring measurements — the run, ceiling height, where the sink, hob, window and sockets are — plus a rough layout and the finish you are leaning towards. With that we can price materials against an actual cutting list instead of a guess. What to settle before you order lists everything worth deciding first.
We supply the materials; fitting is arranged separately with your carpenter. Estimates are free and we quote against the day's rates.
Ali Plywood Center, Purani Hattian, New Mirpur City, 10250 — next to Janjua Timber Merchant. WhatsApp +92 355 6415415 with your measurements, or send the details through.
Good to know
Questions we get asked
How much does a kitchen cost in Pakistan?
Too much depends on the specification for a single figure to be honest. The variables that move the total most are the running length of the kitchen, how many cabinets have drawers rather than doors, the shutter finish, and the quality of the hinges and runners. We quote materials against an actual cutting list rather than per foot.
Why do two kitchen quotes differ so much?
Usually the hardware and the edge treatment, neither of which appears clearly on a quote. A kitchen with ordinary hinges and unbanded internal edges can look identical to one with soft-closing hardware and fully banded edges on the day it is installed, and very different three years later. Ask what each quote includes for hinges, runners and edge banding.
Which part of a kitchen is most worth spending on?
The parts that move and the parts that meet water. Hinges and runners are used every day and replacing them later means dismantling a finished kitchen. Cabinets near the sink need board and shutters that tolerate moisture. Finish on a dry wall cabinet is the easiest place to economise.
Are drawers more expensive than doors?
Yes, because a drawer is a box on runners rather than a hinged panel, and the hardware costs more. They are generally worth it in the cabinets used daily and hard to justify in the ones opened twice a year.
Do you quote for the whole kitchen?
We supply the materials — board, panels and hardware — and quote those against your measurements. Fitting is arranged separately with a carpenter. Material estimates are free.
Still have a question? Ask us directly — we usually reply in minutes.
Ask on WhatsApp
