Kitchen Remodeling in San Diego

Kitchen remodeling at a glance

Written by Tomer Turjeman, founder of Seven Home Improvement (CSLB #1078564). Updated October 2026.

Starting price	Refresh from $20,000. Full remodel from $45,000. Custom from $90,000.
Construction time	4 to 8 weeks, after design and permits
Permits	Needed when plumbing, electrical, gas or walls change. We pull them and schedule inspections.
Design	Layout and 3D renderings before demolition, plus blueprints and engineering when the work needs city approval. You get the design price in writing before design starts.
Price you sign	A written scope and a fixed price before work starts. Any change, including one found behind a wall, is agreed in writing first
Warranty	1 year on workmanship, in writing in your contract. Manufacturers' warranties pass on to you
Where	San Diego County, most often Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Poway and North County

Kitchens before and after

Three of our kitchens, before and after. On the first one, drag the slider or use the arrow keys to compare.

Santaluz kitchen before the remodel, with dark stained cabinets, a wood range hood, tumbled stone floors and a granite island with three counter stools — Kitchen, Santaluz: the cabinets painted, with new counters, a new backsplash, brass pendants and wood floors

The same Santaluz kitchen after the remodel, with cream cabinets, a smooth white range hood, a patterned tile backsplash, black window frames, brass pendants, light wood floors and a new stone island top — Kitchen, Santaluz: the cabinets painted, with new counters, a new backsplash, brass pendants and wood floors

Carlsbad kitchen before, with honey oak cabinets and brown granite — Kitchen, Carlsbad: honey oak and brown granite replaced with white shaker cabinets, a blue island and quartz

The same Carlsbad kitchen after, with white shaker cabinets, a blue island and a white veined countertop — Kitchen, Carlsbad: honey oak and brown granite replaced with white shaker cabinets, a blue island and quartz

Carmel Valley kitchen before, with stained wood cabinets and a Tuscan tile floor — Kitchen, Carmel Valley: Tuscan tile and honey cabinets replaced with painted gray cabinets, quartzite and a marble hex backsplash

The same Carmel Valley kitchen after, with gray painted cabinets, a charcoal island and wood floors — Kitchen, Carmel Valley: Tuscan tile and honey cabinets replaced with painted gray cabinets, quartzite and a marble hex backsplash

Does your kitchen look like the before photos? We’ll come out, look at your space and talk it through.

Book a free consultation

What a kitchen remodel costs

These are our 2026 starting prices. Where your kitchen lands depends on the layout, the cabinets and what’s behind the walls.

Kitchen refresh

New cabinet fronts or refinish, countertops, backsplash, fixtures and lighting. Existing layout stays.

from $20,000

Full kitchen remodel

Down to the studs: cabinetry, counters, flooring, lighting, plumbing and electrical, with layout changes where they make sense.

from $45,000

Custom kitchen

Fully custom cabinetry, structural changes such as wall removal, premium materials and integrated appliances.

from $90,000

Every project is scoped and quoted individually. City permits and fees are billed separately.

What moves the price

Moving the sink, range or gas line
Taking out or opening up a wall
Upgrading the electrical panel, which many older kitchens need
Semi-custom or fully custom cabinets
Countertop material and the number of slabs
Appliances, especially panel-ready or built-in units

How long it takes

Construction usually runs 4 to 8 weeks from the start date. Design and permits come first, and the timing depends on the scope and on which city reviews the plans. You get a written schedule before work begins.

Financing options

What a kitchen remodel includes

Design, permits and every trade in the kitchen, coordinated by one company.

Cabinets and storage

Semi-custom lines for most budgets, or custom boxes built to the room. Custom often pays off in older homes, where walls and floors are rarely square. Full-height cabinets and a tall pantry wall add storage without moving plumbing.

Countertops

Quartz, granite, marble, porcelain slab and butcher block. We’ll tell you how each one holds up to daily cooking and what it needs in upkeep.

Layout and islands

New islands, bigger islands and reworked layouts. We check clearances at design so there’s room to open the dishwasher and walk past.

Opening up walls

If the wall is load-bearing, an engineer sizes the beam and we pull a structural permit. The ceiling is patched so you can’t tell where the wall was.

Lighting and electrical

Recessed lights, under-cabinet lights, pendants and dedicated appliance circuits. If the panel is undersized, we find out at the consultation.

Plumbing and appliances

Relocated sinks, pot fillers, island plumbing, range hoods vented outside and panel-ready appliances, all permitted and inspected.

What one of our kitchen remodels included

This is the white shaker kitchen in the photo at the top of this page.

Layout	We removed the dividing wall under the island and reworked the plumbing so the wall could come out.
Cabinets	Semi-custom white shaker cabinets, with a third row of glass-door cabinets above the uppers. The gap between the pantry cabinets and the ceiling was framed and drywalled.
Island	Fully custom island cabinets in stained wood
Lighting	The three old pendants came down, and we ran power for two new pendants lined up over the new island.
Counters	Templated from the installed cabinets, then installed with the backsplash. Sink, faucet and appliances connected.
During the work	The living room stayed sealed off behind plastic.

See the white shaker kitchen

The same white shaker kitchen: the stained wood island under two black pendants, the range wall, and glass-door cabinets above the uppers — White shaker kitchen remodel, San Diego County

Updating an older San Diego kitchen

A lot of the kitchens we remodel are in houses built from the 1960s through the 1980s. They tend to be closed off from the living room, short on counter space and lit by a single ceiling fixture. The fix depends on the layout you start with.

Galley kitchens

We usually keep the two runs and gain storage with full-height cabinets, then add good task lighting along both sides.

L-shaped kitchens

These often have room for an island or a tall pantry wall, which adds counter space without moving plumbing.

Closed kitchens

Opening the wall to the family room is one of the most common changes our clients ask for. It needs engineering if the wall carries load, and it changes how the whole floor feels.

Compare kitchen costs

Kitchen in a Scripps Ranch remodel, with a pro-style range and wine fridge under a plaster hood, a slab backsplash and a waterfall island

See your kitchen before we build it

Every kitchen we design is drawn in 3D first. You can walk around the island, check the cabinet layout and try different counters and finishes on screen, and change your mind while it costs nothing.

The first picture is a 3D design, not a photo, for a kitchen in Rancho Santa Fe that we’re building now. The pair after it puts the 3D layout we drew for a kitchen in Oceanside next to a photo of the kitchen we built from those drawings.

How design-build works

3D design of a kitchen with a concrete-look quartz waterfall island, dark wood drawers, a quartzite backsplash and hood, and stacked wall ovens — 3D design for a kitchen in Rancho Santa Fe, now in construction

3D layout design of a white shaker kitchen with an island, a window over the sink, a range and a chimney hood — Oceanside kitchen: the 3D layout design and the finished room

The finished Oceanside kitchen, with white shaker cabinets, a slide-in range, a chimney hood and a gray glossy tile backsplash — Oceanside kitchen: the 3D layout design and the finished room

What kitchen clients say

4.9 out of 5 starson Google (28) (opens in a new tab)5.0on Houzz (14) (opens in a new tab)5.0on Yelp (11) (opens in a new tab)Read all reviews

“Seven does great work and stands behind their workmanship!”

M. V. · Kitchen, then a primary bathroom, EscondidoNextdoor, June 2026

“A very comprehensive renovation done efficiently, timely, and at a reasonable price.”

Mark V. · Kitchen remodelYelp, March 2022

“Even after the project was completed, they followed up to ensure that everything met my expectations.”

Ryoko C. · Kitchen remodelBBB, January 2024

“He quoted a little less than most of the other companies I spoke with and he was honest and helpful throughout the entire process.”

Kirk F. · Kitchen remodelGoogle, July 2022

“We have been waiting a long time to remodel our kitchen, and wow was this worth the wait!”

Safeena A. · Kitchen remodelYelp, July 2022

“I can’t say enough good things about our experience with Seven Home Improvement!”

Ben S. · Whole-home remodel: kitchen and three bathrooms, La JollaGoogle, June 2025

Kitchen remodeling questions

How much does a kitchen remodel cost in San Diego?

Our kitchen refreshes start at $20,000, full remodels at $45,000 and custom kitchens at $90,000. The biggest factors are layout changes, cabinet quality, countertops and electrical upgrades. City permit fees are billed separately.

How long does a kitchen remodel take?

Construction usually takes 4 to 8 weeks from the start date. A refresh that keeps the layout is at the short end. Moving walls, plumbing or gas is at the long end. Design and permits happen before construction starts.

Can we live at home during the remodel?

Most families do. We close off the work area, protect the floors, and help you set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else in the house.

Do I need a permit to remodel my kitchen?

If the work touches plumbing, electrical, gas or walls, yes. We pull the permits and schedule the inspections as your licensed contractor under CSLB #1078564.

What warranty do you offer?

Every project comes with our written warranty: 1 year on our workmanship, starting when the work is substantially complete. If a defect in our work shows up in that year, let us know in writing and we’ll fix it at no charge. Materials, fixtures and appliances carry their manufacturers' warranties, which we pass on to you. The full terms, including what isn’t covered, are in your contract. You can read the current wording on our client care and warranty page.

Do you work with specific cabinet or countertop brands?

No. We pick cabinets, counters and fixtures to fit your budget and design, and we’ll walk you through the options at the design stage.

Recent kitchens

Kitchen remodel in Serra Mesa

Navy shaker cabinets, a long quartz island, floating wood shelves and a professional range.

See the project: Kitchen remodel in Serra Mesa

Kitchen and fireplace remodel in Oceanside

We installed new semi-custom cabinets, countertops and backsplash, and built a new fireplace wall in black and gold porcelain in the living area. The scope grew to include framing, plumbing, new lights and doors.

See the project: Kitchen and fireplace remodel in Oceanside

Kitchen remodel in San Diego County

White shaker cabinets around a wood-tone island with black pendant lights.

See the project: White shaker kitchen remodel in San Diego County

Kitchen remodel in Lakeside

Sage lower cabinets, white uppers, new oak floors and a coffee nook, under the home’s original wood beam ceiling.

Before & after

Whole-home remodel in Carlsbad

We drew the plans and remodeled this Carlsbad home: an opened-up kitchen with a blue island, a rebuilt staircase with a black metal railing, new windows and doors, and new floors throughout.

See the project: Whole-home remodel in Carlsbad