Planning Your Kitchen Investment

Why prices vary

A kitchen project is a set of decisions, not a product on a shelf.

What a kitchen costs depends on the home, the brief and the level of detail. Room size, layout complexity, the cabinetry system and finishes, the appliance specification, the worktops and surfaces, the installation, any building work or services that have to follow the design, the special details a project asks for, and any furniture beyond the kitchen all play a part. None of these is fixed in isolation; each one moves the others.

The honest answer to "what does a piqu kitchen cost?" is that the studio writes a costed proposal once the brief is understood, not before. The sections below explain the decisions that move the figure most, so the first conversation can be a useful one.

Cabinetry and layout

The structure under everything else.

Cabinetry is not a door style. It is a system that has to hold storage, integrate appliances, support worktops, reach the ceiling cleanly, and behave the same way in ten years as it does on the day it is fitted. The finish chosen — matt lacquer, woodgrain, real-wood veneer, glass, Fenix — sits on top of decisions about height, runs, internal planning, hardware family and how the elevation breaks across the room. Leicht is piqu's lead cabinetry partner because the system supports that level of consideration consistently across the range.

Layout complexity matters too. A simple replacement in a single room is a different project from a tall single-elevation cabinetry wall with a concealed passage door, a deep drinks niche and an integrated appliance bank. More design and more coordination cost more time; that time is part of the figure.

Appliances

Specified early, so the rest of the kitchen follows.

Gaggenau appliances can significantly affect the specification of a kitchen project, both because of the appliances themselves and because of how they sit inside the cabinetry. The combi steam ovens, warming drawers, wine cabinets, cooling cabinets and 400-Series cooktops are engineered for serious cooking; the finishes are restrained enough to belong inside the elevation rather than on top of it; and the range is wide enough that a project can find what it actually needs.

Bora downdraft cooktops are specified where overhead extraction would compromise the room. Siemens features where another brand suits the brief. The point is the same in every case: appliance planning happens in the first design sessions, not as a top-up at the end. Layout, services, ventilation and cabinetry all follow from it.

Worktops, materials and details

What you touch, what you see, what you live with every day.

Worktop material is one of the more visible cost drivers. Stainless steel, quartzite, Dekton, stone and timber all have different fabrication, installation and long-term-use profiles. Edge details, upstands, splashbacks, integrated drinks niches and the proportion and shape of the island or peninsula all move the figure as well.

The right material choice depends on how the kitchen is actually going to be used. A heavy-use family kitchen has different priorities from a quiet apartment kitchen built around two cooks and a clean elevation. The conversation about worktops happens alongside the cabinetry conversation, not afterwards.

Installation and coordination

How the kitchen actually gets into the room.

Installation quality matters as much as the cabinetry it fits. The studio's installers fit Leicht to the standard the makers expect, and Adrian is on site through the installation to sign off the final finish.

Project context affects the figure too. Some kitchens go into existing rooms with no other building work. Some sit inside extensions, basements, apartments or wider renovations, with services to run, walls to move or access to plan around. Coordination with the client's builder, architect, interior designer or building manager is part of the design where it is needed, and is part of the figure where it is involved.

How piqu talks about investment

Openly, while the design is being decided.

piqu discusses investment openly during the design process. The point of the conversation is to make sure each client understands what is driving the cost, where the value sits and which decisions are worth prioritising — so the budget reflects what the project actually needs.

What follows is a measured conversation in the showroom, with the cabinetry and finishes in front of you, where the trade-offs are visible and the choices can be made in the open. Drawings, a full specification and a written quote follow once the brief is understood.

Approximate investment range

A starting point for the first conversation.

The contact form includes an investment-range question. It simply helps Adrian understand the scale of the project and give more useful guidance — choosing the band closest to what you have in mind is enough to begin, and it can always be refined in conversation.

Relevant projects

Different projects shape investment in different ways.

The featured case studies cover different homes and different drivers. Each one is the kind of project that benefits from this conversation in person, rather than from a public price list.

Hever Colour & Stainless Steel Kitchen — a tall single-elevation Leicht wall, a concealed Leicht passage door to the utility, a continuous stainless steel peninsula and a Bora cooktop. The level of cabinetry detail and the worktop choice are the dominant drivers.

Clapham Quartzite & Timber Kitchen — a new-build apartment with striking views, Cosmopolitan Quartzite, oak routed timber and a connected lounge media unit. Worktop choice, finish, the connected-furniture scope and apartment-build logistics all contribute.

Keston Dark Timber & Gaggenau Kitchen — a family-first kitchen and living-area redesign in Leicht Bahia, light bronze, Platino quartzite and a full Gaggenau appliance specification. Whole-room scope, full Gaggenau line-up and the worktop are the dominant drivers.

Hammersmith Stainless Steel Island Kitchen — a compact terrace kitchen built around a handmade solid stainless steel island, matt black Fenix Leicht cabinetry and a glass-box detail linking the kitchen to the basement. Bespoke fabrication, the island construction and the architectural detail are the dominant drivers.

Oxted HUF HAUS Kitchen & Laundry — a sequence of connected spaces in a HUF HAUS home: the main kitchen, a compact basement kitchen and a refined laundry. Multi-space scope and architectural coordination are the dominant drivers.