Design Plus Kitchens

What decides the cost of a kitchen in the UAE

The six things that move the price of a custom kitchen up or down, and how to read two quotes so you can compare them fairly.

27 October 2026

There is no list price for a custom kitchen, and anyone who gives you one over the phone is quoting a different kitchen from the one you are describing. The cost follows a handful of decisions, and once you know what they are you can steer the number instead of waiting for it.

1. The run, not the room

Kitchens are priced by how many metres of cabinetry they carry, not by the floor area of the room. A large room with one wall of units costs less than a small room packed on three sides. An island adds its own run, and adds two sides of it when it carries storage front and back.

2. Height

Taking the upper units to the ceiling instead of stopping at the usual height adds material and labour, and adds storage that most kitchens turn out to need. It is one of the few places where spending more returns something you use every week rather than something you only look at.

3. The fronts, and what is behind them

The doors and drawer fronts are what you see and touch, and they carry a wide range of prices. The bodies behind them matter more for how long the kitchen lasts. The sensible order is to settle the body first and spend what is left on the fronts, not the other way round.

4. The counter

Counters are quoted separately, and the gap between the cheapest and the dearest option is often the single largest line in the whole kitchen. Decide it early, because it also affects the cabinet below: a heavy surface needs support that a light one does not.

5. What is inside the cabinet

Hinges, drawer runners, internal organisers, lighting and corner mechanisms are the parts you open and close thousands of times. They are also the easiest place for one quote to be quietly cheaper than another. When you compare two prices, compare these before you compare the doors.

6. Appliances

Appliances can be supplied with the kitchen or bought separately. Either works, but the models have to be settled before cutting starts, because the cabinetry is made to the actual units. A fridge chosen after the drawings are approved is a change that costs more than the fridge.

How to compare two quotes

Ask for both itemised. A single total tells you nothing, and two totals that look close can hide very different kitchens. Ask each supplier to state what the cabinet bodies are made of, which hardware is used, whether installation is included, and what the warranty covers.

One more question is worth asking: who installs it. A kitchen made well and fitted badly is a badly fitted kitchen. At Design Plus the same team that makes it installs it, which is also why there is one party to call if something needs adjusting afterwards.

A delivered kitchen with a centre island