The fastest of these projects at six weeks, and the reason is straightforward: the services stayed where they were. A full gut, everything stripped back, but no gas, water or waste rerouted.
That is the single biggest lever on a kitchen schedule. Moving appliances means rough-in, inspection, and waiting on trades in sequence. Leaving a working layout alone removes weeks from the calendar and puts the money into cabinetry and stone instead.
Custom cabinetry
Built for the room rather than assembled from standard widths. The advantage shows in the places you do not consciously notice — no filler strips where a run does not divide evenly, no dead space above the uppers, and cabinetry that meets walls which are rarely as square as they look.
Quartzite, counter and wall
Quartzite counters, with the same stone carried up the wall as the backsplash. Running the slab vertically is a deliberate detail and a demanding one: the veining has to be matched across the joint so the two read as one continuous piece rather than as separate slabs meeting at a corner.
It also removes grout from behind the range, which is the part of any kitchen that takes the most splashing and the most scrubbing. Fewer joints, less to clean, and a wall that reads as stone rather than as tile.
Quartzite is quarried, so each slab is unique and worth seeing in person before it is cut. It also handles a hot pan in a way engineered quartz does not.
Flooring
New luxury vinyl plank. Waterproof, which matters in a room where spills are routine, and warmer and quieter underfoot than tile.
The result
A complete rebuild inside the existing footprint, finished in six weeks because nothing needed relocating. The budget went where it shows: custom cabinetry and stone from counter to ceiling.
