Four doors and no wall
The defining Wilmette bungalow problem. Rationalising the back door, the basement entry and the dining room opening is what creates a continuous run for cabinetry, and it is worth far more than any upgrade in finish.
Wilmette
Kitchen Remodeling in Wilmette, IL
A Wilmette bungalow kitchen is a small rear room with four doors in it. Winning back wall is worth more here than any finish, and it is usually possible without extending.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured · Serving Wilmette and the surrounding area
In Short
A full kitchen remodel in Wilmette typically runs $36,000 to $60,000 keeping the layout and $70,000 to $115,000 for a gut that removes a wall, and takes six to ten weeks on site. Permits are issued by the Village of Wilmette at 1200 Wilmette Avenue. In the bungalow belt the constraint is almost never floor area — it is the number of openings. A typical rear kitchen here has a back door, a basement door, a dining room opening and a window, which leaves very little continuous wall for cabinetry, and rationalising those doors is what makes the room work.
Layout kept
$36k – $60k
Gut with a wall removed
$70k – $115k
Time on site
6 – 10 weeks
Permits issued by
Village of Wilmette
Kitchen Remodeling
What a Wilmette kitchen remodel actually involves
The Chicago-style bungalows and modest Colonials that make up most of Wilmette east of Ridge were built between 1915 and 1935 on forty- and fifty-foot lots. The kitchen sits at the rear, next to the back porch and the basement stair, and it is connected to everything.
Measure one and the floor area is usually adequate. What is missing is wall. A back door, a basement door, an opening to the dining room and a window on the side elevation can consume three of the four walls, which is why these kitchens feel cramped even when they are not especially small.
So the first thing we look at is not the cabinets, it is the doors. Moving a basement stair entry, reworking the back door into the rear porch, or turning a doorway to the dining room into a wide cased opening will often gain a full run of units. That is a carpentry and structural question, and it is what separates a good Wilmette kitchen from a freshly painted bad one.
Your House
Find your house, and you will find your project
Wilmette is more uniform than its neighbours, so the kitchen problem repeats — and so does the solution.
| Era and style | What we find on site | What the project becomes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915–1935 — Chicago-style brick bungalows | A small rear kitchen with a back door, a basement door, a dining room opening and a side window, cast-iron waste, and a 1920s service. | Doors rationalised to create a continuous run, a wide cased opening to the dining room, and a service upgrade. | $70k – $105k |
| 1920–1935 — Colonials and Dutch Colonials | A slightly larger rear kitchen, sometimes a small pantry, a rear stair beside it, plaster on lath throughout. | Gut with the pantry absorbed and the wall to the dining room opened where it is not carrying. | $74k – $115k |
| 1950s–1965 — ranches west of Ridge | A kitchen closed off from the family room by a non-structural wall, dropped soffits hiding ducts, copper supply already in. | Open to the family room, lose the soffits, replan around a peninsula or island. The best value in the village. | $36k – $58k |
| 1990s–present — rebuilds and rear additions | Open plan already in place, adequate service, engineered joists, finishes that have dated. | Finish upgrade, with the island, stone and appliances driving the number. | $40k – $70k |
On Site
What we find behind the walls in this village
These are the conditions that decide the schedule and the contingency on a job in Wilmette. We price around them rather than discovering them.
The wall to the dining room
Sometimes it carries the floor above and sometimes it does not, and in a bungalow it is not obvious from either side. A bearing wall means a sized beam, posts to a bearing point and an engineer’s letter with the permit.
An electrical service built for 1925
A kitchen wired for one light and an icebox will not carry modern appliances. In a bungalow that has never had a service upgrade the panel is the real constraint, and we check it on the first visit rather than at rough-in.
Cast-iron waste and the sink under the window
The sink is where the original waste run reaches, not where it is useful. Moving it means a new run with proper fall inside the floor; in these houses that is usually available, but it is checked from the basement before it is drawn.
Ducting a hood out through brick
A real extract needs a duct to outside air, and in a brick bungalow the route is short but has to be planned. Where nobody plans it, a recirculating hood gets fitted and the problem stays.
Side setbacks on a forty-foot lot
Interior work is straightforward. Any new exterior opening sits close to the side setback on lots this width, so it goes through village review, and it is worth raising before the design is settled.
Budget
What drives the number in Wilmette
Ranges, not a single number. Where a project lands depends on the scope, and we say which band we think you are in before you commit to anything.
Cabinetry and finishes, layout kept
$36,000 – $60,000
New cabinetry, stone, backsplash, appliances, lighting and flooring with the services staying where they are. Right when the doors are already in sensible places.
Gut with an opening formed
$70,000 – $115,000
Doors rationalised, a structural opening to the dining room with a sized beam, services rerun, a service upgrade where needed, and full-height cabinetry.
Kitchen and rear of the house together
From $115,000
Kitchen, rear hall, back porch or mudroom taken as one, with plumbing and electrical rerun for the whole rear. Priced after an engineer has been.
Where It Goes
Where the money actually goes
Cabinetry is the largest single line in almost every kitchen we build. This is how a full project divides up.
- Cabinetry 28%
- Labour and project management 26%
- Countertops and backsplash 11%
- Structural work and openings 9%
- Appliances 9%
- Plumbing and electrical rough-in 8%
- Flooring and finishes 6%
- Permits, engineering and protection 3%
Based on an $82,000 project, the midpoint of what we actually build here. Cabinetry takes a larger share in a bungalow than the percentage suggests, because winning back wall means more of it and much of it is made to fit rather than bought off a shelf.
Process
How the job runs
Consultation on site
We look at the wall, at the ceiling below it where we can, and at the electrical panel. You get an honest read on what can move and what cannot.
Scope, drawings and a fixed price
Including a structural engineer where a wall is coming out, so the beam is sized before the price is set rather than after.
Permit filed for you
Submitted to the Village of Wilmette at 1200 Wilmette Avenue. We prepare and lodge it, and we tell you which route your project is on before you commit.
Demolition, structure and rough-in
Any beam goes in, services are rerun, and everything is inspected before it is closed. A change to the price happens here, with the wall open, not at the end.
Cabinetry, stone and finish
Cabinets set and scribed to walls that are rarely square, stone templated on site after the boxes are in, then appliances, backsplash and lighting.
Snag list and final inspection
We walk the room with you, write the list, and close it out before the final invoice.
Planning a kitchen remodeling project in Wilmette?
Tell us about the property and what you want to change. We will walk the space, look at what is behind the walls, and come back with a written scope, a schedule and a price.
FAQ
Kitchen Remodeling in Wilmette: Common Questions
How much does a kitchen remodel cost in Wilmette?
Keeping the layout and replacing cabinetry, stone, appliances and finishes generally runs $36,000 to $60,000. A gut that rationalises the doors and opens the room to the dining room is usually $70,000 to $115,000. Wilmette sits a little below Winnetka and Glencoe because the houses and the rooms are smaller.
My bungalow kitchen has four doors. What can be done?
This is the standard Wilmette project. Typically the basement entry can be moved or reworked, the back door can be rehung or relocated into the rear porch, and the dining room doorway can become a wide cased opening. Any one of those gains a run of cabinetry; together they usually transform the room without touching the footprint.
Can the wall to the dining room come out?
Often, but it needs checking. In a bungalow it is not obvious from either side whether that wall is carrying the floor above. If it is, the work needs a sized beam, posts down to a bearing point and an engineer’s letter with the permit. We arrange the engineering in the scope so the price is set before you commit.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in Wilmette?
Yes. The Village of Wilmette requires a building permit for kitchen work that alters plumbing, electrical or structure. Applications go to 1200 Wilmette Avenue and the work is inspected at rough-in and at completion. We handle the filing.
Will our electrical service cope?
In a bungalow that has never been upgraded, usually not. Modern appliances need dedicated circuits and spare capacity in the panel. We check the service at the first visit, because a service upgrade is a cost you want to know about before choosing an induction hob.
Can we have an island?
In a bungalow, often a peninsula works better than an island — there is rarely enough width for a walkway on both sides. Where an island does fit, moving the sink or a hob to it needs a waste run with proper fall inside the floor, which we check from the basement first.
How long will we be without a kitchen?
Six to ten weeks for a full remodel. A structural opening adds about a week for the beam and its inspection. Cabinetry lead time is the other driver, so that order goes in before demolition starts.
Which other towns do you cover?
Wilmette sits between Evanston and Winnetka in our densest area. Glencoe, Highland Park, Morton Grove, Park Ridge and Lake Forest are all regular ground for the same crews.
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