How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Cost in Philadelphia?

Everyone wants to get the best deal on a quality bathroom, but most people don’t know where to start when it comes to budgeting for their bathroom remodel. In this post we will look at some national cost studies, share our own pricing guide, and discuss renovation financing options.

The National Numbers

Let’s start by noting that this post is focusing on major renovations, meaning replacing cabinets, counters, fixtures, and using a contractor to do the work. Most of the sources we found also listed ‘mid range’ and ‘upscale’ in different categories, but it’s not just your taste for tile that will drive your project into ‘upscale’ pricing. Older houses often have difficult to remove tile, no insulation, and leaky lead pipes that need replacing. This will drive cost too. Lets look at some national sources:

The 2023 Cost vs Value Report by Remodeling Magazine has the average cost in the Mid Atlantic region for a bathroom remodel at $25,468 for ‘mid range’ and $78,935 for an ‘upscale’ bathroom.

Architectural Digest has the average full bath remodel running $30,000 - $40,000 and the average primary bathroom remodel ranging from $60,000 to $80,000

This bathroom cost guide by Kitchens Baths Unlimited recommends homeowners spend between 5% - 10% of their homes value on a bathroom renovation. This takes into consideration the resale value in your local area. So, on a $500,000 home, you should expect to spend between $25,000 - $50,000.

Airy Kitchens Guide to Pricing

At Airy Kitchens, we design and manage a mix of mid-range and high-end bathrooms in Philadelphia and the Main Line. Our pricing more closely reflects local labor prices in the mid to high bathroom remodel sector. Our average bathroom project total cost in 2023 was $64,739.

After hearing all of these big numbers, you’re probably ready for more detail about how they add up. Understanding the smaller expenses is a great way to budget and save for your project. Here is a handy cost guide we share with our clients:

For our guide we divide our bathrooms into basic, mid range, high end, and deluxe groups. We expect a basic bathroom to include low price hardware and materials. Our mid-range pricing includes higher quality materials and lighting. High end bathrooms include detailed custom cabinetry, luxury lighting, and the best counters. Deluxe bathrooms are larger rooms that have additional cabinetry, furniture, window coverings, and separate tub and shower enclosures. Note that the total costs don’t take into account changing your plumbing layout, replacing windows, or upgrading your homes’ plumbing. Many clients who are completing a renovation choose to add these items.

Financing Your Remodel

Okay, you’ve heard about the cost and (of course) it’s way more than you expected. So what are your options? Let’s look at five options:

Home Equity Loan (second mortgage)

Typically banks loan up to 80% of your homes value, but can loan up to 90% for a higher rate. Typically banks only consider the homes current value, not the value after the renovation. Loan term can be a full 30 years like a standard mortgage, but home owners typically choose a shorter term which gets them a better rate . Unlike a refinance, there are no considerable closing costs.

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

This loan has similar rates to a home equity loan, it can also be up to 80-90% of your total home value, and has no considerable closing costs. What makes this choice different is more flexibility. Your bank gives you an amount that you can take out, but you take the money as you need it and you don’t pay interest on the amount you haven’t drawn yet. This is a great option for projects that have a long timeframe and projects that may need additional funds. Consider taking out a larger amount loan to get a better rate even if you don’t need to use all the funds.

Home Improvement Loan or Construction Loan:

Many banks base the loan on ‘as completed value’, (value after the renovation is complete) for this type of loan, which means you may be able to borrow more. However, the bank is more involved in the whole process. They usually put the money in an escrow account and have a consultant monitor completion points and payments. This might slow the construction process down. If you are looking to purchase a fixer upper and take out a mortgage and renovation loan together, this may be the loan for you. The bank will package the mortgage and renovation loans together. Banks can also package this as a line of credit, but in the end it converts to one loan with one payment.

FHA 203K

Similar to a construction loan, the FHA 203K is geared toward the purchase of a fixer upper (often uninhabitable) and the bank is involved in the process. But now the government is involved too. Sounds fun, right? This type of loan is not really supposed to be a luxury renovation as much as a functional or livable project. More hoops to jump through will get you a better rate and the ability to borrow up to 96.5% of the ‘as completed value’. This is not available to an investor, only to homeowners and non profits.

Refinance

Home owners may want to refinance their mortgage to fund their renovation. This is a good option if your current loan has a high rate or if you want to change the length. Unlike a home equity loan, refinancing comes with closing costs. All financial information in this article is not financial advice from Airy Kitchens. Homeowners should check with a qualified loan officer to make the best decisions for their home projects.

Consider mixing luxury materials with ready-made cabinets for a high end look without breaking the bank.

If you are thinking of remodeling your kitchen or bathroom and would like to contact an Airy Kitchens designer, please visit our contact page.

Different Types of Cabinets

What are the different types of cabinets? Cabinetry creates unique interior design styles for kitchens and bathrooms. Cabinet details provide simplicity, utility, and even luxury to your space. Today we review door styles, frame styles, and cabinet customization. Can you imagine any of these cabinets in your home?

Overlay Door

An overlay door closes in front of the cabinet frame. Hinges are typically hidden on this style of cabinetry. Overlay cabinets look more contemporary and the doors help to hide seams between cabinets. See all of our door styles here.

Inset door

Inset doors close flush with the cabinet frame. Hinges can be visible or hidden. Inset cabinets offer a refined look, but door hardware may need adjusting to line everything up. Any seams between cabinets will be more visible on inset cabinets.

Shaker Cabinets

Shaker is a cabinet door style with a flat panel and simple lines. Shaker style doors can work with overlay or inset cabinets. Shaker doors feel sturdy with a solid wood frame, yet simple with clean lines.

Raised Panel Cabinets

Raised Panel doors simply have a raised panel in the middle of the door surrounded by a frame. The panel can taper on the sides or even come to a point. While this style is typically more traditional feeling, adjusting the panel and frame sizes can result in a very contemporary feel.

Slab Cabinets

Slab doors are a flat panel of wood with no frame. The slab can be a solid piece of wood, laminated wood pieces, or a synthetic material like MDF for painted cabinets. Some cabinet styles use slabs for small drawers paired with framed panels for doors and large drawers. Slab doors are often used on modern cabinets, but when paired with a panel door, they can look traditional.

Custom Cabinets

Custom cabinets are designed and built for your custom space. Shapes, sizes, door styles, and finishes can all be customized to create an inspired space. Cabinet door fronts can be used as appliance panels and brackets and feet can be added for a finished furniture look. Custom kitchen islands can be built as a single, freestanding piece, rather than separate cabinets with seams. This high-end look comes at a price, custom cabinets are typically three times the cost of ready-made. See our custom cabinets here.

Ready-made Cabinets

Budget friendly ready-made cabinets come in standard sizes and colors. Fillers and moldings can be used to make these fit your space and feel built-in. A skilled interior designer can create beautiful, unique kitchens with ready-made cabinets, but there are some limitations to what is offered. See our New England Cabinets here.

For more cabinet organizers and ideas, check out craigslist hutch before and after, and take a video tour of a custom kitchen.

How To Measure For Cabinets

If you want to instal new cabinets in your home you will have to measure your home first. Measuring is easy, you will need paper, pencil, and a measuring tape. A second person helps, but it’s possible alone.

1) First, look around the room and think about the overall shape. Draw it in the middle of your paper. Leave a blank space for doorways in the wall. Then draw lines coming off the corners of your shape so it looks like you are looking down into the room. Draw any windows, doors, vents or radiators on those walls. Do not draw appliances or cabinets that will be removed.

Next label all of the horizontal dimensions around the room. Measure from corners to any windows or doors and the distance between windows and doors. Measure the actual size of the window and door openings. Disregard moldings for now. Also measure your ceiling height. You will want to do this in every area you want cabinets because ceiling height can vary even in the same room.

Now measure the heights of doors, windows, and the height from the bottom of the window to the floor. If there is any plumbing or venting that you want to keep, note that as well. Measure the width of the window and door moldings or note if there are multiple moldings. Finally, label any door swings with a curved line.

Your drawing doesn’t have to be to scale or look neat, but you should measure accurately. Your design and cabinets will be based on your measurements, so double check! After you finish measuring take some pictures to send your designer. Try to get pictures of each wall in the room. Great job! You are one step closer to your dream kitchen.

Reducing Single Use Plastic In Your Kitchen

Let’s face it, our wasteful plastic habit is ridiculous. We’ve fallen in love with using clean, cheap, lightweight plastics and throwing them out after one use. It’s so easy to do if you choose not to think about the implications. But there are major implications, like a less beautiful environment for us, our children, and our doggies. Making plastics is a dirty business, they’re not easy to recycle, not biodegradable, and some materials are not healthy to cook or store food in either. Lets take a look at some ways to reduce plastic use in your home and how we can help design a new kitchen for the post plastic age.

Whether on display or hidden away, bulk food in jars looks prettier than plastic.

It’s All About That Bulk

Buying everyday items in bulk and with your own reusable container is probably the biggest change each of us can make. Maybe you’ve started buying trail mix or dried fruit from the bulk bin, but have you considered olive oil, spices, rice, detergents, honey, vinegar, or soap? Imagine for a minute that every plastic wrapper or bottle you buy can’t be recycled (it probably isn’t), in fact, imagine that every piece of plastic you use will end up in the ocean (it probably will). Now imagine a trip to the grocery store that doesn’t involve any plastic. It’s easy if you have the right supplies. Here are a few tips and products that will help.

Reusable produce bags will eliminate plastic bags and are easily washed. We love these from Colony Co.

Simple ball jars are great for peanut butter, grains, coffee, and dish soap. We like the Bormioli Fido jars with the blue lids for items that will be displayed, but any sealable jar will do.

Bulk spices are a great reason to get your spices organized. We bought this set of matching spice jars which came with labels and a little funnel for depositing spices.

Lunches and Leftovers.

Jars and bags might be great for bulk food, but what about leftovers? Plastic baggies, cling wrap, and plastic containers are not only wasteful, they may also be leaching toxins into your food. We found lots of great information on the subject at Life without plastic, but the main takeaways are that food is safer stored and heated in non plastic containers. Here are a few of our favorite alternatives:

Instead of plastic wrap try beeswax wrap. It’s reusable and compostable!

We like these Oxo smart seal containers for lunches. The glass base works great in the microwave, the lids are leak proof, and they are even freezer safe.

Plant wise zipper bags are a good sandwich bag alternative. They are reusable, dishwasher safe, and plastic free.

Finally, remember to bring your reusable cutlery and napkins for lunch. Single use disposable utensils and straws might seem little, but they are a huge factor in ocean pollution and street litter.

Don’t Forget the Drinks

Drink bottles and bottle caps are the second most common plastic pollutants (after cigarette butts) according to the UN Environment Program. The solution here is easy. Keep a reusable water bottle or coffee cup with you. We recommend Kleen Kanteen bottles and thermoses. Their child and adult products use interchangeable caps and lids that are also replaceable. Stainless steel is easier to manage than glass and safer for you than plastic.

Another way to reduce waste with your drinks is to invest in a mesh coffee or tea filter. Metal mesh makes it easy to dump grounds and rinse for reuse. At our showroom we purchased a coffee maker that can make a whole pot or a single cup, both with mesh filters. We avoid kurig pods because they include single use plastic that can’t be recycled.

This custom cabinetry includes pull-outs that hide compost bins and trash.

The Compostable Myth

Are you spending more on compostable bags, utensils, or other plastic alternatives? Are you still throwing these items in the landfill? Then save your money. Garbage in the landfill does not break down. Landfills were designed to store trash, keep it dry, and seal it permanently. Your compostable bamboo fork is not being composted unless you compost it yourself. Sure, some businesses or public areas might have ‘compost’ cans, but people often throw trash in them and then everything still ends up in the landfill.

The best way to compost is right in your own back yard. We have a few of these compost bins and found they were much easier to load, turn, and move then clumsy rolling drums (that tend to break). In our kitchen we keep a stainless steel compost bin on the counter and take it out daily, but some of our clients opt for a custom pull-out that can hold and hide a larger bin. For more information on eco friendly renovating, read our post Green Remodeling: 7 eco friendly tips to renovate sustainably.

As you consider reducing plastics in your life think about how to simplify and reduce your belongings in general. We can’t say that these options are easier or cheaper than single use plastics, but we think it’s worth the time and money to commit to a cleaner, healthier life. We only get one earth. We only get one body. Take care of it.