How much does a custom kitchen cost in Dubai? What really moves the price

How is a custom kitchen priced in the UAE?

Forget the magic number per metre for a moment. A kitchen quote you can actually check is a list. Each cabinet is a line with its width and its board. The fronts are priced by the square metre of door and drawer you can see. The countertop goes by the metre, the hinges and runners by the piece, and delivery and fitting close the list.

Add the lines up and you have your kitchen. Change one thing, say the fronts, and only the fronts line moves. You can see where every dirham goes before you commit to any of them.

One more line sits at the bottom. VAT in the UAE has been charged at a standard rate of 5% since January 2018, so check whether the total you are reading includes it.

Source: UAE Ministry of Finance: Tax

What moves the price of a kitchen most?

Some choices barely touch the total. Others swing it. These are the ones that matter, using the options in our kitchen planner, with the lighter choice first and the heavier one second.

Why do the fronts change the total so much?

Fronts are what you see, and there are a lot of them. In a kitchen with long walls, doors and drawer fronts add up to several square metres, so the price per square metre of the finish gets multiplied many times.

Melamine usually sits at the lighter end. The UK maker DIY Kitchens priced the same ten units in different door materials, and melamine came out cheapest, with lacquered MDF above it. Oak veneer is a thin layer of real wood, so the grain is a little different on every door. If you love the look of lacquer but the budget is tight, keep it for the doors you see from the living room and use melamine inside the tall pantry.

Source: DIY Kitchens: Kitchen doors, style vs cost

Quartz, marble or compact laminate: which countertop costs more?

One UK worktop guide places compact laminate above standard laminate on price but below quartz or granite. It has a water resistant solid core, which helps around the sink. Quartz needs no oiling or sealing and stands up well to scratches and chips.

Marble is the romantic choice. It feels cool, which pastry lovers adore, but it is soft, it stains and scratches more easily, and it needs regular professional sealing. In a busy family kitchen where the karak gets spilled every morning, that care counts as much as the price. Whatever you choose, we measure the countertop for cutting once the cabinets are in, so it follows your walls.

Source: Screwfix: Kitchen worktop buying guide

Price per running metre or line by line?

A rate per running metre is handy for a first idea of budget. It is a poor way to compare offers, because a metre of deep drawers and a metre of open wall are very different things, and the rate rarely says which board, hinges or countertop it assumes.

If a maker gives you a metre rate, ask for the same kitchen broken into lines. Then put the quotes side by side. Here is how to compare kitchen quotes without getting lost in the totals.

What is usually missing from a cheap kitchen quote?

When one quote lands far below the others, read what it leaves out. The usual suspects are thinner board in the sink cabinet, basic hinges, a countertop priced without the cut outs for the sink and hob, and no plinth, fillers or end panels. Installation and the removal of your old kitchen sometimes vanish too.

Our standard is written down so you can hold any quote against it: 18 mm moisture resistant board with warm wood grain inside, 1 mm edge banding on every visible edge, and soft close hinges and full extension runners on every door and drawer.

When is the price of your kitchen fixed?

Start with a sketch. Pick a shape, type in your wall lengths and choose fronts and a countertop to get a kitchen cost estimate, then send the design to us. A photo and rough sizes on WhatsApp work too. We reply with an estimate.

Then comes the site visit, which is free. We measure, photograph the room and ask how you cook. After it you get a firm quote, and that price does not change unless you change the design. If you do change something later, the change is priced before it is made.

How do you pay for a kitchen at Ajusteur?

In three stages: 50% to start, 25% on delivery to site and 25% at the end of installation. The first payment follows your approval of the quote. Record any defects or unfinished items separately with the coordinator; payment does not close those obligations.

Want the bigger picture? Here is why made to fit furniture costs more than a catalogue kitchen, and what custom kitchens in Dubai look like when every part has its own line.