What is a running foot, and why does it matter so much?

The horizontal length of the run, counting floor and wall units together. A three-metre wall with cupboards above and below is about ten running feet, not twenty. It matters because it is the unit every Kenyan kitchen quotation uses, and a total with no unit attached cannot be compared with anything.

Why are worktops and appliances quoted separately?

Because we buy them in, so they pass through us rather than being something we make. Keeping them separate lets you see what is joinery and what is procurement, and it lets you buy an appliance elsewhere without unpicking the whole quotation.

Can I have an island?

Only if the room gives 900mm clear all round, and 1,000 to 1,200mm where an appliance opens or people pass. In practice about 4.2 metres of width. Below that a peninsula gives most of the benefit with clearance on three sides instead of four. We will measure and say so before you pay for a design.

Where should I spend more, and where should I not?

The carcass and the hardware, not the doors. Marine plywood under the sink and hinges rated for the cycles they will actually see. Doors are what you see and the easiest thing to change later; a sagging hinge on a kitchen opened three times a day is the thing you live with.

Fitted kitchen prices in Kenya

Kitchens are the largest joinery ticket in most houses and not the best margin, because a large share of the money passes straight through to worktops and appliances. That is worth knowing when you compare a kitchen quotation with a wardrobe one.

Rates below are Kenyan market ranges reviewed September 2026. Indicative, not a quotation.

What a kitchen actually costs

Priced per running foot at KES 12,000 to 28,000 and above. Apartment kitchens run 10 to 14 running feet; family house kitchens 18 to 26. A mid-specification family kitchen therefore lands around KES 500,000 to 1.2 million all in.

The second table gives typical sizes so you can estimate your own room before anyone visits: measure the wall lengths that will carry units, add them, and multiply.

The three bands, and what actually separates them

Budget, around KES 12,000 to 16,000 a foot. Blockboard carcass, laminate fronts. Entirely serviceable in a dry kitchen with modest use.

Mid, around KES 16,000 to 22,000. Marine plywood carcass, MDF fronts. This is where most clients land and where the money is best spent, because it puts marine ply where water is certain and MDF where a flat sprayed finish matters.

Premium, KES 22,000 to 28,000 and above. Solid timber or high-gloss acrylic fronts, specialist hardware, internal fittings.

The honest note: the jump from budget to mid buys durability. The jump from mid to premium mostly buys appearance. Both are legitimate; they are not the same purchase.

What is nearly always excluded

Ask about every one of these, because a quotation that omits them is not cheaper, it is incomplete:

Worktops. Granite, quartz or terrazzo, templated after the units are set and levelled
Appliances, and any alteration to accommodate ones you already own
Plumbing and electrical alterations, including moving a sink or adding sockets
Tiling and splashbacks
Making good walls and floors after the old kitchen comes out
Removal and disposal of the existing kitchen

The staff kitchen

Most Karen, Runda and Muthaiga houses have one and it is consistently squeezed at the end of the budget. It wants hardwearing surfaces and simple robust hardware, which is a different brief from a scaled-down main kitchen. Price it separately from the start and it stops being the thing that gets cut.

Full detail on where to spend, and on whether your room can take an island, is on fitted kitchens.

Rates

Work	Rate	Notes
Blockboard carcass, laminate fronts	KES 12,000 – 16,000 / running ft	Budget standard
Marine plywood carcass, MDF fronts	KES 16,000 – 22,000 / running ft	Where most clients land
Solid wood or high-gloss acrylic fronts	KES 22,000 – 28,000+ / running ft	Premium

Indicative market ranges for Kenya, reviewed 2026-09, published so you can budget and compare quotes. They are not a quotation: your price is confirmed in writing after we have seen the job.

Worked examples

Work	Rate	Notes
Apartment kitchen	10 – 14 running ft	Typical Westlands or Kilimani flat
Family house kitchen	18 – 26 running ft	Typical Karen, Runda or Lavington house
Mid-spec family kitchen, all in	KES 290,000 – 570,000	18–26 ft at marine ply / MDF