HDB Kitchen Cabinet Cost Guide Singapore

Cost is the first question every homeowner asks — and for good reason. A custom kitchen cabinet is the single biggest line item in most HDB carpentry packages. This guide breaks down how quotes are built so you can understand what you're paying for (and what you can skip).

How kitchen cabinets are priced in Singapore

Most Singapore carpenters price kitchens by the linear foot — one linear foot equals one foot of cabinet length, top and bottom combined. A typical 4-room HDB L-shaped kitchen runs 10–14 linear feet.

The per-foot rate covers:

• Carcass (the structural box): usually moisture-resistant plywood in Singapore's humidity
• Doors and fronts: laminate, PET, lacquer, or veneer
• Basic hardware: hinges, handles (or handleless channels), drawer runners
• Fabrication and installation labour

What's usually not included in the per-foot rate: specialty hardware upgrades, solid surface or quartz tops, lighting, and any hacking/electrical work.

What moves the price up

Three things drive most of the variance between a baseline quote and a premium one:

1. Door material. Standard laminate is the baseline. PET is a small step up — smoother surface, better resistance to fingerprints. Lacquer or veneer doors add meaningfully to the total. Solid wood fronts (rare for kitchens) are the top tier.
2. Hardware. Blum and Hettich soft-close hinges are standard on most Singapore kitchens now — you shouldn't be paying extra for basic soft-close. What does cost extra: lift-up door mechanisms (Aventos), pull-out corner units, motorised drawers, and pantry pull-outs.
3. Complexity. An island with four exposed sides costs more than the same linear footage flat against a wall. Tall pantries (above 2.1m) require special fabrication. Glass-fronted display cabinets add layers of work.

What you can skip to save

• Handles vs handleless. Handleless routed fronts look clean but cost more per foot. Clip-on handles on a simple laminate keep the budget tight.
• Lighting. LED strips inside cabinets are lovely but easy to add later.
• Interior accessories. Baskets, dividers, and cutlery inserts can be added as accessories after handover — often cheaper than speccing them into the build.

Getting an accurate quote

A quote based only on a photo or a verbal description is a guess. What we need to give you a real number:

• A floorplan (even a rough sketch with measurements)
• A photo of the space as-is
• Your property type (HDB, condo, landed)
• Any must-haves: tall pantry, island, specific finishes, specific hardware
• A rough timeline (when you need it done)

After a free site measurement, we send an itemised quote — materials, hardware, labour, delivery, installation — usually within a day or two.

What's next

The honest answer on pricing is that every kitchen is different, so we don't list fixed prices that you'll only discover don't apply to you. Send us your floorplan on WhatsApp and we'll quote the project specifically — no obligation.

If you're still at the planning stage and unsure what you want, take a look at our recent projects for a sense of scope, materials, and typical layouts for HDB, condo, and landed kitchens in Singapore.

For deeper reading on the surrounding decisions, see the 4-room HDB renovation cost breakdown for trade-by-trade pricing, the plywood vs blockboard vs MDF guide for what's inside the cabinet, or the full pricing page for indicative ranges across every scope.