I'd consider IKEA Vedhamn European Oak cabinets. That oak is widely available in wide plank flooring. Not so yet for domestic cabinets. And you'll save money for appliances and the slab backsplash. All drawer lowers. 36" is the widest offered.

I do not undestand the question allowances for all of that list are to be had from the bulder IMO no such thing as semi custom cabinets and I do a huge percentage of Ikea cabinets for my clients on a budget that is not huge. My advice it to get an independant KD to work with right from the beginning.

Head over to Livingoods’s in Bluffton and price out your appliance package. That will begin to give you a sense of where you are budget wise.

Is this new build custom? Semi-custom? Tract? Allowances will vary, depending on the answer. You'll have the most freedom to set your own allowances if it's custom. Since we have no idea about the size of your house or the kitchen, it's hard to answer the question.

Post the dimensioned layout you currently have in mind.

The build is totally custom and I gave input into what I wanted my allowances to be. However for various reasons the build had to be delayed a year and I’m afraid that now it won’t be enough. It’s 2500 sft. 4 bed 3 bath. I allowed $40000 for all cabinets and counters, $18000 for appliances, and $23000 for all flooring. I’ve priced appliances and I’m sure that will be over by about $3000-4000. I’m worried about other areas. Thanks. Not interested in IKEA I’m nowhere near one.

The 40K for the whole house will be OK for higher builder grade to lower mid grade, if you keep the upgrades under control. Aka stacked to the ceiling, paneled island ends, all the organizers and pullouts, etc If you want all of that, you will need to increase your budget. Double would be about right. That does not include counters. 12-24K would be about right for counters, depending if you want a basic stone, or an exotic quartzite. Some exitic quartzites would be even more.

The 18K for appliances is either too much for something like GE Profile, or not nearly enough for Wolf/SubZero. You need to include your ventilation needs in that, as that's something that falls through the cracks in budgeting needs. That is a vent 6" larger than the cooking surface, plus a make up air system.

23K for flooring for a 2500 sf home will not cover much but vinyl. It wont' cover a good engineered wood.

Of course you are near IKEA- they have showrooms in charlotte, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. All three hours from you. Surely you have other ‘big city’ needs in the next six months. No idea if ikea will work for you but saying there isn’t one near you isn’t true- I’m in savannah and have had ikea in my last two houses, my last two offices, clients etc. It does look like your allowances are low based on how you are describing your wishlist

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"Sorry that's not close"

Ok...well plenty of people build homes across the country and need to fly back and forth to do it, so a 3 hour drive really doesn't seem like a huge ask. If I were struggling to stay within my budget I might consider an overnight trip.

Regardless. If you don't want to take a trip to IKEA you can still build your kitchen in IKEA's online planner. The planning tool creates a shopping list for you with the total price, and that will give you a good idea of what your cabinets will cost you on the lower end of the spectrum (and will give you the plan & elevation views so even if you don't use IKEA you'll have an idea of what it looks like). FWIW we just built a dry bar in our basement using IKEA cabinets. 2 uppers and 3 lowers. That cost us about $3,500. The custom cabinet guy quoted us more than double for the same layout.

IKEA also ships, so you don't have to carry it all back to your house (and given how many boxes you end up with, shipping is your best bet even if it's down the street). You do have to meet with a designer before you buy, but I think you can even do that virtually (and it's free). So, actually you don't need to go IKEA at all to get their cabinets.

If you are having a visceral reaction against IKEA because it's IKEA and you think it's not good quality, you should reconsider.

For appliances, price them out at a retailer. Don't forget the ventilation & makeup air, especially if you are going with a high powered gas range.

For granite, go to a granite supplier and pick your slabs. It's not the same price for every slab and we have no idea what type of granite you want or how much you need, so we'd just be guessing.

Honestly, allowances make no sense for a custom build. They are only a tool for estimating & loan purposes. Since you are fully custom you have complete control over what you spend so you should just pick it all out now.

Thanks

3 hr drive to save 15 K seems worth it to me. The budget you have will IMO not even begin to do what yu want even in a simple builders house let alone a custom one .

"Looking for ideas on what kind of allowance would be appropriate?"

--and--

"I allowed $40000 for all cabinets and counters, $18000 for appliances, and $23000 for all flooring."

I don't understand the question...you are asking us what kind of allowances you should have and yet you just told us what your allowances are.

Are you really asking us what we think it will cost to do what you want to do?

Others have answered that above. For example,

• Costs will generally depend on the area you live in (High COLA or Mid COLA or Low COLA)
• Cabinets - some materials & finishes are quite a bit more than others
• Flooring - vinyl, tile, wood?
• Counter Materials - counter surfaces vary from laminate to quartz to high price-point natural stones
• Appliances - High vs Low vs Mid range for appliances (you appear to be looking at high end)

Add 50-100%.

Like everyone else above, your thought analysis foundation could change if getting the quality level you want is a serious goal. These build choices are one time endeavors with financial benefits straight to your bottom line. And the cumulative benefits will contribute to your life every day for years to come. This will be more effort on your part. You get all the reward. For a dw the Miele service tech for our area recently recommended this model, Miele - G 5051 SCVi Active Stainless Steel. – Dishwashers We installed it to replace a 15 year old Miele Diamonte. I had installed that one too. Simple.

We ended up 40% over the initial "budget" in our fully custom cost-plus build.

Partly due to covid cost increases and partly due to our builder basing his numbers on his average pre-covid project. Many of our choices were not "average" and the final costs were higher. For example we used Marvin windows and Euro-wall sliders instead of the vinyl PGT windows that are commonly used in the area, which tripled that allowance category. No regrets with our choices, as our plan is to live in the house for 20+ years.

Your builder's allowances are not reasonable for 2025. Things have gone up a nimimum of 30%. That would still not be an accurate amount for most people unless they were doing a lower end type build.

Allowances are the devil's playground. Don't do it! Specify exactly what you want (down to the exact part numbers) and get a real bid for exactly that. Yes, its a lot of decisioins up front, but you will thank yourself many times over. Allowances just lead to bad surprises and disappointment down the road when you can't afford what you want and are forced into rushed, unresearched compromises.

In my experience, custom houses have budgets not allowances . Allowances are determined solely by the builder and budgets are set up by the builder and the client together. That being said I know of no one that kept to their budget for a custom build . We were over by 75% due to a variety of factors, including poor estimating, unexpected expenses and our choices.

I just priced a 16 x 13 kitchen with an 8ft x 4ft island and it was about $54,000 per tax - cabinets ( Kraftmiad Vantage ) , counters, backsplash tile, handles , sink and faucet. I am about 45 min outside of NYC. Hope that helps a little

Congrats on the new house!

"Specify exactly what you want (down to the exact part numbers) and get a real bid for exactly that." I agree. I kept a spreadsheet with separate tabs for everything: appliances, plumbing fixtures, lights, tiles, cabinet pulls, bar stools... everything. It was helpful for tracking model numbers, prices, links, and reviews.

My builder's allowances were the basis for the estimate he had given me for the project (a whole house remodel. I got the estimate before I put a bid on the house.) I did not make all my decisions based on the allowances, but I used them for general guidelines to know when I was going over an allowance and by how much. Some areas I was in the allowance range; others I blew out of the water (lighting, hardware.)

For me, the allowances helped me make more conscious decisions about where and how much to splurge. I knew I was spending more than the estimate, but it was not the 25% that I had mentally prepared for.

The build is totally custom and I gave input into what I wanted my allowances to be.

I am confused. Is it or is it not a custom build? You say it is, so why ask about allowance, as there is no allowance for a custom build. It is your bank balance that determines what you can spend. BTW, it looks like Bosch is #1 for 2024.