Rhode Island Kitchen Remodeling
We build beautiful, functional kitchens across Rhode Island with precision craftsmanship, professional project management, and a collaborative process from start to finish.
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As a Rhode Island general contractor, Toensing Construction designs and builds kitchen remodels for homeowners across the state, from cabinetry and layout changes to full gut renovations. Because owner Colby Toensing is a carpenter by trade and leads every project personally, custom details like cabinetry, trim, and built-ins get the same precision fit-and-finish as fine furniture, not a generic subcontracted install. Whether you are remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, we help you make informed decisions about layout, materials, and budget before any work begins.
Our Approach
The kitchen is the most used room in the house and one of the most personal. A great kitchen remodel is not just about materials and finishes. It is about understanding how your family uses the space and building something that works better every single day.
Curious what this looks like in practice? Take a look at a recent butcher block countertop installation we completed for a Rhode Island kitchen.
We manage the full project with clear communication, accurate timelines, and a clean job site throughout. You will always know where things stand. It is the same approach we bring to bathroom remodeling and every other project we take on.
Where your house is changes the job more than most people expect. A kitchen in a Newport colonial means scribing cabinetry to plaster that has not been plumb in two centuries and finding a duct path around a chimney mass. In Bristol, the kitchen was usually built as a closed-off service room, so the work starts with what the wall between it and the dining room is carrying. Barrington's mid-century capes have the opposite problem: generous footprints and a wall in exactly the wrong place. And in Warren, where our shop is, tight in-town lots mean the space has to come from inside the footprint. We work across the East Bay and throughout Rhode Island, and we walk the house before we quote it.
Scope of Work
Kitchen remodels can range from a focused refresh to a full gut renovation. Here is a look at what we typically handle.
Complete kitchen gut and rebuild, including layout changes, new plumbing and electrical rough-in coordination, and all finish work.
Built-in and semi-custom cabinetry designed and installed to maximize storage and fit your specific kitchen dimensions.
Custom island builds that add prep space, seating, and storage while anchoring the kitchen design.
Template, supply, and install coordination for stone, quartz, butcher block, and other countertop materials.
Crown molding, toe kicks, hardware installation, and finishing details that separate a good kitchen from a great one.
Updating kitchens in older homes with modern function while respecting and working with the existing architecture and character.
A kitchen remodel in Rhode Island runs from about $25,000 for a small galley refresh to $300,000 or more for a large open-concept reconfiguration, and most standard kitchen projects land between $70,000 and $120,000. Cost comes down to what has to change more than it comes down to square footage, and in a kitchen it comes down to cabinetry more than anything else. Keeping your layout and plumbing where they are costs far less than taking down a wall or running a drain to a new island. Find the scope that matches your project below, then check the typical range by kitchen size. These aren't fixed packages, they're the range most of our past projects with similar scope have landed in.
"We had Colby overhaul our kitchen which included cabinets, countertops, ceiling, and floor. Can't impress upon you enough the attention to detail which really makes the space special now. We're already planning our next project with Toensing and looking forward to the results."
How It Works
Whichever scope your project falls into above, this is how it runs. A kitchen remodel takes over the room your family actually lives in, and the hardest part for most homeowners is not knowing what happens next or when they get their kitchen back. So here is exactly what working with us as your kitchen remodel contractor in RI looks like, start to finish, before you commit to anything.
One number gets smaller as we go. You will have an estimate from the first conversation, and it narrows as more decisions get made. By the time you are asked to commit to building, there is no range left. Just one fixed price.
You will also see every payment coming. Roughly ten percent of your project goes into designing it before anyone swings a hammer, and every dollar of that comes back to you as your first construction payment when you build with us.
We ask five things: where the house is, what you want to change about the kitchen, why you are doing it now, when you would like it done, and roughly what you have set aside. We ask about budget on the first call on purpose. If your project and your budget are far apart, the kindest thing we can do is tell you in fifteen minutes instead of six weeks.
Before we hang up you will get a text confirming your appointment and exactly what to expect when we arrive, along with the pricing guide above so you can see where your project is likely to land.
What you know so far
The published range for your scope and size
We come out, measure, and look at what is actually going on behind the cabinets and under the floor. In an older Rhode Island home, what is inside the walls decides more about your budget than anything you pick out in a showroom. We check the panel, the venting path, where the waste line runs, and whether the wall you want opened is carrying load.
You will hear what we think it costs before we leave. Not a formal proposal, but a real number based on what we just saw.
Where your estimate sits now
$70,000 – $120,000 (example: standard kitchen, Full Remodel)
We document the space properly: laser measurements, photographs, appliance specifications, and where every existing service runs. Where we can, we open a small area to verify what is behind the plaster before it becomes a surprise. You get a 3D rendering of the new kitchen and a cabinetry layout you can stand in front of and react to.
This is also where we settle the hard questions. Whether that wall can come down and what it takes to carry the load. Whether your panel supports the range you want. Whether the hood can be vented where you want it, or whether the layout has to move to meet the duct.
Where your estimate sits now
$88,000 – $96,000 (same example, narrowed)
Every cabinet, every countertop edge, every fixture, every appliance, chosen and priced. We build the cabinetry design around the appliances you actually want rather than the other way around, because a 48-inch range or a panel-ready refrigerator decides the whole layout and cannot be worked in later.
You end with a complete scope document that says exactly what we are building and exactly what goes in it. Nothing is left as a vague allowance that we get to interpret in our favor six weeks from now.
One number. Fixed. It covers the scope document you just approved, and it does not move unless you change something or we open a wall and find something we photograph and you approve in writing.
If you build with us, the full ten percent you have paid so far becomes your first construction payment. If you decide not to build, the drawings, the layout, and the selections are yours to keep.
Where your estimate sits now
One number. Fixed. No range left.
We order everything and wait for the long-lead items before we touch your kitchen. Custom cabinetry can run eight to twelve weeks on its own. We would rather your kitchen stay usable during that wait than tear it out early and have you eating off a card table while we wait on a delivery truck.
Permits get pulled, trades get scheduled, and you get a start date with a finish date attached to it. This is also when we plan your temporary kitchen: where the refrigerator goes, where the microwave and the sink workaround live, and how your family gets through the next couple of months.
Demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, inspections, drywall, flooring, cabinetry, countertops, tile, appliances, paint and trim, on the dates on your schedule. One point of contact who answers the phone. Photo updates every day. Dust protection at every opening and the site swept clean every evening.
One thing worth knowing up front: countertops are templated after the cabinets are set and installed a week or two after that. So there is a stretch in the middle where you have cabinets and no counters. That is normal, it is on your schedule, and nobody forgot about you.
Open a wall in an older home and you sometimes find aging wiring, subfloor damage, or non-standard framing. When that happens we stop, photograph it, show you the options and what each costs, and get your written approval before going further. Nothing lands on your final invoice that you did not sign for.
We walk the kitchen together and write down everything that bothers you, however small. A drawer that sits proud, a caulk line, a cabinet door that needs adjusting after the wood settles into your house. That punch list gets finished before we ask for the final payment, not after.
You get a two-year workmanship warranty in writing, plus the manufacturer coverage on your cabinetry and appliances. And you get our number. Cabinet doors move a little through the first heating season in a Rhode Island house. Call us and we will come adjust them.
Because free design is fast design. A contractor who is not paid to plan your kitchen has every incentive to guess at it, start quickly, and settle up later through change orders. That is expensive in any room, but it is worst in a kitchen, where cabinetry is ordered months ahead and cannot be un-ordered when someone measures wrong. We would rather make every decision before demolition. And the entire fee is credited back when you build with us, so if you hire us it costs you nothing.
Common Questions
A kitchen remodel in Rhode Island runs from about $25,000 for a small galley refresh to $300,000 or more for a large open-concept reconfiguration, and most standard kitchen projects land between $70,000 and $120,000. Cost comes down to what has to change more than to square footage. Keeping your layout and plumbing where they are costs far less than opening a wall or running a drain to a new island, and cabinetry alone is 30 to 40 percent of a kitchen budget, which is why two kitchens the same size can be $30,000 apart. See the pricing guide above for ranges by scope and kitchen size. Your final price comes from an in-home walkthrough.
A 10x10 kitchen is the industry's standard small-kitchen benchmark, roughly 100 square feet, and in Rhode Island it falls in our galley and small size band. A Refresh that keeps the layout and plumbing where they are runs $25,000 to $40,000. A Full Remodel that guts to the framing and rebuilds inside the same footprint runs $45,000 to $70,000. Moving a wall or relocating plumbing puts the project into Reconfiguration, which starts around $70,000. One thing worth knowing: most national 10x10 kitchen figures you will find online are quoting cabinet boxes only, not a finished installed kitchen with permits, labor, and a warranty behind it.
A galley falls in our smallest size band. A Refresh runs $25,000 to $40,000, a Full Remodel runs $45,000 to $70,000, and a Reconfiguration that opens one wall of the galley into an adjoining room starts around $70,000. Galleys are often the best candidates for reconfiguration, because a layout that made sense when the kitchen was a closed-off service room rarely suits how people cook and live now. We remodeled a galley kitchen in Bristol with gray shaker cabinets, marble-look quartz counters, and a black apron-front sink.
Cabinetry, and it is not close. Cabinetry typically accounts for 30 to 40 percent of a kitchen budget, which is why two kitchens the same size can land $30,000 apart on that decision alone. After cabinetry, the biggest swings come from countertops, appliances, and anything that moves plumbing, gas, or a load-bearing wall. Layout changes cost more than finishes almost every time, which is why our pricing guide is organized by what has to change rather than by square footage. Appliances are quoted separately as an allowance you control, so that part of the number stays in your hands.
Most kitchen remodels take between 6 and 12 weeks once construction begins, depending on scope. Larger projects with layout changes, custom cabinetry, or structural work take longer. We build a detailed schedule before the project starts so you know what to expect at every stage.
Permits are required whenever plumbing, electrical, or structural work is involved, which is common in most kitchen remodels. Toensing Construction pulls all required permits as part of the project.
Yes. Layout changes, including moving walls, relocating plumbing, or reconfiguring the kitchen footprint, are part of many projects we work on. We assess the structural and mechanical implications during the estimate so you have a clear picture of what is involved before committing.
We work with both. We can source and install semi-custom or custom cabinetry from trusted suppliers, or we can build custom pieces to fit unusual spaces or match existing woodwork in your home. Our carpentry background means we pay close attention to the fit and finish that makes a kitchen look truly custom.
Generally, no. During active demolition and construction, your kitchen will be out of service. We work to minimize the disruption and stick to the schedule so you are not without a kitchen longer than necessary. We also keep the work area protected and clean up at the end of each day.
Your workmanship is warranted for two years from the date the project is completed, in writing. Manufacturer coverage on your cabinetry and appliances passes through to you and often runs longer. The punch list is finished before we ask for final payment, not after. And cabinet doors move a little through the first heating season in a Rhode Island house, so call us and we will come adjust them.
Yes, and it is a significant part of what we do. Rhode Island's older houses put kitchens in rooms that were never designed to be one: low ceilings, floors that changed level as the house grew, walls that have not been plumb in a century, and a chimney mass sitting exactly where a hood duct wants to run. Cabinetry has to be scribed rather than simply set, and venting sometimes needs a route the exterior can accept, which inside a local historic district can mean commission review. We handle that review, and we would rather match original trim than replace it.
Colby Toensing, the owner, is a carpenter by trade and leads every project personally rather than handing the finish work off to a generic subcontracted install. That is why custom details like cabinetry, trim, and built-ins get the same precision fit and finish as fine furniture. Throughout construction you have one point of contact who answers the phone, plus photo updates every day.
Start Your Project
Tell us about your space and what you are hoping to accomplish. We will schedule a free on-site consultation and walk through the options with you. No pressure, no obligation. Just an honest conversation about what is possible.
We provide kitchen remodeling services to homeowners throughout Rhode Island, from the East Bay to South County.
