This site uses cookies for analytics and advertising to improve your experience. By continuing to browse, you agree to our use of cookies. Privacy Policy
An East Grand Rapids kitchen contractor that designs your kitchen in 3D on the first visit, locks the price before a wall is touched, and runs the entire project — permits, trades, finishes — from our Wyoming office at 619 36th St SW. Built for Gaslight Village, Reeds Lake, Breton Village, Breton Downs, and the older streets in between.
Book Your Free ConsultationLocal crew, local trades, local inspectors — we know how the East GR pass-through to Cascade Township actually runs, and we work the cadence every week.
The number we quote is the number you pay. Every material, trade, and permit is itemized before you sign. No allowance games, no change-order roulette.
We bring a laptop and build your new East GR kitchen in 3D during the in-home consultation — layout, island, cabinets, finishes — so you can decide without guessing.
2 to 3 hours, in your East Grand Rapids home, with measurements, 3D models, and an honest budget range — before you commit to anything.
Verified reviews from kitchen, bath, and whole-home clients across East GR, Grand Rapids, and the surrounding cities. Licensed & insured — #262300501.
Every East GR kitchen we hand off carries a two-year workmanship warranty in writing, plus the manufacturer warranties on every cabinet, counter, and appliance.
East Grand Rapids is a long-stay market. Families move in for the schools, the lake, and the walkable village — and they stay for decades. The kitchen you remodel here is the kitchen you cook in for ten or twenty years, not the one you flip in eighteen months. That changes how the decision works.
A typical kitchen remodel in East GR fails in one of three places. The budget creeps because the contract used "allowances" instead of fixed numbers. The schedule slips because nobody is coordinating the cabinets, counters, plumbing, and trades. Or the design ends up looking nothing like what the homeowner pictured because no one built the kitchen in 3D before the contract was signed. Our fixed-price design-build process eliminates all three.
If you are planning a kitchen remodel in Gaslight Village, Reeds Lake, Breton Village, Breton Downs, or anywhere else in East Grand Rapids, the first step is a free in-home consultation. We build your kitchen in 3D during that visit. From there, you decide whether the numbers and the design line up before any further commitment.
East Grand Rapids is an incorporated city with its own zoning office, its own housing stock, and its own permit pass-through. Knowing the local details is half the job before a single cabinet gets ordered.
East GR is its own incorporated city, completely separate from the City of Grand Rapids and from the surrounding townships. That matters when you start a kitchen remodel. Zoning and drainage review for a project happens at East GR City Hall at 750 Lakeside Drive SE. From there, the application is forwarded to Cascade Township Building Inspection Services, which has been designated as the official building department for East Grand Rapids. Permit issuance, plan review, and every inspection — building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, final — runs through Cascade Township on East GR projects. Most local copy gets this wrong.
We pull every permit, sit through the plan review on your behalf, and coordinate every inspection. You never have to call city hall or wait at the counter at Cascade Township.
The average East GR home was built around 1946. More than a quarter of the homes pre-date 1939. That means walking into a kitchen in this market usually means walking into plaster walls, knob-and-tube wiring, undersized electrical service, original hardwood that was nailed before plywood subfloor was standard, dropped soffits hiding decades-old ductwork, and a galley layout designed for one cook in 1955.
The character is the reason people fight to live here. The kitchen behind that character just hasn't kept up. We modernize what's behind the walls — service panels, copper, code-compliant gas, structured lighting, fresh subfloor — while keeping the proportions, trim cues, and original materials that make the house worth living in.
One team, one project lead, one price — from the first in-home visit through the final walkthrough.
A 2 to 3 hour visit at your East GR home. We measure the existing kitchen, talk through how you actually cook and entertain, and sketch the new layout in 3D on the spot. You leave with a clear range for your scope — no commitment yet.
We refine the 3D model, sit down with you for cabinetry, counter, appliance, lighting, and flooring selections, and build a written specification that maps to a single fixed-price number.
Every line item is itemized — materials, labor, permits, dust protection, portable restrooms, cleanings. You see the full number before you sign. The price we quote is the price you pay.
We pull every permit through East GR City Hall and Cascade Township Inspections, coordinate every trade, and run dust protection from day one through final clean. Most kitchen plan reviews land in 1 to 3 weeks.
Final inspection, punch-list walkthrough, and handoff. Every Thornapple kitchen carries a two-year workmanship warranty in writing, plus manufacturer warranties on cabinets, counters, and appliances.
You have one direct contact from the first call through final walkthrough. No call-center, no handoffs between sales and production, no "let me find out who is supposed to know that."
Most East GR kitchen remodels fall into one of these six scopes. Where yours lands depends on the existing layout, the finish ambitions, and how much plumbing, electrical, and structural work the older home stock needs to support the new design.
Cabinet refacing or paint, new counters, sink, faucet, lighting, and backsplash. Layout, plumbing, and electrical stay. A smart fit for Breton Village classics and updated Breton Downs colonials that just need to catch up.
New semi-custom cabinetry, stone counters, full appliance package, tile backsplash, updated lighting, refreshed flooring, and minor plumbing or electrical reroutes. Our most common East GR scope — recovers well at resale in this market.
Custom cabinetry, opened floor plan, structural changes, professional appliances, panel-front integrated refrigerator, hardwood or large-format tile. The standard scope for serious Reeds Lake and Lake Drive renovations.
Wolf or Sub-Zero suite, dual islands or working pantry, custom inset cabinetry, designer stone, integrated lighting plan, hidden appliance garage, beverage center. When the East GR kitchen is the center of the house.
Removing the wall between a closed-off East GR kitchen and the living or dining room, installing the structural LVL beam, and rebuilding the kitchen around the new unified space. Almost always paired with a mid-range or full-custom scope.
Bump-out or full footprint expansion to add square footage — for an island, eat-in nook, or working pantry the existing East GR kitchen cannot support. Coordinates with our home additions practice.
For a deeper cost breakdown by finish level and scope, read our kitchen remodel cost guide for Grand Rapids — the same ranges apply to East GR. Or call (616) 404-3400 for a range on your specific space.
East Grand Rapids kitchen remodels range from about $20,000 for a cabinet-and-counter refresh up to $120,000 or more for a full chef's kitchen. The biggest drivers are cabinetry (40–50% of most scopes), counters and stone, the appliance package, and whether the project involves a layout change or wall removal.
Most of our full-custom East GR kitchens land in the $80,000 to $120,000 range. Mid-range remodels — semi-custom cabinets, quartz counters, full appliance package — come in between $50,000 and $80,000. Reeds Lake and Lake Drive projects often push higher because the home, the entertaining footprint, and the appliance expectations all scale up together. Those are real fixed-price ranges from real Grand Rapids-area kitchens, not allowance-game estimates.
For a full breakdown, read our kitchen remodel cost guide and our open-concept kitchen pros and cons guide before the consultation.
East Grand Rapids permit applications start at City Hall — 750 Lakeside Drive SE, East Grand Rapids, MI 49506 — where zoning and drainage are reviewed. From there, the application is forwarded to Cascade Township Building Inspection Services, the designated building official for East GR. Plan review, permit issuance, and building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and final inspections all run through Cascade Township.
Permits are required for most kitchen remodels that touch plumbing, gas, electrical service, or any structural change. Standard kitchen plan review usually lands in 1 to 3 weeks. We pull every permit, coordinate every inspection, and handle the back-and-forth between City Hall and Cascade Township so you don't have to.
Typical kitchen build timeline: 6 to 12 weeks from demolition through final walkthrough. Cabinet lead time alone runs 6 to 10 weeks. Historic-character East GR homes can extend the schedule by 2 to 4 weeks because original conditions — plaster, knob-and-tube, undersized service — usually surface once walls open up. For full municipality-by-municipality detail, see our Grand Rapids remodeling permits guide.
Three recent kitchens from East Grand Rapids and the surrounding cities. Real projects, real fixed-price contracts, real finishes.
Wall removal, structural LVL beam, and full kitchen rebuild that opened a closed-off mid-century East GR kitchen into a unified great room. Custom cabinetry, quartz counters, a working island sized for daily life, and a layout that finally fits the way the household entertains.
See more kitchen work →Full kitchen rebuild in rich navy cabinetry with brushed-gold hardware, a working custom island with quartz counters, and a layout reorganized around how the family actually lives. Full-custom scope, fixed-price contract.
See the full project →
Full kitchen renovation for a busy West Michigan family. Custom cabinetry, an oversized prep island with casual seating, a premium appliance package, and a reimagined work-triangle layout designed around daily routines, not magazine spreads.
Browse the portfolio →Watch our walkthrough on getting kitchen layout right the first time, then check the map for our Wyoming, MI office. We're 619 36th St SW, Wyoming, MI 49509 — about 15 minutes from most East Grand Rapids addresses. In-home and on-site consultations by appointment only.
Centrally located in Wyoming — roughly 15 minutes from most East Grand Rapids addresses, 20 minutes from Forest Hills, and 25 minutes from Ada and Cascade. Consultations happen at your home, not at our office.
Call (616) 404-3400 · info@thornappleconstruction.com · Open in Google Maps →
"I love my kitchen. It's a breath of fresh air. Austin and Nate were amazing to work with. They stayed within my budget and were always patient and respectful. I can't say enough good about the whole process."
"A true craftsman who does great work. We love our new kitchen!"
"Communication and work completed was high quality."
4.7-star average across 19 verified Google reviews.
Every block of East Grand Rapids has a different housing stock and a different design conversation. Here's how we approach each area.
Gaslight Village — early-1900s Tudors, colonials, and craftsman homes around the boutique commercial strip. Historic-character renovations that preserve original trim, plaster details, and proportions while updating everything behind the walls.
Reeds Lake & Lake Drive — lakefront estates and the homes that line the lake-side streets. Full custom and chef's kitchens for larger homes with serious cooking demands and entertaining footprints.
Breton Village — mid-century classics and updated colonials near the Breton shopping district. Refreshes and mid-range remodels that bring '80s and '90s kitchens into the current decade.
Breton Downs — ranches and split-levels along the southern edge. Layout opens and full custom kitchens for families staying long-term.
Hodenpyl Woods & Northwest East GR — established colonial / brick residential blocks near Plymouth Avenue. Mid-range to full custom scopes for long-stay homeowners.
Manhattan Hills & Southeast EGR — established blocks running toward Reeds Lake. Every scope, from cabinet-and-counter refreshes to multi-room renovations.
East Grand Rapids sits inside a tight cluster of West Michigan communities. We build kitchens across all of them. Each link below opens the neighborhood-specific service page with local permit detail and recent projects.
Yes — East Grand Rapids is one of our most active kitchen-remodel service areas. We work across Gaslight Village, Reeds Lake, Breton Village, Breton Downs, and the Northwest and Southeast neighborhoods. Project scopes range from cabinet-and-counter refreshes in updated colonials to full chef's kitchens in Reeds Lake estates. Our Wyoming office at 619 36th St SW is roughly 15 minutes from most East GR addresses.
East Grand Rapids kitchen remodels typically range from about $20,000 for a cabinet-and-counter refresh up to $120,000 or more for a full chef's kitchen with custom cabinetry, professional appliances, and structural changes. Most full custom kitchens we build in East GR land between $80,000 and $120,000. Reeds Lake and Lake Drive projects often push higher. Thornapple provides a fixed-price contract after the scope is finalized — no allowance games, no surprise change orders. For the full breakdown, see our Grand Rapids-area kitchen remodel cost guide.
Most kitchen remodels in East Grand Rapids that involve electrical upgrades, plumbing relocations, gas line work, or structural changes require a permit. East Grand Rapids is its own incorporated city — zoning and drainage review happens at City Hall at 750 Lakeside Drive SE, then the application is forwarded to Cascade Township Building Inspection Services, which has been designated as the East GR building official for plan review, permit issuance, and inspections. We pull every permit and coordinate every inspection — building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and final — directly with the right office. You never have to call city hall. See our Grand Rapids remodeling permits guide for municipality-by-municipality detail.
Yes — older East Grand Rapids homes are some of our favorite kitchen projects. The Gaslight Village area, Lake Drive, and the older streets near Reeds Lake have homes dating back to the early 1900s with character worth preserving. We handle plaster walls, knob-and-tube updates, undersized electrical service, dropped soffits hiding original ductwork, original woodwork, and tight galley floor plans — without losing the proportions that make the home worth living in. The goal is a kitchen that looks like it always belonged there, just updated for how you actually cook today.
A typical East Grand Rapids kitchen remodel runs 6 to 12 weeks from demolition through final walkthrough. Lead times for custom cabinetry alone are usually 6 to 10 weeks. Layout changes, plumbing relocations, structural work, and the plan-review cadence with Cascade Township (acting as East GR's building official) all factor in. Historic-character homes can add 2 to 4 weeks when original conditions need to be worked around. Every milestone is mapped in your contract before work begins.
Yes — most of our East Grand Rapids clients stay in their home during the entire kitchen remodel. We help set up a temporary prep area in the dining room or basement, install plastic dust barriers between the work zone and the rest of the house, lay floor coverings throughout, bring portable restrooms so our crew never uses your bathroom, and schedule professional cleanings during the project. The work zone gets isolated; daily life stays as close to normal as the kitchen being offline allows.
Yes. Many East Grand Rapids homes were built with closed-off, single-cook kitchens that no longer match how the household lives. Opening the wall between the kitchen and the dining or living room is one of the most common scopes we build in East GR. We evaluate which walls are load-bearing, design the required LVL beam or steel header, route plumbing and electrical through the new ceiling, and coordinate the structural inspection through Cascade Township. Read our open-concept kitchen pros and cons guide for the full trade-off discussion before committing.
East Grand Rapids is a long-stay market — families move in for the schools and the lake and stay for decades. For long-term living, the full-custom or chef's scope ($80,000–$120,000+) pays back every year in usability. For resale-driven remodels, the mid-range scope ($50,000–$80,000) recovers reliably given EGR's strong appreciation. Most buyers in this market expect quartz counters, semi-custom or custom cabinetry, and a current appliance package as the floor. We walk through both lenses during the consultation.
Once the scope is locked and the fixed-price contract is signed, we move into 3D-design refinement and selections immediately. Cabinet lead times typically run 6 to 10 weeks — we sequence orders so cabinets land the week demolition wraps. Plan review through Cascade Township for East GR projects is usually 1 to 3 weeks for standard kitchen remodels. Most clients see demolition start 4 to 8 weeks after contract signing.
Real Grand Rapids-area kitchen remodel costs broken down by scope and finish level — refresh, mid-range, full custom, chef's. Same ranges apply to East GR.
Considering knocking down a wall in an East GR home? Trade-offs, structural realities, and what an open-concept conversion actually costs.
What permits a kitchen remodel needs across East GR, Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Kentwood, Ada Township, and Cascade Township — with timelines.
One team from concept to completion — how our fixed-price design-build approach actually works for East GR kitchens.
Our full kitchen remodel hub — scope, process, what's included, and FAQs for the wider Grand Rapids market.
Kitchens, bathrooms, additions, and whole-home renovations from across East GR and West Michigan.
Kitchens are one piece of our design-build remodeling in Grand Rapids practice — design, build, and budget under one roof for East GR homeowners.
Spa-like primary baths and aging-in-place upgrades — designed around your life, protected by our process.
When every room needs attention, you need a partner who coordinates every trade, timeline, and detail.
Family rooms, home offices, and guest suites waiting beneath your feet — built to current code.
It starts with a free consultation — in your home, with 3D design on the spot. No commitment. No pressure. Just clarity on what your kitchen can be and what it will actually cost.
Book Your Free ConsultationOr call us at (616) 404-3400
Prefer to write? Send us a message.