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8+ years building in West Michigan · Fixed-price contracts (the quote is the price) · 3D design on the first visit · City of Kentwood permits handled · 2-year workmanship warranty · 4.7★ on Google (19 reviews)
The Kentwood kitchen specialty: modernizing dated 1960s–1990s ranches, split-levels, and colonials — removing the wall on a closed-off galley kitchen, opening it to the living and dining rooms, and rebuilding around a working island. One team from permit to final walkthrough, about 10 minutes from our Wyoming office.
Book Your Free ConsultationLocal crew, local trades, local inspectors. We pull permits through the City of Kentwood building department every week and know the in-house process cold.
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 Kentwood kitchen in 3D during the in-home consultation — layout, island, cabinets, finishes — so you can decide without guessing.
2 to 3 hours, in your Kentwood 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 Kentwood, Grand Rapids, and the surrounding cities. Licensed & insured — #262300501.
Every Kentwood kitchen we hand off carries a two-year workmanship warranty in writing, plus the manufacturer warranties on every cabinet, counter, and appliance.
Kentwood is a long-stay market. Families move in for the schools — Kentwood Public, Forest Hills, or Kelloggsville — for the short commute to Grand Rapids and the airport, and for established neighborhoods that hold their value. They stay for decades. The kitchen you remodel here is the kitchen you cook in for the next ten or twenty years, not the one you flip in eighteen months. That changes how the decision works.
A typical kitchen remodel in Kentwood 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 finished kitchen looks nothing like what the homeowner pictured because no one built it in 3D before the contract was signed. Our fixed-price design-build process eliminates all three.
If you are planning a kitchen remodel in Central Kentwood, Princeton Estates, Bailey's Grove, Kelloggsville, or the Forest Hills South corridor, 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.
Kentwood is an incorporated city with its own in-house building department and a housing stock built largely between 1960 and 1995. Knowing the local details — the permit pathway and the dated-ranch realities — is half the job before a single cabinet gets ordered.
Kentwood is its own incorporated city — not a township, and completely separate from the City of Grand Rapids. That actually makes the permitting simpler here than in much of the metro. The City of Kentwood Building Inspections Department issues every permit in-house from City Hall at 4900 Breton Road SE. Building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits are pulled in one place, with one inspector, ending in one final inspection.
There's no second jurisdiction in the loop. That's faster than Ada Township (which routes building permits through Cascade) and Forest Hills (which spans two township jurisdictions). We pull every permit, coordinate every inspection, and handle the entire pathway. You never have to call the building department or step into a municipal office.
Kentwood was built out as it grew after its 1967 incorporation, so the bulk of the housing stock is 1960s through 1990s ranches, split-levels, tri-levels, and colonials. Walking into an original-build Kentwood kitchen usually means walking into a small, walled-off galley or U-shaped layout, original cabinetry, laminate counters, dropped soffits hiding decades-old ductwork, 8-foot ceilings, and a single-cook footprint that no longer matches how the household lives.
The bones are good. The kitchen behind them just hasn't kept up. The signature Kentwood remodel removes the wall between that closed-off kitchen and the living or dining room, modernizes everything behind the walls — service panel, copper, code-compliant gas, structured lighting — and rebuilds the space around a working island and an open, connected floor plan.
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 Kentwood home. We measure the existing kitchen, talk through how you actually cook and entertain, and sketch the new layout in 3D on the spot — including which wall comes out if you're going open-concept. 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. If a wall is coming out, we finalize the structural approach here too.
Every line item is itemized — materials, labor, permits, dust protection, portable restrooms, cleanings, and any structural beam work. You see the full number before you sign. The price we quote is the price you pay.
We pull every permit through the City of Kentwood building department, coordinate every trade, and run dust protection from day one through final clean. Because Kentwood handles permits in-house, plan review on a standard kitchen remodel usually lands in 1 to 2 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 Kentwood kitchen remodels fall into one of these six scopes. Where yours lands depends on the existing layout, the finish ambitions, and whether you're opening up a closed-off ranch kitchen or working within the current footprint.
Cabinet refacing or paint, new counters, sink, faucet, lighting, and backsplash. Layout, plumbing, and electrical stay. A smart fit for a Kentwood colonial or ranch whose kitchen just needs to catch up cosmetically.
New semi-custom cabinetry, quartz counters, full appliance package, tile backsplash, updated lighting, refreshed flooring, and minor plumbing or electrical reroutes. Our most common Kentwood scope — the right answer for most original-build ranches and colonials.
Custom cabinetry, opened floor plan, structural changes, professional appliances, panel-front integrated refrigerator, hardwood or large-format tile. For the Kentwood homeowner who wants the kitchen to be the centerpiece of a long-term home.
The signature Kentwood scope. Removing the wall between a closed-off ranch or split-level kitchen and the living or dining room, installing the structural LVL beam or steel header, and rebuilding the kitchen around the new connected space. Almost always paired with a mid-range or full-custom remodel.
Small footprint expansion to add square footage for an island, eat-in nook, or working pantry the existing Kentwood kitchen cannot support. Coordinates with our Kentwood home additions practice and a quick setback check on tighter lots.
Professional appliance suite, working island or pantry, custom inset cabinetry, designer stone, and an integrated lighting plan. Most common in the higher-finish Forest Hills South corridor of southeast Kentwood.
For a deeper cost breakdown by finish level and scope, read our kitchen remodel cost guide for Grand Rapids — the same logic applies to Kentwood, calibrated to a value-to-mid market. Or call (616) 404-3400 for a range on your specific space.
Kentwood kitchen remodels range from about $18,000 for a cabinet-and-counter refresh up to $95,000 or more for a full custom 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 Kentwood kitchens are mid-range remodels — semi-custom cabinets, quartz counters, a full appliance package — landing between $35,000 and $60,000. Opening up a closed-off ranch kitchen typically adds $12,000 to $30,000 or more for the wall removal and structural beam. Kentwood is a value-to-mid market, so we calibrate the finish level to a home families plan to keep for years, not a luxury resale flip. Those are real fixed-price ranges from real West Michigan kitchens, not allowance-game estimates.
For a full breakdown, read our kitchen remodel cost guide and our open-concept kitchen pros and cons guide, or run a quick range in the cost estimator before the consultation.
Kentwood issues every permit in-house through the City of Kentwood Building Inspections Department at City Hall — 4900 Breton Road SE, Kentwood, MI 49508. Building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits are pulled in one place, with one inspector and one final inspection. There's no second jurisdiction to route through, which makes Kentwood's pathway faster than Ada Township or Forest Hills.
Permits are required for most kitchen remodels that touch plumbing, gas, electrical service, or any structural change — including wall removal for an open-concept conversion. Standard kitchen plan review usually lands in 1 to 2 weeks. We pull every permit, coordinate every inspection, and handle the entire process 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. Older Kentwood ranches can add a week or two because original conditions — undersized service panels, dated wiring, dropped soffits — usually surface once walls open up. For full municipality-by-municipality detail, see our Grand Rapids remodeling permits guide.
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 10 minutes from most Kentwood addresses. In-home and on-site consultations by appointment only.
Centrally located in Wyoming — roughly 10 minutes from most Kentwood addresses, 15 minutes from the East Beltline corridor, and 20 minutes from Cascade and Forest Hills. Consultations happen at your home, not at our office.
Call (616) 404-3400 · info@thornappleconstruction.com · Open in Google Maps →
Three recent kitchens from Kentwood and the surrounding cities. Real projects, real fixed-price contracts, real finishes. Descriptive names — no client names, no street addresses.
Wall removal, structural LVL beam, and full kitchen rebuild that opened a closed-off mid-century Kentwood ranch kitchen into a connected great room. Semi-custom cabinetry, quartz counters, a working island sized for daily life, and a layout that finally fits the way the family lives.
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 near the Kentwood–Cascade border 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 →"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.
Different parts of Kentwood carry different housing stock and a different kitchen conversation. Here's how we approach each area.
Central Kentwood — the core 1960s through 1980s ranch and split-level subdivisions. The bread-and-butter Kentwood kitchen project: open up the closed-off galley, replace the original cabinetry and laminate counters, and rebuild around a working island.
Princeton Estates — established residential blocks with mid-century to later builds. Mid-range remodels and open-concept conversions for long-stay families.
Bailey's Grove — newer planned neighborhoods on the south and southwest side. Refreshes and mid-range updates that bring later-build kitchens up to current finishes.
Kelloggsville — south and southwest Kentwood in the Kelloggsville school district. Modest older housing stock where a refresh or mid-range remodel delivers the most value per dollar.
Forest Hills South corridor & East Beltline border — southeast Kentwood inside the Forest Hills schools boundary. Higher finish tier — full custom and the occasional chef's kitchen.
Kentwood–Cascade & Kentwood–Wyoming borders — established neighborhoods running toward our Wyoming office. Every scope, from cabinet-and-counter refreshes to full open-concept rebuilds.
Kentwood sits in the middle of the Kent County remodeling market — Cascade to the east, Wyoming to the west, Grand Rapids to the north, the Forest Hills schools corridor to the southeast. We build kitchens across all of them. Each link below opens the area-specific service page with local permit detail and recent projects.
Yes — Kentwood is one of our most active kitchen-remodel service areas. We work across Central Kentwood, Princeton Estates, Bailey's Grove, Kelloggsville, and the Forest Hills South corridor near the East Beltline. Most Kentwood kitchens we build are modernizations of dated 1960s through 1990s ranches, split-levels, and colonials — opening up a closed-off galley kitchen, replacing original cabinetry and laminate counters, and rebuilding the layout around the way the household actually cooks. Our Wyoming office at 619 36th St SW is about 10 minutes from most Kentwood addresses.
Kentwood kitchen remodels typically range from about $18,000 for a cabinet-and-counter refresh up to $95,000 or more for a full custom kitchen with custom cabinetry, an opened floor plan, and professional appliances. Most Kentwood kitchens we build are mid-range remodels — semi-custom cabinetry, quartz counters, a full appliance package, new flooring and lighting — landing between $35,000 and $60,000. Opening up a closed-off ranch kitchen typically adds $12,000 to $30,000 or more for the wall removal and structural beam. 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 Kentwood that involve electrical service upgrades, plumbing relocations, gas line work, or structural changes require permits. Kentwood is its own incorporated city, and the City of Kentwood Building Inspections Department issues every permit in-house from City Hall at 4900 Breton Road SE. That means a building permit plus separate electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits, and a final inspection. Because everything is handled by one in-house department, Kentwood's permit pathway is actually simpler and faster than Ada Township (which routes through Cascade) or Forest Hills (which spans two township jurisdictions). We pull every permit and coordinate every inspection so you never have to call the building department. See our Grand Rapids remodeling permits guide for municipality-by-municipality detail.
Yes — opening up a closed-off ranch or split-level kitchen is the single most common kitchen project we build in Kentwood. Most original 1960s through 1980s Kentwood homes were laid out with a small, walled-off galley or U-shaped kitchen separated from the living and dining rooms. Removing that wall to create one connected space transforms how the home lives. We evaluate which walls are load-bearing, design and install the required LVL beam or steel header, reroute plumbing and electrical through the new ceiling, and coordinate the structural inspection through the City of Kentwood building department. Read our open-concept kitchen pros and cons guide for the full trade-off discussion before committing.
A typical Kentwood kitchen remodel runs 6 to 12 weeks from demolition through final walkthrough. Lead times for cabinetry alone are usually 6 to 10 weeks. Layout changes, plumbing relocations, and wall-removal structural work add time. Because the City of Kentwood issues permits in-house and doesn't route through a second jurisdiction, plan review for a standard kitchen remodel is usually quick — often 1 to 2 weeks. Older ranches sometimes add a week or two once walls open up and original wiring or undersized service panels surface. Every milestone is mapped in your fixed-price contract before work begins.
Yes — most of our Kentwood 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 a kitchen being offline allows.
For most original-build Kentwood ranches and colonials, the mid-range remodel ($35,000–$60,000) paired with an open-concept conversion is the sweet spot. It replaces the dated cabinetry, laminate counters, and dropped soffits, opens the kitchen to the living or dining room, and installs an island that actually works — without rebuilding the whole house. Kentwood is a value-to-mid market where families stay long-term for the schools, so the goal is a kitchen that works beautifully for the next decade, not a luxury flip. We walk through the cost-versus-payback lens honestly 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. Because the City of Kentwood issues permits in-house, plan review for a standard kitchen remodel is usually 1 to 2 weeks. Most clients see demolition start 4 to 7 weeks after contract signing.
Real Grand Rapids-area kitchen remodel costs broken down by scope and finish level — refresh, mid-range, full custom. The same logic applies to Kentwood.
Thinking about removing the wall in a Kentwood ranch? The trade-offs, structural realities, and what an open-concept conversion actually costs.
What permits a kitchen remodel needs across Kentwood, Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Cascade, and Ada Township — with timelines.
Run a quick range for your specific Kentwood kitchen scope before booking the discovery call.
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 Kentwood and West Michigan.
Kitchens are one piece of our design-build remodeling in Grand Rapids practice — design, build, and budget under one roof for Kentwood homeowners.
Spa-like primary baths and aging-in-place upgrades — designed around your life, protected by our process.
Primary suites, second-story pop-tops, bump-outs, and in-law suites for mid-century Kentwood ranches and split-levels.
When every room needs attention, you need a partner who coordinates every trade, timeline, and detail.
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
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