Kitchen Remodeling

Every Knutson kitchen starts with an in-home consultation and ends with a written workmanship warranty. Between those two days you get one phone number to call, weekly written updates, daily site cleanup, and a crew of Knutson employees — not a rotating cast of subcontractors. Whether you’re refreshing a galley kitchen or opening an entire first floor into a new open-concept layout, the process stays the same.

What’s included in a Knutson kitchen remodel

A Knutson kitchen covers every trade and every detail, all handled by our own team:

• In-home consultation. Measurements, existing layout documentation, and material guidance — all covered during our visit to your home.
• Demolition and structural work. Wall removal, subfloor repair, and beam installation when opening the kitchen into an adjacent room.
• Custom cabinetry. Built in our own shop to the exact dimensions of your kitchen — not ordered from a box catalog. 
• Countertops. Quartz, granite, solid surface, and butcher block — field-templated in your kitchen after demo and installed by our crew.
• Backsplash and tile. Full-height tile, natural stone, hand-laid mosaic — with edge trim and transition details the average contractor skips. 
• Islands and built-ins. Custom islands with seating, prep sinks, waterfall edges, integrated appliances, and matching paneled ends.
• Electrical, plumbing, and lighting. Rewired and replumbed to current Minnesota code — recessed lighting, under-cabinet LEDs, dedicated appliance circuits, new water lines where needed.
• Flooring and finish carpentry. Hardwood, tile, trim, crown, and paint — all coordinated by one project manager, not scheduled across three different subs.

Our kitchen remodeling process

Every Knutson kitchen follows the same five stages, whether you’re doing a four-week refresh or a sixteen-week full remodel.

1. Consultation. A designer visits your home, listens to how you cook and entertain, measures the existing kitchen, and photographs every detail. Free, with no pressure to sign anything that day.
2. Planning and fixed-price budget. We deliver a layout, detailed drawings, a curated material board, and a written, fixed-price contract. No vague allowances. No surprise change orders mid-project.
3. Permits and preparation. We pull every permit your city requires, order all materials in advance, and schedule the crew before we touch a hammer. This is why Knutson projects rarely hit the “waiting on cabinets” delay other remodelers are known for.
4. Construction. One project manager runs the job from demolition through final punch list, with daily on-site cleanup, zip-wall dust containment, and a written weekly update so you always know what happened and what’s next.
5. Reveal and warranty. Final walkthrough, appliance orientation, care instructions, and a written workmanship warranty that transfers with the home if you sell it.

Why Twin Cities homeowners choose Knutson

Knutson has operated in the Twin Cities since 1983. We’ve completed thousands of kitchen remodels across the metro — from 1920s South Minneapolis bungalows and Highland Park Craftsmans to Edina ramblers and new builds in Lakeville. Each house type has its own quirks: 1920s galleys need load-bearing analysis before you can open them up; mid-century ramblers need a ceiling-height strategy before anyone picks cabinets; new builds need cabinet scale that reads right against nine-foot walls. We know those quirks because we’ve solved them — project after project, for forty years.

Knutson runs on one team and one contract. Designers, cabinet makers, carpenters, tile setters, and project managers are all Knutson employees — not a rotating cast of subcontractors disappearing between phases, not a general contractor outsourcing the hard parts and showing up only on billing day. If something needs to be fixed six months after reveal, one phone call reaches the person who actually built it.

Cabinetry is built in-house, to the exact opening in your kitchen. No “closest-available” box sizes. No two-inch filler strips next to the refrigerator. Contracts are fixed-price: the full scope, material specs, and total investment are locked in before demolition begins, and the rare change order is always priced and signed off in writing before the crew continues. Knutson holds a Minnesota residential building contractor license and carries full workers’ compensation and general liability on every employee who sets foot on your site.

Kitchen remodel cost and timeline

Planning, material selection, and permits take four to eight weeks up front. On-site construction runs another four to twenty weeks, depending on scope.

A refresh — refacing or repainting existing cabinets, new countertops, new backsplash, and new appliances — is the shortest path, at four to six weeks on site. A full remodel with custom cabinetry in your existing footprint averages ten to fourteen weeks. If you’re opening walls to expand the kitchen into dining or living space, add structural engineering time and expect fourteen to twenty weeks on site.

What typically adds weeks: custom-order appliances with long lead times, natural stone slabs that must be field-templated after demolition, and any permit that requires variance approval. We schedule around these risks before we start, so the surprises are minimized rather than discovered mid-project.

Our Twin Cities service area

Knutson serves the entire Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro with dedicated planning and construction crews. Our primary service markets are Minneapolis and Saint Paul — see our full service area

Ready to start your kitchen remodel?

Every Knutson project begins with a free in-home consultation. We visit your home, measure, listen to how you cook and entertain, and return within two weeks with a preliminary layout, material direction, and a fixed-price budget. Bring a rough budget range and any inspiration photos you’ve saved — we’ll handle the rest. Book your consultation.