Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable Kitchen Remodeling Across Westwood
A full kitchen remodel in Westwood typically runs $14,000 to $45,000, depending on the age of your home, whether load-bearing walls need structural work, and the cabinet and countertop lines you choose. Most of the kitchens we renovate in Westwood belong to 1920s – 1940s single-family homes, which means the job often starts with more than demo, it starts with framing, electrical, and sometimes chimney reinforcement. If you’re planning a remodel and want a written price before any work starts, call (213) 277-6578. We serve all of Westwood, from the flats near Wilshire to the hillside streets above Sunset.
Why Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles Is Westwood’s Preferred Kitchen Remodeling Company
Westwood homeowners tend to ask harder questions than most. Many have already been through one kitchen project that went sideways: a contractor who stopped answering, a change order that doubled the budget after demo day, or cabinets that started delaminating within a year. That history shapes how we work here. Every project gets a written price before we pull a single cabinet, and every job carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something fails inside that year, we come back and fix it at no charge. Not a service call fee, not a re-inspection charge. We come back.
Trevor Nash leads the crews that work in Westwood, and the standard is the same on every job: background-checked, uniformed technicians who show up in the arrival window we gave you. The Kingswell Way, the operating standard behind Penhallow since 2004, says it plainly: say the price before the work, show up in the window we gave, leave the place cleaner than we found it. In Westwood, where parking can be tight and staging space on a 1930s lot is often nonexistent, that last part matters more than most contractors admit.
We coordinate scheduling from our Los Angeles office, so a live person answers the phone 24/7, even when a Westwood homeowner calls at 9 p.m. to ask whether a cracked countertop seam can wait until morning. It usually can. But you’ll get a real answer, not a voicemail maze.
Styles & brands we work with
Kitchen Renovation in Westwood
Kitchen Renovation in Westwood is rarely just about cabinets and counters. In the 1920s – 1940s homes that dominate the neighborhood, renovation usually means bringing the kitchen up to current code while preserving what’s actually worth keeping. That often includes replacing knob-and-tube wiring, sistering floor joists that have sagged over nine decades, and addressing the unreinforced brick chimney that runs through so many original Westwood kitchens. A full renovation here runs $14,000 – $45,000, with the final number driven mostly by structural scope, appliance selection, and whether you’re moving walls.
Working With Older Westwood Floor Plans
Westwood’s 1930s Spanish Colonial and Traditional homes weren’t built for open-concept living. The kitchens are often enclosed, with a swinging door and a service porch. Opening that up almost always means removing a load-bearing wall, which means a permitted steel beam, new footings, and an engineer’s letter. We handle that scope directly. If you’d rather keep the wall and work within the existing footprint, we’ll tell you that too, and the price drops accordingly.
Builder-Grade Upgrades in Newer Westwood Homes
Some Westwood homes are newer construction or 1980s – 1990s builds with builder-grade oak cabinets and laminate counters that have been gently failing for years. In those cases, renovation is often a cabinet replacement, new countertops, and a refreshed layout without structural changes. We source cabinet lines like KraftMaid and Wellborn, and countertops from Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone. Cambria quartz carries its own lifetime warranty, which stacks on top of our written guarantee, so you’re covered twice over.
Cabinet Installation in Westwood
Cabinet Installation in Westwood runs $4,000 – $13,000 depending on whether we’re installing new boxes or refacing the existing frames, and how many linear feet your kitchen involves. If your 1930s kitchen still has its original built-ins and you want to keep the look, refacing or refinishing is often the smarter call than tearing everything out. If the original cabinets were poorly modified at some point in the last 40 years, which we see a lot in Westwood, replacement usually makes more sense than paying to save boxes that are already compromised.
Cabinet Lines That Hold Up in Westwood Kitchens
We install KraftMaid and Wellborn cabinetry, both of which hold up well to the daily cycle of coastal marine air and dry Santa Ana heat that Westwood gets. Soft-close hardware and plywood boxes are standard on the lines we specify for kitchens here. It’s worth saying plainly: a $4,000 cabinet job and a $13,000 cabinet job are not the same product, and we’ll show you exactly what each line costs before you commit. No ranges that quietly drift upward later.
Refacing vs. Replacing in Older Westwood Homes
If the original cabinet boxes are solid, which many 1930s Westwood cabinets surprisingly are, refacing can save thousands and keep the kitchen true to the home’s era. We’ll remove the old doors and drawer fronts, apply new veneer to the face frames, and install new doors, drawers, and hardware. The written price still applies, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the new surfaces the same as a full replacement.
Trusted Brands We Service in Westwood
We install and service cabinetry from KraftMaid and Wellborn, and countertops from Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone. For fixture work, we use Kohler, Moen, Blanco, and Delta. If you’re in Westwood and already have a Dvele, Abodu, or Cover-built home or accessory unit and want kitchen work done inside it, we have experience working within modular and prefab systems, including their cabinet attachment points and finish tolerances. That means faster turnaround on parts and a cleaner installation than a crew guessing at how a prefab wall was assembled. We keep common hardware and touch-up kits on hand for Westwood jobs, which shortens the tail end of a project when a hinge or a door adjustment pops up weeks after install.
See the difference
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AfterCommon Kitchen Remodeling Problems We See in Westwood Homes
- Unreinforced brick chimneys in 1920s – 1940s kitchens. Many original Westwood homes still have a brick chimney embedded in or adjacent to the kitchen wall. After small earthquakes, the city often flags these during inspection pushes, and a mid-remodel failure can force a change order that blows both the schedule and the budget. We check for this before design work starts, not after demo day.
- Small-lot staging constraints on hillside streets. Westwood Hills lots are often steep, narrow, or both. A 1930s hillside kitchen with limited street frontage may need a crane for structural steel or new cabinets, and there may be no room for a dumpster. That affects the draw schedule and timeline in ways a flat-lot contractor never mentions until week three.
- HOA and architectural committee rules in newer Westwood developments. Some of Westwood’s planned communities enforce specific finish standards, even for interior kitchen work. Changing cabinet colors, removing walls, or venting a range hood can require committee approval. We help you navigate that paperwork before you order a single cabinet.
- Builder warranties on newer Westwood homes. If your newer home is still under builder warranty, the wrong remodel approach can void portions of it. Certain systems, like the roof, foundation, and sometimes plumbing, need specific handling. We coordinate with the builder’s warranty terms so your kitchen upgrade doesn’t accidentally cancel coverage you still need.
Pricing for Kitchen Remodeling in Westwood, CA
Here’s what a kitchen project in Westwood typically costs, in real numbers. A full remodel runs $14,000 – $45,000. A small kitchen remodel is $9,000 – $20,000. Cabinet installation lands at $4,000 – $13,000, countertop installation at $2,000 – $6,500, backsplash installation at $800 – $2,500, and a kitchen island installation at $3,000 – $10,000. What moves the number? Structural scope on a 1930s Westwood home, whether the chimney needs reinforcement, the cabinet line you choose, and countertop material. We’ll give you a written price before any work starts, and that number is the number on the final invoice. Call (213) 277-6578 for a free estimate.
| Westwood Kitchen Project | Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $9,000 – $20,000 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 – $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 – $6,500 |
| Backsplash Installation | $800 – $2,500 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,000 – $10,000 |
Westwood’s single-family homes from the 1920s – 1940s frequently have original unreinforced brick chimneys that become a top replacement priority after small earthquakes. That means a kitchen remodel here often starts with structural chimney reinforcement before any design work. It’s a Westwood-specific reality that a generic remodeling estimate never accounts for. Our written price does.
On a 1930s Spanish Colonial in the Westwood Hills area, our crew handled a kitchen remodel where the homeowner wanted to open a load-bearing wall. We reviewed the original plans and found the wall was supporting the second story, so we installed a permitted steel beam. Before closing the walls, we also replaced the aging unreinforced brick chimney per the city’s post-earthquake inspection push, and the final inspection sign-off cleared the entire scope of work. That’s the kind of sequencing that keeps a Westwood remodel from stalling at the second inspection.
We Also Serve Cities Near Westwood
Our Kitchen Remodeling team regularly works in neighborhoods across the Westside and the Valley. In addition to Westwood, we serve North Hollywood, Burbank, Studio City, and Santa Monica, with the same written pricing and the same 365-Day Done Right Promise on every job. If you’re in Westwood or any neighboring area, the process is the same: call, get a written price, and know the number before we start.
Serving Westwood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Westwood area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Kitchen Remodeling in Westwood
No, a permit is not required in Westwood for a straight cabinet and countertop replacement as long as you’re not moving plumbing, gas lines, electrical outlets, or walls. The moment any of those changes, which in a 1920s – 1940s kitchen usually happens fast, a permit is required. We pull all necessary permits and handle the inspections start to finish. Call (213) 277-6578 and we’ll tell you exactly which scope triggers a permit on your specific home before any work starts.
The key is staying within the finish-level scope, meaning cabinets, countertops, backsplash, and floors, and not touching covered systems like the roof, foundation, or structural framing. Some builders also require that any electrical or plumbing work be performed by a licensed subcontractor to keep the warranty intact. We review your builder’s warranty language before the project and coordinate the scope so you don’t lose coverage you’ll want later. Call (213) 277-6578 if you’re in Westwood and want a free estimate that accounts for your warranty.
Yes, several of Westwood’s newer planned developments enforce architectural review even for interior kitchen work, including cabinet color, flooring type, and range hood venting. The right approach is to submit the plan for committee approval before ordering materials. We handle that paperwork on your behalf and can tell you what your specific HOA typically approves in Westwood. Call (213) 277-6578 and we’ll help you get the approval right the first time.
You can remove an unreinforced brick chimney in Westwood, but not as a casual demo step, it requires a permit, an engineering review if the chimney is structural to the wall, and coordination with the city’s seismic retrofit requirements. If the chimney is shared with another unit or serves a still-active fireplace in another room, the scope changes again. We’ve handled this exact condition in Westwood repeatedly, including on the Westwood Hills project where the chimney replacement was folded into the remodel before the walls went up. Call (213) 277-6578 for a written plan and price.
A realistic budget for a small 1920s Westwood kitchen is $9,000 – $20,000, assuming you’re keeping the footprint and replacing cabinets, counters, backsplash, and flooring. If you open a wall, add a steel beam, or need chimney reinforcement, the number moves toward the full-kitchen range of $14,000 – $45,000. We’ll give you a written line-item price before any work begins so you know exactly where the money goes. Free estimates at (213) 277-6578.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner at Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles, serving Westwood.
