How long does it take to complete a bespoke kitchen in Warsaw?

“How long will it take?” is usually one of the first questions we hear from customers. That is hardly surprising, because the answer often determines the moving date, handover of the flat, or simply when the household can function normally again. The problem is that answers such as “about a month” are usually not very useful.

In Warsaw, we typically complete a bespoke kitchen within 4 to 8 weeks from design approval. This gives us enough time to prepare even more demanding projects properly, including lacquered fronts and stone worktops. In this article, I explain exactly what affects the schedule and how to plan the whole process so that you avoid unnecessary delays.

1. Realistic completion time – what the figures show

One important point to understand from the outset is that installation itself is not what takes the longest. Fitting the kitchen in the flat usually takes 3 to 5 working days. Everything else happens beforehand — during the design stage, when materials are ordered, and in the workshop.

2. What actually takes the most time

Design and revisions

At first, everything seems simple: a few cabinets, a worktop, appliances, and that is it. Then the details begin. A change of layout, choosing Blum systems, lighting, alterations around services, or uncertainty over the colour of the fronts — every decision adds another piece to the puzzle. Before you know it, small revisions have pushed the schedule back by another two weeks and the original plan has changed completely.

In practice, most of the delays we see are not caused by the carpenter’s work, but by repeated changes during the design stage. Every decision revisited for a second or third time adds more days. Once the design is approved, we order the materials — at that point there is no longer room for changes.

Fronts and materials

This is the most common bottleneck in the whole process. Some materials are available almost immediately, while others have a lead time:

• laminated board fronts and Egger PerfectSense — usually available quickly
• acrylic fronts — from a few days to two weeks, depending on the decor
• lacquered fronts — at least 3 weeks, as the MDF has to be routed, primed, lacquered and polished
• veneered fronts — 3 to 5 weeks, depending also on the availability of the selected veneer
• laminate and compact HPL worktops — around one to two weeks
• stone worktops (quartz conglomerate or sintered stone) — 3 to 5 weeks from the measurement taken after the carcasses have been installed

In practice, a single decision to change the fronts from laminate to lacquer can delay the entire project by several weeks. Not because anyone is unwilling to do the work, but because the technology simply takes time. If you have not yet chosen the material for your fronts, I recommend our separate article: an overview of materials for kitchen fronts.

Installation schedule

Good installation dates in Warsaw are often booked well in advance. The busiest periods are March to June (renovation season and handovers of new-build flats) and November to December, when customers want their kitchens ready for Christmas.

Looking for a contractor at the last minute is a considerable risk. It often leaves you choosing between an inflated price and companies with a questionable reputation. You may also come across teams taking on too many jobs at once, which almost always affects quality and creates unnecessary tension during installation.

Delays on site

A situation every contractor knows: the kitchen is ready and the dates are agreed, but then it turns out that:

• the flooring has still not been laid, so the cabinets cannot be installed
• the electrician has not finished, leaving no sockets above the worktop or power supply for the appliances
• the walls have not been painted, creating a risk of damaging or staining the new fronts
• service connections are in different positions from those shown in the design, forcing alterations to already finished cabinet carcasses

The installation then has to be postponed, which disrupts the whole schedule. That is why, when working on kitchens in Wilanów, Białołęka or Wola, we always ask about the actual progress of the renovation. We distinguish between two key dates: when the kitchen should be ready according to the plan, and when the room will technically be ready for installation.

3. Step-by-step schedule

This is what a typical bespoke kitchen project in a Warsaw flat looks like:

We never order materials before the design has received final approval. This is a strict rule that protects the customer’s budget — with lacquered fronts and stone, there is no room for even a millimetre of error. Production starts only when every detail has been confirmed.

4. Real example: a kitchen in Wola

This shows that a realistic six-week timeframe from agreement to completed kitchen can be maintained — provided the decisions have been made, standard materials are used and the renovation is properly coordinated. If the customer had chosen lacquered fronts and a stone worktop, I would add at least another 3–4 weeks.

5. Can it be done faster?

Yes, but only under specific conditions:

• a simple design without unnecessary complications
• standard materials available from stock (popular decors and a laminate or compact worktop)
• no lacquered or veneered fronts and no stone worktops
• quick, final decisions during the design stage
• an available installation slot in our schedule

In such cases, it is sometimes possible to complete the project within 3–4 weeks. But a fast turnaround and a well-made kitchen are not always the same thing. Sometimes it is worth waiting an extra two weeks to have a kitchen that does not need remedial work.

When to be cautious about “very short lead times”

In Warsaw, we regularly meet customers after they have worked with teams that promised a kitchen “in 14 days”. It most often ends with remedial work, postponed installation dates or complaints. The bespoke kitchen design itself — after measurement, revisions and customer approval — takes at least a week, often two. Production then takes another 2–3 weeks. The numbers simply do not add up.

If someone promises a kitchen “in two weeks”, it is worth asking:

• who will carry out the installation and whether they have references
• whether all materials are genuinely available from stock
• whether the price includes design, measurement, installation and connections, or whether these are charged separately
• whether the promised date is realistic or simply intended to secure the contract

The most expensive kitchen is not an expensive one — it is a kitchen that has to be done twice.

6. What you can do to shorten the completion time

We are responsible for the workshop and efficient production. There are, however, several decisions on your side that can genuinely speed up the whole process and allow us to move to installation sooner:

7. Appliances and connections – who does what

A common question when agreeing the schedule is: who connects the appliances? We follow a simple rule.

If you choose the appliances from our offer, fitting and connecting the electrical appliances is included in the price of the kitchen. We offer a wide range of brands at different price points, together with tangible benefits: appliance manufacturers offer promotional packages (the most popular promotion is the fifth appliance for PLN 1 when purchasing a set of four appliances), a 5-year warranty included at no extra cost and free installation. External companies may charge PLN 800–1,500 just to connect a full set of appliances.

If the customer buys the appliances independently, we can still fit and connect them, but this is an additional service priced separately. Appliance installation takes time and carries responsibility, and in the event of a warranty claim the manufacturer may require installation documentation that complies with its guidelines. I discuss integrated appliances in more detail elsewhere on our blog, including how to choose them, what to watch out for and how much can be saved when buying a complete set.

Summary

A realistic completion time for a bespoke kitchen in Warsaw is usually 4 to 8 weeks. The greatest problems are not caused by furniture production itself, but by design changes, material lead times, delays by other trades and starting the whole process too late.

A well-planned kitchen is almost always completed faster than one rushed through at the last minute. If you have a 2–3 month horizon, there is plenty of time. If you have only 3 weeks, we can still discuss it, but we will be clear about what is realistically possible and what is not.