Best Kitchen Remodeling on Hilton Head Island

There are two ways in. A design-build contractor such as HHI Builders or Roberts Construction handles the layout, the permit and the construction under one contract. HHI Builders describes an interior designer who measures the room, three 3D models to compare and a showroom for choosing finishes. Or you start with a kitchen designer or cabinet studio such as Kitchen Design Solutions or Cabinet IQ, who plan the room and order the cabinets and counters, and bring in installers or work with your builder.

Ask each company who pulls the permit, who orders the cabinets, who coordinates the plumber and electrician, and what is left for you to buy. Paul Langan Contracting says it handles permits, carpentry, painting, plumbing, electrical work and flooring, so a single crew covers the trades. For the floors, see flooring companies on Hilton Head.

Most companies do not publish prices. HHI Builders does: its 2026 kitchen price estimate starts at $80,000 for a Bronze remodel (stock cabinets, existing layout and floors), $100,000 for Silver (semi-custom cabinets, small layout changes) and $130,000 for Gold (custom cabinets, walls removed, new flooring and a new electrical layout). Those prices include the permit, labor, materials, flooring, countertops and plumbing and electrical fixtures; appliances are not included. HHI Builders calls them estimates based on past work, and says every project is unique.

What moves a price: whether the cabinets are stock, semi-custom or custom, whether walls or plumbing move, the countertop and backsplash material, and what has to be fixed once the old kitchen is open. Ask any company for a written, itemized proposal and compare two or three side by side; for a smaller job, see cabinet refacing below.

If the layout works and the cabinet boxes are sound, refacing replaces the doors and drawer fronts and covers the visible sides. American Wood Reface, whose Hardeeville crew serves the island’s plantations, says its solid wood refacing can cost as little as half of a full remodel. Cabinet IQ does not do refacing or painting of existing cabinets, so it is the better fit when you want new cabinetry.

Choose a full remodel when the layout is the problem: a wall to open up, an island to add, appliances in the wrong place. Refacing cannot change those. Either way, ask for the warranty in writing; American Wood Reface lists an original homeowner’s lifetime warranty.

Many island kitchens are in condos and villas, and HHI Builders and Hilton Head Kitchen & Tile Studio both show condo remodels in their work. Before you sign, ask your owners association what it requires: approval of the plans, allowed work hours, and rules for elevators, loading areas and dumpsters. Roberts Construction notes that Hilton Head Island has strict architectural review board standards.

A condo job also has to be sealed off from the neighbors. HHI Builders puts barriers around the work area and runs a HEPA air filter, and American Wood Reface reviewers praise a kitchen sealed off to keep dust out of the house. For debris, see dumpster rental on Hilton Head.

Usually, yes. The Town of Hilton Head Island says a building permit is required for changes to an existing building and for any electrical, plumbing, or heating and cooling work. Painting, new carpet or wallpaper does not need one unless it is part of a larger renovation. When in doubt, the Town asks you to call its building staff at 843-341-4757.

Roberts Construction’s kitchen page puts Town of Hilton Head Island permit fees at $300 to $600 and processing at 2 to 3 weeks, with architectural review adding 4 to 10 weeks. Ask any contractor whether its proposal includes the permit; HHI Builders’ price tiers do. Also ask for the contractor’s state license number and check it before you sign.

Roberts Construction says construction typically takes 6 to 8 weeks depending on scope, and that the full timeline from planning through completion is 3 to 5 months once design, permitting and ordering are included. Custom cabinets and special orders can be the longest wait, so ask each company when cabinets must be ordered.

Cabinet IQ reviewers describe getting a full timeline for installation before work began. Many owners here are away part of the year, and Kitchen Design Solutions reviewers describe a designer who stayed on the project and answered questions almost at once. If you will be away, ask who sends you progress updates.

Hilton Head home remodeling is rarely just a kitchen, and most of the companies here do more. Paul Langan Painting & Contracting has worked on Hilton Head and in Bluffton since 1989 and describes plumbing, electrical and flooring handled as part of a renovation; a reviewer there had a laundry room, bathrooms, kitchen and family room remodeled in a Hilton Head Plantation home. HHI Builders reviewers describe remodeling three bathrooms in one project.

For whole house renovations on Hilton Head Island, the thing to settle first is the order of work: layout and permit, then plumbing and electrical, then cabinets, counters and floors. Ask for one written schedule that covers every room, and ask who coordinates the trades. If you are still deciding what to change, an architect can draw the plan before a contractor prices it. For a bathroom on its own, see bathroom remodeling on Hilton Head.

General contractors on Hilton Head, SC run the whole job: the permit, the subcontractors and the schedule. HHI Builders lists a South Carolina residential home builder license (51179), and Hilton Head Remodeling says it holds a General Contractors License and a Residential Builders License. Ask any of the general contractors on Hilton Head Island, SC for the licence number and check it with the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation at llr.sc.gov before you sign.

Then ask the practical questions: who is your project manager, how often will I get updates, which trades are your own crew and which are subcontracted, and what happens when the open wall shows a surprise. The same questions apply to the general contractors on the bathroom remodeling page.

Hilton Head remodeling contractors come in two kinds. A design-build firm such as HHI Builders or Roberts Construction takes the plan and the construction under one contract. A smaller crew such as Paul Langan Painting & Contracting suits a job where the plan is already clear. Neither is better; the right one depends on how much of the design you want them to carry.

There is no single best kitchen remodeling company on Hilton Head, and the best kitchen remodelers for a condo are not always the best for a plantation house, so compare two or three written proposals line by line: what is included, what is an allowance, who pulls the permit and what the warranty covers. A low number that leaves out the permit, demolition or debris is not the cheapest bid. For a debris bin, see dumpster rental on Hilton Head.

We have not verified a Hilton Head company that builds only outdoor kitchens, so none is listed as one. Outdoor kitchens on Hilton Head, SC are usually built by a general contractor as part of a porch, deck or patio job. Tropical Builders lists outdoor spaces and pools among its services, Southern Services lists patios, decks and pools, and Hilton Head Remodeling lists screen rooms and porches. Call and ask each to show an outdoor kitchen it has finished before you request a price.

Plan around the island’s weather: salt air and humidity are hard on cabinets, hinges and grills, so ask what the cabinet material and hardware are made of. If you live in a gated community such as Sea Pines or Palmetto Dunes, ask your community’s architectural review office whether an outdoor addition needs approval before you order anything, and ask the Town at 843-341-4757 whether a gas line, electrical circuit or roof needs a permit. For the gas and wiring, see electricians on Hilton Head.

A sunroom addition on Hilton Head Island, SC starts with one choice: a screened room, which is open to the air, or a glassed room that you can heat and cool. The second is an addition and is built like one, with a foundation, a roof tied into the house and a permit. Hilton Head Remodeling lists screen rooms and porches among its services, and Tropical Builders reviewers describe a sunroom added to an island home along with renovations to a Sea Pines house.

Ask each contractor for a written proposal that separates the foundation, roof, windows or screening, and any air conditioning, and ask who handles the Town permit and any community architectural review. Before you pay for plans, an architect can tell you whether the lot setbacks and flood rules leave room for the addition.

For a bathroom remodel on Hilton Head, HHI Builders, Paul Langan Contracting and Hilton Head Kitchen & Tile Studio all remodel bathrooms along with kitchens, and Cabinet IQ does bathroom vanities. Reviewers describe HHI Builders remodeling three bathrooms in one project and a Cabinet IQ customer updating three vanities.

For a quick bath, LowCountry Bath Renewal, based in Bluffton, says most remodels take one to two days, and reviewers describe old tubs replaced with new showers. If the remodel turns up a plumbing problem, see plumbers on Hilton Head.