Newcastle Design compared: price, specification and the design visit

24 September 2026 · The Home Upgrade Co.

Newcastle Design are one of the best known names in high end Irish kitchens, and if you are looking at bespoke cabinetry in Wicklow or Dublin you have almost certainly seen their work. They make in their own facility in north Wicklow, they install what they make, and their showroom in Rathnew is worth the trip. This page is not an argument against them. It is a straight comparison of two made to measure kitchens, and of what each of us will tell you before you book anything.

Who are Newcastle Design?

A high end Irish kitchen and cabinetry company based in Rathnew, Co Wicklow, founded by two master cabinetmakers, making everything in their own north Wicklow facility.

They describe themselves as designers of fully bespoke kitchens and handcrafted cabinetry, and they take a project from initial concept to final installation. Alongside kitchens they do custom cabinetry, fine joinery, panelling and dressing rooms. Their showroom in Rathnew runs to about 4,000 sq ft and is seen by appointment, and they say they serve clients in Dublin and across Ireland and the UK.

Where Newcastle Design is the stronger choice

Three things they have and we do not: decades of cabinetmaking behind the name, a showroom you can walk around, and customers who have already reviewed them.

Their founders are master cabinetmakers with decades in the trade, and it shows in the work. They own the facility their kitchens are made in. Their Rathnew showroom lets you see finishes, hardware and joinery in person, which no set of photographs replaces. And their Google reviews are there to be read before you ever pick up the phone. We are new, we have no showroom, and we have a single review against their many.

We should also be clear about what is not a difference. They install what they make, and so do we. They position themselves at the premium end, and so do we. Neither of those separates us.

How do the two compare, side by side?

The short version: two made to measure kitchens at the premium end, and the difference is in how much each of us puts in writing before you commit.

Everything in the Newcastle Design column is taken from their own website and Google listing in September 2026. Where it says not published, that means we looked and could not find it, not that it does not exist. Ask them, and ask us the same questions.

What does a Newcastle Design kitchen cost?

They do not publish prices. The only way to get a figure is to book a consultation and go through a design first.

We are not going to guess at their number, and you should be wary of any page that does. What we can do is put ours on the table so you have something to hold theirs against. Ours starts at EUR 12,000 fitted including VAT. A typical family kitchen with quartz worktops runs EUR 15,000 to 25,000, and large rooms with an island, stone and integrated appliances sit above that. Appliances are excluded.

We publish those figures because the alternative is wasting your evening and ours. If our range is not where you are, you have found that out on a web page instead of at the end of a design process.

Everything we supply is premium and made to the highest spec, and it is priced to that standard. Quality at this level is not a budget purchase, and we would rather say so here than at your kitchen table. If you are working to a tight budget, we are honestly not the right fit.

What is the carcase made from?

The carcase is the box behind the door, the part you never see. We publish ours. We could not find theirs published anywhere on their site.

This matters because of water. A carcase spends its life under a sink, beside a dishwasher and behind a washing machine, and board that swells once never goes back. The first sign is a door that stops closing flush. Plywood also holds a screw better over time, which is what keeps hinges from dropping after years of a heavy door swinging on them.

Ours, in full, so you can hold it against any quote: carcases in 18mm melamine faced plywood, faced both sides and E1 rated, with 9mm melamine plywood backs. Doors and fronts in 18mm MDF with a single face flat lacquer, sprayed and oven cured. PUR edge banding. DTC soft close hinges and DTC undermount soft close drawers as standard, with Blum available as its own priced line rather than the standard build.

To be fair to them, a company built by master cabinetmakers is unlikely to be cutting corners on the box. The point is not that theirs is worse. It is that you should not have to take it on trust from anyone, including us, which is why ours is written down.

Showroom appointment, or a visit to your house?

Theirs is a free consultation at the Rathnew showroom by appointment, or a virtual meeting. Ours starts with someone standing in your kitchen with a tape measure.

A showroom is better for deciding how it will look, and a 4,000 sq ft one full of real cabinetry is a genuinely useful afternoon. A visit to the house is better for catching what costs money later: the floor that is not level, the soil pipe boxed into the corner, the window board lower than you assumed, the door that will not open once the island goes in.

Our sequence is fixed. Stephen calls out within 2 working days to measure and photograph. Our designers then produce full 3D plans of your actual room, including ceiling light positions and LED plinth and under cabinet lighting, with an itemised quote within a further 2 working days. From sign off, allow 12 weeks to an installed kitchen. No cost, no obligation, and you decide in your own time.

How should you decide?

• Craft heritage and a name with decades behind it matter most to you: that is them, and we will not pretend otherwise.
• You want to walk around a showroom before committing: Rathnew, by appointment, and we have none.
• You want a figure before you invest time in a design: ours is published above and theirs is not.
• You want the carcase board, the hinges and the warranty in writing before you sign: ask both of us.
• The kitchen is part of a bigger job that also needs internal doors or windows: those are on our list and not on theirs.
• You are working to a tight budget: neither of us is the answer.
• You cannot decide: get both quotes itemised and compare them line by line.

See it before you decide anything

We design and fit fitted kitchens across Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, including in frame kitchens and pantries and larders. The design visit is free: we call out, measure your kitchen, and our designers create full 3D plans so you can see exactly how the room will look. You get the designs and an itemised quote, and you decide in your own time. No cost, no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Newcastle Design kitchen cost?

They do not publish prices on their website, so the only way to get a figure is a design consultation. We publish ours: from EUR 12,000 fitted including VAT, and EUR 15,000 to 25,000 for a typical family kitchen with quartz.

Are Newcastle Design any good?

By the measures you can check, they are well established: their own manufacturing facility in north Wicklow, a 4,000 sq ft showroom in Rathnew, founders who are master cabinetmakers, and Google reviews you can go and read.

Do Newcastle Design install the kitchen themselves?

Yes. Their site describes taking a project from initial concept to final installation, so on that point we work the same way and it is not a difference between us.

What should I ask any kitchen company before I sign?

What the carcase board is and how thick it is, what the hinges and runners are, whether fitting is included in the price you were quoted, and what the warranty covers and for how long.