Last Updated: August 2026

Interior renovation in New Orleans is shaped by the age of the housing stock more than by anything else. Big EZ Renovations works on kitchens, bathrooms, and whole interiors across Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, and St. Charles parishes, in houses that frequently predate 1960 and carry pier-and-beam foundations, galvanized or cast-iron drain lines, and knob-and-tube wiring behind the plaster. Budgets below are the ranges published for this market, and the constraints described are the ones that routinely move a project timeline.

Kitchen and Bathroom Renovation Across Greater New Orleans

Two service lines carry most interior work. Kitchens range from a cosmetic refresh with new countertops and paint through to a full gut remodel with layout changes and custom cabinetry. Bathrooms run the same spread, from a fixture and vanity update to a complete tear-out with relocated plumbing.

Where the work is a kitchen renovation, cabinetry is usually both the largest line item and the longest lead time, which makes it the thing that sets the schedule. Where it is a bathroom renovation, the deciding factor is almost always whether plumbing moves, because relocating a drain in a pier-and-beam house is a different job from swapping a vanity in place.

What Interior Renovation Costs in New Orleans

Kitchen remodels in the New Orleans area start near $5,000 for a basic update, run $10,000 to $20,000 for a standard remodel, and reach $35,000 and beyond for full custom work. Bathrooms start at $2,500 to $6,000 for a cosmetic refresh and reach $30,000 and above for a primary suite rebuild. Both are local ranges rather than national averages.

Cabinets typically account for about 30 percent of a kitchen budget, and tile choice does the same work in a bathroom, where porcelain at $3 to $8 per square foot sits well below natural stone at $10 to $30. Porcelain is the practical default locally rather than the cheap one, because it resists the moisture that makes natural stone a maintenance commitment in a city this humid. Where the money actually goes breaks down further by fixture and finish across a New Orleans bathroom renovation.

What Older New Orleans Houses Add to the Job

Pre-1960 housing carries three recurring discoveries that extend timelines and budgets: pier-and-beam foundations, galvanized or cast-iron drain lines, and outdated wiring. None of these are surprises that happen to unlucky homeowners. They are baseline expectations in this housing stock, and a contractor should be budgeting for them from the start.

Floor plan is the other constraint. A shotgun house is typically 12 to 15 feet wide with rooms running front to back, which limits where a window, a range hood duct, or an island can go without structural work. Opening that plan up is possible, and often the right move, but it means identifying and properly supporting load-bearing walls before demolition starts. That constraint shapes almost every decision when remodeling a kitchen inside a shotgun floor plan.

Preparation before demolition day is where most of the avoidable cost sits. The decisions that are cheap on paper and expensive once walls are open are the ones to settle before a bathroom is torn out.

Permits and the 30 Percent Rule

Interior work involving new wiring, moved outlets, or plumbing changes requires permits in Orleans Parish, applied for through the Department of Safety and Permits. Purely cosmetic work such as new countertops, cabinet refacing, and appliance swaps with no electrical change generally does not.

The 30 percent rule gets quoted constantly and is worth stating accurately: it is a budgeting convention, not a code requirement and not a law. The convention holds that total renovation spend should stay near 30 percent of the property’s current market value, the reasoning being to avoid putting more into a house than the market will return on sale. It is a useful sanity check rather than a limit, and there are perfectly good reasons to exceed it when a renovation solves a functional problem you intend to live with rather than sell. Reserving 10 to 20 percent of a budget for the unexpected is the more reliable rule in housing this old.

Which projects return their cost is a separate question from what they cost, and the gap between the renovations that pay back most on resale and the rest is wide enough to change what you start with. For anyone still choosing a room, one room gets renovated more often than any other.

Licensing and Service Area

Big EZ Renovations holds Louisiana Residential Contractor License #890459 and Commercial Contractor License #3667, both issued by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, and works across the metro area, the North Shore, and the River Parishes. Dual licensing means the same contractor can take on a rental portfolio or a commercial fit-out as well as a family kitchen, which matters in a city with as much mixed-use housing as this one.

Coverage includes New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Gretna, Slidell, Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, LaPlace, St. Rose, Hammond, and Baton Rouge. Permit routes differ by parish, with Orleans Parish Department of Safety and Permits, Jefferson Parish Inspection and Code Enforcement, and St. Tammany Parish Permits and Inspections each running separately. Interior work does not normally trigger Historic District Landmarks Commission review, which applies to exterior alterations, though anything that changes a window or an exterior opening will.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to renovate a bathroom in New Orleans?

A cosmetic refresh runs $2,500 to $6,000, a standard remodel with new tile, vanity, and fixtures runs $7,000 to $15,000, and a full renovation involving relocated plumbing runs $15,000 to $30,000. Tile selection is the largest single variable, with porcelain at $3 to $8 per square foot against natural stone at $10 to $30.

What is the 30 percent rule in remodeling?

It is a budgeting convention, not a building code, holding that total renovation spend should stay near 30 percent of a property’s current market value to avoid overcapitalizing. It is a sanity check rather than a limit, and exceeding it can be entirely reasonable when the work solves a functional problem in a house you intend to keep.

What does a $10,000 bathroom remodel look like?

At $10,000 in the New Orleans market you are in standard remodel territory: new floor and shower tile, a vanity with countertop, new fixtures, lighting, and an exhaust fan, with the existing plumbing layout left where it is. Moving a drain or a supply line is what pushes a bathroom past that figure.

Is $100,000 enough to renovate a house?

In this market it covers a great deal, since a full kitchen at $20,000 to $35,000 and a full bathroom at $15,000 to $30,000 still leave room for flooring, paint, and mechanical upgrades. What consumes a budget quickly in pre-1960 New Orleans housing is structural work, rewiring, and replacing cast-iron drain lines rather than the visible finishes.

Do I need a permit to renovate a kitchen in Orleans Parish?

Anything involving new wiring, relocated outlets, or plumbing changes requires permits through the Orleans Parish Department of Safety and Permits. A purely cosmetic refresh with new countertops, cabinet refacing, and like-for-like appliance swaps generally does not.

Can a shotgun house kitchen be opened up?

Often yes, particularly in a double shotgun converted to single-family use, but it requires identifying load-bearing walls and putting proper support in before anything is removed. That assessment belongs at the design stage rather than on demolition day.

Who handles interior renovation in Metairie and Slidell?

Big EZ Renovations covers New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Gretna, Slidell, Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, LaPlace, St. Rose, Hammond, and Baton Rouge for kitchen, bathroom, and whole interior work, under Louisiana Residential Contractor License #890459 and Commercial Contractor License #3667.

Starting an Interior Project

The cheapest hour on any interior renovation is the one spent before demolition, deciding what moves and what stays. Call Big EZ Renovations on (504) 294-8616 to walk the space, or outline the project first through the project inquiry form. Interior work sits alongside roofing and outdoor construction at the wider renovation business, which matters when a ceiling stain turns out to be a roof problem rather than a paint one.