GUIDE · UPDATED JUNE 2026 · RE-VERIFIED QUARTERLY
The best kitchen & bath remodelers in Park Slope, by what you need
A kitchen or bath is the renovation most Park Slope households actually do, and the one where the gap between a clean job and a nightmare is widest. The work hides plumbing, gas, and waterproofing inside finished walls, and in a brownstone or a co-op it runs straight into permits and a board, so who you hire matters as much as what you spend.
The short version: A kitchen or bath remodel in Park Slope means hiring an HIC-licensed contractor, and usually DOB permits or co-op board approval once you move plumbing, gas, or walls. Budget roughly $15,000 to $60,000 and up for a kitchen and $30,000 to $75,000 for a bathroom. There is no separate "remodeling license," so the credential to verify is the NYC Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license.
Three picks, by what you actually need. Each one holds a currently-active NYC Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license, the consumer-protection license the city requires for residential work over $200, and a clean or resolved city complaint record. There is no separate remodeling license in New York, so the HIC is the one to verify.
Best Brooklyn-native firm for a brownstone or co-op kitchen and bath
Gaudioso Contracting
$$ · kitchen & bath · brownstone/co-op · 20+ yrs
The locally-rooted pick, and the one to start with if you want a Brooklyn firm with two decades on the same blocks. Gaudioso is listed on Houzz as a kitchen and bath remodeler and on the Brownstoner directory with a particular focus on kitchen and bathroom remodeling, run by Anthony Gaudioso out of Carroll Gardens. It carries the strongest verified review record of the three and a clean city complaint history.
- Area
- Park Slope, Brooklyn
Best full-service design-build (one team for design, permits, and build)
Essential Remodeling
$$$ · design-build · permits + board approvals
The pick when you want one team to carry the whole job: design, DOB permits, co-op board approvals, and construction, instead of coordinating an architect and a contractor yourself. Essential is a Manhattan design-build firm that serves Park Slope, with a documented brownstone kitchen and bath project on Carroll Street and the strongest third-party rating of the three. It is the premium, full-service option.
- Area
- Park Slope, Brooklyn
Best area-serving full remodel on a mid-range budget
Muka Interiors
$$ · full kitchen & bath remodel · area-serving
The straightforward full-remodel option for a kitchen or bath without the design-studio premium. Muka markets complete Park Slope kitchen and bathroom remodels (custom cabinets, quartz counters) and has held an active license cleanly for years. It is the value pick of the three, with the caveat that its independent review record is the thinnest, so lean on references.
- Area
- Park Slope, Brooklyn
| Plumber | Best for | Cost & availability | Verified by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaudioso Contracting | Best Brooklyn-native firm for a brownstone or co-op kitchen and bath | $$ · kitchen & bath · brownstone/co-op · 20+ yrs | HIC license active |
| Essential Remodeling | Best full-service design-build (one team for design, permits, and build) | $$$ · design-build · permits + board approvals | HIC license active |
| Muka Interiors | Best area-serving full remodel on a mid-range budget | $$ · full kitchen & bath remodel · area-serving | HIC license active |
In short: Gaudioso for a Brooklyn-native firm with the strongest track record, Essential for a full-service design-build that handles permits and the board, Muka for a straightforward full remodel on a mid-range budget.
What does a kitchen or bath remodel cost in Park Slope?
Cost is driven by scope and finishes first, and the bands are wide. Current Brooklyn remodeler cost guides put the ranges here:
| Scope | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen, low-end (stock cabinets, laminate) | ~$15,000-$30,000 |
| Kitchen, mid-range (semi-custom, quartz) | ~$30,000-$60,000 |
| Kitchen, high-end (custom) | $60,000+ |
| Kitchen, per square foot | ~$150-$300 |
| Bathroom, cosmetic update | ~$30,000-$40,000 |
| Bathroom, full gut (standard co-op) | ~$45,000-$60,000 |
| Bathroom, high-end custom | $65,000-$75,000+ |
Two Park Slope realities push these numbers. First, co-op and condo work carries its own costs: an alteration agreement, the umbrella insurance the board requires, restricted work hours, and a waterproofing test, per MyHome. Second, lead times: custom cabinetry and imported stone or tile can add weeks before a crew ever starts. Most kitchen remodels run 6 to 12 weeks of construction once they do, per MyHome. Treat any figure quoted before a site visit as a placeholder. The real number comes from a line-item scope.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a kitchen renovation cost in Brooklyn?
- Plan for roughly $15,000-$30,000 at the low end (stock cabinets, laminate), $30,000-$60,000 mid-range (semi-custom cabinets, quartz or granite), and $60,000 and up for a high-end custom kitchen, or about $150-$300 per square foot, per Brooklyn remodeler cost guides from MyHome. Most kitchen remodels run 6 to 12 weeks. Get a written, line-item scope before you commit, because the spread inside each band is wide once cabinetry and appliances are specified.
- How much does a bathroom remodel cost in Park Slope?
- A NYC bathroom remodel typically runs $30,000-$75,000: roughly $30,000-$40,000 for a cosmetic update, $45,000-$60,000 for a full gut of a standard (about 5-by-8) bathroom, and $65,000-$75,000 and up for a high-end custom job, per MyHome's NYC co-op guide. Co-op bathrooms run toward the higher end and take longer because of building rules, restricted work hours, and required waterproofing tests.
- Do you need DOB permits or co-op board approval to remodel a kitchen or bath?
- Often, yes. A cosmetic, like-for-like refresh (cabinets, fixtures in the same spots) usually needs no DOB permit, but moving or adding plumbing, gas, or ventilation, or altering walls, typically requires a DOB application that a licensed professional engineer or registered architect files. If you are in a co-op or condo, you will also need board approval: an alteration agreement, proof of the contractor's insurance, and often a Limited Alteration Application even for fixture swaps. Confirm the specifics with your building and the city before work starts.
- How long does a kitchen or bathroom remodel take?
- Most Brooklyn kitchen remodels take 6 to 12 weeks of construction, per MyHome, plus design and ordering lead time before that. Co-op bathrooms typically run 5 to 8 weeks because buildings restrict work hours and require inspections and waterproofing tests. Custom cabinetry and imported tile or stone can stretch the schedule, so confirm lead times and a milestone schedule in the contract.
- What license should a kitchen and bath remodeler have, and how do I verify it?
- There is no separate remodeling license in New York. The credential to check is the NYC DCWP Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license, which any home-improvement work over $200 requires. Verify it free on the city's DCWP license lookup by business name or license number, and confirm it reads Active with a future expiration and matches the exact company you are hiring. Then check the company against the city's consumer-complaint record. Every pick here was checked both ways.
- Do you need an architect or designer for a kitchen or bath remodel?
- For a straightforward, like-for-like refresh, often no. But once the work needs a DOB permit (moving plumbing or gas, altering walls), the application must be filed by a professional engineer or registered architect. A design-build firm bundles the design, the filing, and the construction under one team, which is the trade-off: more coordination handled for you, at a higher price than a contractor-only bid.
How do you verify a remodeler's license and record?
Here is the part that protects your money. There is no separate remodeling license in New York. The credential to check is the DCWP Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license, the same consumer-protection license a general contractor or roofer carries. Any home-improvement work over $200 requires it, and the HIC ties the business to a public complaint and disciplinary record, so it is your recourse if a job goes wrong.
To check it: search the DCWP license lookup, or the NYC Open Data "Issued Licenses" dataset behind it, by business name or license number, and confirm the license reads Active with a future expiration that matches the exact company you are hiring. Then check that same business in the city's consumer-complaint dataset.
That second step is the one most "best of" lists skip, and it is where this category gets messy: kitchen and bath firms use generic, overlapping names, and a license or a complaint registered to a similarly-named company tells you nothing about yours. We confirmed all three picks against an active HIC in the city's public license records, each expiring February 2027, and checked each against the city's consumer-complaint dataset.
Do you need permits or board approval?
Often, yes, the moment the job goes past cosmetic. A like-for-like refresh, new cabinets and fixtures in the same spots, usually needs no DOB permit. But moving or adding plumbing, gas, or ventilation, or altering walls, typically requires a DOB application that a professional engineer or registered architect files, per Brick Underground.
If you are in a co-op or condo, add the building's own process on top: an alteration agreement, proof of the contractor's insurance, and often a Limited Alteration Application even for fixture swaps. Ask your contractor, before you sign, who files the DOB paperwork and who manages the board package, and what each adds to the timeline. A design-build firm folds this into one team; a contractor-only hire means you or your architect drives it.
What should you ask a kitchen & bath remodeler?
Five questions sort a clean job from a costly one:
- Do you hold a current NYC HIC license, and what is the number?
- Who files the DOB permits, and who handles the co-op or condo board package?
- Is this cosmetic or a full gut, and what does the line-item scope include?
- What are the lead times on cabinets, tile, and stone, and what is the milestone schedule?
- Can I see a recent local kitchen or bath you have finished, and call the client?
Then put it in writing: a defined scope and a payment schedule tied to milestones, never a large cash deposit up front.
How did we vet these remodelers?
Three filters. Community and portfolio signal: every firm here turns up where Park Slope neighbors and the remodeling trade actually trade names, on Park Slope Parents, Houzz, and the Brownstoner directory, with documented kitchen and bath work. The license: we matched every name, by business name, to a NYC DCWP Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license reading currently active in the city's public license records, each expiring February 2027. The record: we checked every name against the city's consumer-complaint dataset and the Better Business Bureau.
A note on locality. Few dedicated kitchen-and-bath specialists actually office in Park Slope. The trade clusters in Manhattan design-build showrooms, so two of our three picks serve the neighborhood from outside it, and we label them that way. Gaudioso, in Carroll Gardens, is the Brooklyn-rooted exception.
The record check took several well-known names off the list rather than onto it. One firm was held back over a recent city complaint it had not answered; another because its Brooklyn license is surrendered and only a Manhattan entity remains active; a third because the firm marketing the kitchen work cites an expired license, while the active license sits under a differently-named entity at an address we could not tie to it; and the most genuinely Park Slope-based candidate has an expired HIC we will re-check on renewal. We would rather show a short, clean list than pad it.
This isn't a hands-on test, and nobody pays to be on this list. Written by Victor S., founding editor of The Park Sloper. Park Slope is our neighborhood and the only one we cover. Last refreshed June 16, 2026; next refresh September 2026.
Related on parksloper.com: the best general contractors in Park Slope for a whole-home gut renovation, and the licensed trades a kitchen or bath job depends on, the best plumbers in Park Slope and the best electricians in Park Slope.