The figures on this page are the ranges we actually quote in Pune and PCMC in 2026. They are indicative, not a price list: every project is measured on site and quoted line by line before anything is ordered. Where a number depends on something specific to your flat, we say so.
Almost every disagreement about interior quotes comes down to materials you cannot see once the job is done. This page explains what the terms mean, where each material belongs, and what we specify.
The carcass matters more than the shutter
The box behind the door is what fails or does not. A laminate shutter on a marine-ply carcass with good hinges is a unit that works for fifteen years and can be refaced. An acrylic shutter on a particle-board carcass with cheap channels looks better in photographs and fails at the point of use.
Two quotes twenty per cent apart on the same drawing set almost always differ here. The visible half is the replaceable half.
Plywood grades, plainly
MR (moisture resistant) — often called commercial ply. Bonded with urea-formaldehyde resin. Fine for dry areas: bedroom wardrobes on internal walls, television units, study furniture. Not for anything near water.
BWR (boiling water resistant) — phenolic bonded, more moisture tolerant than MR. A reasonable middle grade.
BWP (boiling water proof) / marine grade — fully phenolic bonded. This is what belongs in kitchens, bathroom vanities, utility units, and any wardrobe against an external wall.
Grades are governed by Indian Standards — IS 303 for MR and BWR, IS 710 for marine-grade BWP — and the stamp should be on the sheet. Ask to see it. "Marine ply" without an IS 710 stamp is a description, not a specification.
Where we specify what
- Kitchen base and tall units — BWP throughout. The area under the sink is where every kitchen eventually gets wet.
- Kitchen wall units — BWP or good BWR.
- Wardrobes on internal walls — MR is adequate.
- Wardrobes on external walls — BWR or BWP, with a ventilation gap behind. This matters especially on lower floors and near the river in Kalyani Nagar and Mundhwa.
- Bathroom vanities and utility — BWP, without exception.
- Television units and study furniture — MR.
Specifying BWP everywhere is a waste of your money. Specifying MR in a kitchen is a waste of the kitchen.
What about MDF and particle board
MDF takes paint and routed profiles beautifully and is the right material for a lacquered or painted shutter with a shaped profile. It is not a structural carcass material and it does not tolerate water at all — a swollen MDF edge does not recover.
Particle board is cheaper again and is what most flat-pack furniture is made from. We do not use it for built-in joinery. In a climate with a real monsoon and a kitchen that gets washed down, it does not last.
Shutter finishes
Laminate — durable, enormous range, repairable in sections, the most sensible default. A good 1mm laminate outlasts most alternatives.
Acrylic — high gloss, seamless look, shows fingerprints and fine scratches. Best away from the busiest surfaces.
Lacquered glass — excellent in kitchens, easy to clean, heavier and needs good hinges to match.
Veneer — real wood, ages well, needs a polish coat and occasional maintenance. The right choice where the joinery is meant to be furniture.
PU / lacquer paint — best for shaped and profiled shutters, on MDF. Repairable but not cheaply.
Hardware
Hinges, channels, lift-ups and baskets are operated dozens of times daily and are where cheap quotes cut hardest. Branded soft-close hardware from a known manufacturer is the last line we would remove from a specification. Ask which brand is quoted, not just "soft-close" — the word is not a specification either.
For anything on an external wall or in a coastal or riverside microclimate, specify a properly coated or stainless finish.
Counters
Granite — hard, heat tolerant, economical, porous unless sealed and needs resealing.
Engineered quartz — non-porous, more stain resistant, more expensive, less tolerant of direct heat.
For an Indian kitchen where turmeric and hot vessels are daily events, quartz is usually worth the difference. Granite sealed properly is a perfectly good answer at a lower price.
Related
See modular kitchen cost, wardrobe cost and what a full interior costs in Pune.
To talk through a specification, call Pooja Dhoot on +91 82080 93011 or Dimple Marathe on +91 88881 77217.