Kitchen guides: the decisions that are made before anything is built

Most of a kitchen is settled on paper. Where the bench runs, how wide the walkway is left, which board sits behind the doors, what the benchtop has to survive on a Tuesday night — all of it is chosen long before a saw is switched on. These eleven guides set out that reasoning in plain terms, in the same order a job is planned: layout first, then materials, then the preparation that makes demolition week uneventful.

See the thirteen stages these guides sit inside

Reference image — setting out. Every guide below describes the same working order: measure the room, draw it in module widths, then choose the materials that suit the way the kitchen is used.

SCOPE · 01 PLAN / 02 MATERIALS / 03 PREPARE

How to use the index

If you are at the beginning, read the planning group in order — layout, island, compact kitchens, storage. The plan decides everything that follows, and changing it later is the expensive kind of change.

If the layout is already settled and you are standing in a showroom holding samples, start with materials. If you have a design you are happy with and a build date in mind, go straight to the preparation group.

Each guide ends where the work begins: a link into the matching service page, and into the full list of thirteen services if you are still mapping the scope.

GROUP 01 · 900 BENCH · 1000 CLEAR

Planning the layout

Four guides about the plan itself: where the runs go, how much floor is left between them, and what the room can hold once the appliances and storage are in. Read these before you fall in love with a finish.

Service page: Custom Kitchen Design

Kitchen layouts explained

Galley, L-shape, U-shape and island plans compared on bench run, walkway width and where the work triangle actually falls in a typical Melbourne room. Read the guide

Planning a kitchen island

Island sizing decided from the floor outwards: clearance on each side, overhang for seating, and what changes once a sink or cooktop lands in the bench. Read the guide

Small kitchen ideas that actually work

Where a compact unit or villa kitchen gains usable room — full-height modules, drawer banks instead of doors, and the narrow fittings worth their extra cost. Read the guide

Pantry and storage planning

How to plan storage from an inventory rather than a wish list: walk-in versus butler’s pantry, pull-outs, drawer depths and what each module width really holds. Read the guide

GROUP 02 · 20MM STONE · 600 SPLASH · 16MM BOARD

Choosing materials

Samples look convincing under showroom light and behave differently under a hot pan. These four guides judge surfaces and joinery on wear, cleaning and how the pieces meet each other.

Reference image — comparing a sample against the wall it will sit on. Tiles, stone and cabinetry finishes are judged next to each other in the room’s own light, not one at a time in a showroom.

Benchtop materials compared

Engineered stone, porcelain, natural stone, timber and laminate set against heat, staining and edge profiles — and the joins each material will or will not hide. Read the guide

Splashback ideas and materials

Tile format, glass and full-height stone judged on grout lines, cleaning and how the splashback has to sit between benchtop, window reveal and overhead cabinetry. Read the guide

A guide to custom cabinetry

Carcass board, door finishes, hinges and runners explained — and the practical differences between flat-pack, modular and made-to-measure joinery once the drawers are loaded. Read the guide

Kitchen design trends and what ages well

Handleless fronts, matte finishes, integrated appliances and darker joinery, separated into the decisions that date quickly and the ones that still read well in a decade. Read the guide

GROUP 03 · SCOPE · SEQUENCE · TIME

Before you commit

Three guides for the weeks between deciding to renovate and handing over the room.

What drives kitchen renovation cost

The variables behind any quote: scope, cabinetry construction, benchtop material, appliance choices, and how much plumbing and electrical work the new layout asks for. Read the guide

Kitchen renovation checklist

What to measure, select and approve before demolition day, plus setting up a temporary kitchen so the household keeps eating while the room is off limits. Read the guide

How long a kitchen renovation takes

Where the time actually goes across the thirteen stages — drawing, selections, fabrication, fit-off — and the decisions that most often stall a job halfway through. Read the guide

INDEX · 13 SERVICE PAGES

From reading to the work itself

Reading ends somewhere. Projects shows how the record is kept, and the FAQ answers the shorter questions.

LAYOUT & DESIGN

Custom Kitchen DesignKitchen IslandsSmall Kitchen RenovationsModern KitchensLuxury Kitchens

SURFACES

Kitchen BenchtopsKitchen SplashbacksKitchen Makeovers

CABINETRY & BUILD

Custom CabinetryPantry & Storage SolutionsKitchen InstallationLaundry CabinetryComplete Kitchen Renovations

NEXT · MEASURE · DRAW · QUOTE

When the reading turns into a plan of your own room

Guides can take you as far as knowing what to ask for. The rest depends on your own walls, window heights and the way the room is used — which is measured on site in Oakleigh, Oakleigh South, Hughesdale, Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Chadstone, Clayton and the suburbs around them before anything is drawn.

Prefer to describe the kitchen first? Send the details through the contact form, or read the thirteen-stage process first.