What to settle before the first fix: planning a Surrey kitchen

A well planned kitchen is decided long before the first cabinet arrives. The choices that shape how a room works every day, where the sockets sit, how the lighting is layered, what the cabinets must hold and where the appliances breathe, are all settled while the walls are still open. In our experience, the kitchens that feel effortless to live in are the ones where these decisions were made early, on paper, and in the right order.

Start with how the room is used

Before we talk about finishes, we ask how the household actually cooks, eats and gathers. A family that cooks every evening has different needs from a couple who entertain at weekends, and both differ from a home where the kitchen doubles as a study desk for the children.

It helps to write down a typical day. Who is in the room at seven in the morning? Where do the bags and shoes land? Where does the post go? The answers shape the plan more than any catalogue.

The working triangle, reconsidered

The classic idea of a triangle between hob, sink and fridge is still a useful starting point, but modern kitchens often have several people working at once. We look at clear zones instead: preparing, cooking, cleaning and storing. Each zone should have its own worktop space and its own storage, so two people can work without crossing paths.

Services come first, finishes second

The unglamorous work happens behind the plaster, and it is the part that is hardest to change later. Before any cabinets are ordered, we settle:

• the position of every socket, including those inside tall cabinets and under the island
• the route for extraction, so the hood vents properly to the outside rather than recirculating
• the position of the sink waste and any new water supply, particularly for an island
• the underfloor heating zones, if they are being installed, so cabinets are not placed over areas that need to breathe
• the position of the boiler or consumer unit if either is affected

Moving a socket after the walls are finished is possible, but it is disruptive and rarely tidy. Moving it on a drawing costs nothing.

Lighting in layers

Kitchens are some of the hardest rooms to light well, because they ask lighting to do several jobs. We usually plan three layers.

Task lighting

This is the light that falls directly on the worktops, typically from under the wall cabinets or from a recessed line above. It removes the shadows cast by your own head and shoulders when you lean over a chopping board.

Ambient lighting

This is the general light for the room. Recessed spotlights are common, but we are careful with their spacing, as too many create a pitted ceiling and glare on glossy surfaces. In an open plan space we often separate the circuits for the cooking area and the dining area, so each can be set to its own mood.

Accent lighting

Plinth lights, glass fronted cabinets and a pendant over a table add character in the evening. They are optional, but the wiring for them is far easier to include at the start.

Storage that earns its place

Most kitchens do not lack storage so much as they lack the right storage in the right place. We would rather see fewer, deeper drawers close to the hob and the dishwasher than a wall of cupboards that are awkward to reach.

Think about what you use daily and place it within an easy reach of where it is used. Pans and utensils near the hob, plates and glasses near the dishwasher, bins near the preparation area. A tall larder unit with internal drawers can replace a great deal of standard cupboard space, and corner solutions are worth considering only where the cabinet depth genuinely allows them to work.

Appliances and ventilation

Appliances are chosen early because their dimensions drive the cabinetry. An integrated oven, a steam oven or a wine cooler each needs its own housing, ventilation and power. Ovens installed at eye level, for example, change the height of the surrounding units, so we confirm the model before the carpentry is drawn.

Ventilation deserves particular care. A powerful extractor needs a route out of the house and a way for fresh air to replace what it removes. In a well sealed home, that detail separates a comfortable kitchen from a stuffy one.

Where the kitchen meets the rest of the house

A kitchen rarely stands alone. If you are knocking through to a dining room, opening up to the garden or adding a rear extension, the kitchen plan and the structural plan must be developed together. Our guide on kitchen refit or kitchen extension explores how to choose between those routes, and our new kitchens service page explains how we run the whole project under one roof.

Where a wider reworking of the house is planned, our renovations service covers the surrounding work, from structural alterations to the finishing trades, so the kitchen is one part of a coordinated programme rather than a separate job.

Sequence and programme

The order of work matters as much as the design. In a typical project we strip out and make safe, carry out any structural changes, run the first fix for electrics and plumbing, plaster and prepare the room, then fit the units, worktops and appliances before the second fix and decoration. Delays most often arise when a decision is made late, such as a delayed worktop template or a changed appliance, so settling the details at the start protects the programme.

We also plan how the household will manage during the work. Setting up a temporary kitchen elsewhere in the house makes the weeks far more comfortable, and it is worth discussing before the project begins.

A calm approach to decisions

None of this needs to be rushed. We would rather spend an extra conversation agreeing a detail than correct it on site. A clear plan, drawn to scale and agreed in writing, gives everyone confidence about what will be delivered and when.

If you are considering a new kitchen and would like to talk through the planning, we would be glad to prepare a free Cost Proposal for your home.