Sources checked
Follow one meal from start to finish
Pick a meal you make often and walk through it on the floor plan. Where do the ingredients come out? Where will you wash vegetables, chop food and set down the finished dish? Then work through washing up. Make a list of the surfaces and storage you use at each step. A small kitchen can suit a keen cook, but only if the plan gives the right tasks somewhere to happen.
Choose appliances before finalizing cabinetry
List what you actually cook with during an ordinary week. Compare the external dimensions of the exact models you are considering, including the space needed to open doors and remove trays. Give appliance specifications to your designer so installation, ventilation and service access can be checked. Do not treat a compact appliance shown in a rendering as a confirmed product specification.
Keep a usable piece of counter clear
Draw the kettle, coffee equipment, drying rack and any appliances that normally stay out. Look at the uninterrupted work surface left after those objects are placed. If a sink cover or folding extension is part of the solution, try the sequence: where does it go when the sink is in use, and can somebody walk past it? A surface that exists on paper may be unavailable exactly when you want it.
Build the pantry around your shopping habits
Set out a normal grocery shop and measure the bulky items. Someone who shops daily will need a different arrangement from a household that buys larger quantities less often. Include opened packets, reusable containers, pet food and the shopping bags themselves. Place the items you reach for repeatedly where you can see and retrieve them without unpacking everything in front.
Plan cleanup and two-person movement
Show the trash and recycling containers, cleaning supplies, damp dishcloths and dishes waiting to dry. Then have two people act out cooking and getting a drink at the same time. If the refrigerator or a drawer blocks the main route, compare a different door orientation or cabinet arrangement with your designer. Small changes at the drawing stage are easier to consider than a kitchen that needs constant negotiation.
Make a kitchen brief you can hand over
Write down the appliances you want, the cookware you need to store, your grocery pattern and the tasks that must happen simultaneously. Add actual measurements and mark anything that remains undecided. Ask your designer to show the layout with doors open and the main work surface in use. Keep appliance-specific installation decisions with the appropriately qualified professionals.
Make an appliance and workflow schedule
| Item | Record | Interaction to test |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Exact dimensions, power and door arrangement | Door versus main passage |
| Cooking | Model and installation/ventilation requirements | Heat, extraction and working surface |
| Sink and cleanup | Fixture, drying and waste positions | Preparation during washing up |
| Counter appliances | Real footprint and storage | Remaining uninterrupted preparation area |
| Pantry | Normal shop and bulky packages | Visible, reachable daily storage |
Set out the cookware and groceries for a meal you actually make. Mark the counter area occupied by each stage. If the solution depends on a sink cover or folding board, decide where it goes at the moment you need the sink or passage. Take the appliance schedule to the designer before the cabinets are ordered.
Sources & further reading
Official guidance and original source material used for the factual points in this guide. Planning examples and worksheets are our own illustrations.
Checked 8 October 2026. Location-specific rules, availability and product specifications can change. Suggest a correction.