What determines the outcome of a kitchen renovation is not the colour of the cabinet doors but how preparing, cooking, washing and storing are sequenced within three metres of worktop. This guide covers the logic of layout, worktop and cabinet materials, the ventilation and electrical decisions that get overlooked most often, where the budget really goes and what drives the programme.
A kitchen renovation is the job in a home where the largest number of decisions has to fit into the smallest area. Along three or four metres of worktop, preparing, cooking, washing, storing and separating waste all have to be resolved at once. That is why what determines the outcome in a kitchen is not, as is usually assumed, the colour of the doors or the brand of the worktop.
In a bathroom the decisive layer was water and waterproofing; we covered that in our guide to bathroom renovation. In a kitchen the decisive layer is a different one: workflow, ventilation and electrical load. Get those three wrong and even the most expensive materials will not make the kitchen work.
In this guide we take kitchen renovation in the order the decisions have to be made: layout first, then equipment, then materials, and finishes last.
1. Layout: from the work triangle to work zones
For many years the basic measure of kitchen design was the "work triangle": a balanced set of distances between fridge, sink and hob. That measure still holds, but it is no longer sufficient on its own, because the number of appliances has grown and the work has become divided.
A more useful approach today is to divide the kitchen into five zones: storage (dry goods and fridge), non-food storage (plates, pans, equipment), preparation (the largest clear run of worktop), cooking (hob and oven) and cleaning (sink and dishwasher). A kitchen works comfortably when these zones are arranged in the natural order of the work: what comes out of storage moves to the preparation surface, from there to the hob, and then on to the sink.
Three rules make themselves felt more than any others. There should be an uninterrupted run of preparation worktop between sink and hob; this is the most used surface in the kitchen and narrowing it is felt every single day. There should be worktop on both sides of the hob, because the place for a hot pan is not the five centimetres between the hob and the wall. The dishwasher should sit next to the sink, positioned so its door can open without blocking access.
When these three are satisfied, the shape of the kitchen — single run, L, U or island — becomes a secondary decision. When they are not, no shape rescues it.
2. The island: its real cost is higher than it looks
The island is the most requested and most miscalculated item in a kitchen renovation. The island itself is a run of cabinetry and its price is predictable. What makes an island expensive is the functions moved onto it.
If the sink moves to the island, supply and waste have to be brought through the floor to reach it; that means cutting a channel and re-establishing the fall on the waste. If the hob moves to the island, a ventilation problem appears: you need either an extractor descending from the ceiling or a downdraft unit set into the worktop, and both cost more than a wall-mounted hood. On top of that comes the power supply and sockets that have to be run out to the island.
None of this means "do not build an island". It means this: the island decision is a services decision, and it belongs to the layout stage. Saying "let's add an island" after the cabinetry has been ordered means opening up services that were already finished.
There is also a practical dimensional test for an island: there has to be a comfortable circulation gap between each side of the island and the run facing it. When that gap narrows, the island blocks the kitchen instead of enlarging it — particularly where two people work at the same time.
3. Ventilation and ducting: the most overlooked decision
The subject most often skipped in a kitchen renovation, and hardest to correct afterwards, is ventilation. Extractors are usually chosen on looks and noise level; the real question, though, is where the air goes.
There are two basic systems. A ducted extractor discharges the air outside; because it genuinely removes odour and moisture its performance is high, but it needs a duct route. A recirculating extractor with carbon filters passes the air through a filter and returns it to the kitchen; it needs no duct and is easy to install, but it does not remove moisture and it requires regular filter changes.
The decision has to be taken at the very start, because if a ducted system is chosen the duct route directly determines the ceiling and over-cabinet arrangement. The length of the run and the number of bends also affect performance: every sharp turn takes something off the extraction rate. Deciding later to "connect it to the duct" usually means taking the cabinets back off.
In apartment buildings there is a further constraint: connection to a shared flue and the condition of that flue. Its cross-section, its cleanliness and whether it is shared with other flats all need checking beforehand. In some buildings discharge through the façade is not possible, or requires the management's consent.
4. Electrics: the kitchen is the most heavily loaded room in the house
The kitchen is where the greatest number of appliances run at the same time: oven, hob, extractor, dishwasher, fridge, microwave, kettle, coffee machine. In older flats the existing installation was usually never designed to carry that load.
Electrics in a kitchen renovation therefore fall under two headings. The first is load: high-demand appliances — an integrated oven and an induction hob in particular — need dedicated circuits, and the consumer unit has to be capable of carrying the total. The second is socket planning: the number and position of sockets above the worktop is the item that most affects daily use and gets discussed least. The practical test is having sockets at more than one point along the preparation run; a single bank of sockets is always in the wrong place in use.
Lighting belongs under the same heading. General ceiling lighting alone is inadequate in a kitchen, because anyone working at the worktop stands in their own shadow. Under-cabinet lighting is therefore not a decorative decision but a functional one, and it has to be planned while the electrical first fix is being done.
5. Cabinets and worktops: how to choose
There are two separate decisions in kitchen cabinetry and they should not be conflated: the carcass material and the door material.
The carcass is the structural part, and the real risk in a kitchen is moisture. A carcass material with good resistance to water directly determines longevity, particularly in the modules under the sink and dishwasher. This is not the place to economise, because once the carcass has failed, replacing the doors achieves nothing.
The door is the visible surface and the one that takes the wear. The choice here is made between impact resistance, scratch resistance, how much it shows fingerprints and how easily it cleans. Matt surfaces show fingerprints less but some types can mark; gloss surfaces clean easily but show marks more readily.
For worktops, three criteria dominate: heat resistance, stain resistance and resistance to impact and scratching. Natural stones are visually strong but some are porous and need regular sealing; composite surfaces are generally more predictable on staining; laminate worktops are advantageous on budget but are more sensitive to cuts and heat. The right choice is not "the best material" but the material that suits how that kitchen is actually used: the criteria for a kitchen used intensively every day are not the same as for one used a few times a week.
A frequently missed detail is the splashback. The surface between worktop and wall units is the area that gets dirtiest and wettest; a solution with no joints, or very few, noticeably reduces the cleaning burden over time.
6. Sequence and timescale
The sequence in a kitchen runs roughly as follows: strip-out and waste removal; plumbing and electrical first fix to suit the new layout; wall and floor repairs; preparation for plaster and paint; floor finish; templating the worktop in situ; cabinet installation; worktop fabrication and fitting; appliance installation; splashback; silicone, lighting and final clean.
The critical point here is that the worktop is templated on site. It is measured after the cabinets are installed, because walls are rarely truly square and differences of a few millimetres cause problems in how the worktop sits. After templating there is a wait while the stone or composite worktop is fabricated, and that wait is an invisible but unavoidable part of the programme.
In total a standard kitchen renovation, with decisions taken in advance, usually completes in three to five weeks. Two things extend it: lead times on appliances and the worktop, and decisions that change during the works. Appliance selection is particularly critical in a kitchen because cabinet dimensions are built around the appliances; changing an appliance can mean remaking a cabinet.
7. Where the budget goes
The largest share of a kitchen budget usually goes to cabinetry and worktop, followed by the appliances. Plumbing and electrics are a smaller item than in a bathroom, but they grow quickly if the layout changes.
The three items that give most room to move on budget are door material (which can be changed without compromising the carcass), worktop material and appliance tier. The items with least give are plumbing, electrics and installation labour.
And the factor that quietly inflates the budget is the same here as elsewhere: changing the layout. Moving the sink or the hob looks like a change to a single line on a drawing; behind it sits the rebuilding of plumbing, ducting and power. We set out the logic of pricing, and why quotations differ so widely, in our article on how interior design fees are determined. If the kitchen is part of a whole-home refurbishment, you will find the subject as a whole in our article on the complete home renovation process.
Five common mistakes
1. Leaving appliance selection until after the cabinets are ordered. Cabinet dimensions are built around the appliances. An oven or dishwasher changed later means remaking the module.
2. Leaving ventilation to the last minute. The choice of a ducted extractor, together with its route, determines the ceiling and over-cabinet arrangement. Decided late, it ends with the cabinets coming off.
3. Sacrificing the preparation run. The uninterrupted surface between sink and hob is the most used part of the kitchen. Narrow it to squeeze in one more cabinet and it is felt every day.
4. Not drawing a socket plan. A single bank of sockets above the worktop is always in the wrong place in use. Number and position belong to the electrical first fix.
5. Economising on the carcass and investing in the doors. The real risk in a kitchen is moisture, and moisture destroys the carcass. Once it has failed, the quality of the doors is irrelevant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a kitchen renovation take?
With decisions made in advance and materials ordered, a standard kitchen usually takes three to five weeks. Within that, templating the worktop after the cabinets are installed and the fabrication wait that follows are an unavoidable part of the programme. What really extends it is delay in the supply of appliances and the worktop.
Can the sink or hob be moved in a kitchen?
Technically yes in most cases, but this is a services decision rather than a layout one. Moving the sink means rebuilding the supply and waste runs; moving the hob means rerouting the ventilation and usually the power as well. For that reason the decision has to be taken before the cabinetry is ordered.
Is a recirculating extractor good enough?
It depends on how intensively you cook. A carbon-filter extractor filters the air and returns it to the kitchen; it noticeably reduces odour but does not remove moisture and needs its filters changed. In kitchens where there is heavy cooking, a ducted system performs markedly better. Where the building does not allow a duct connection, a filtered system is a reasonable answer, but additional ventilation should be considered for moisture.
Can a kitchen be renewed without removing the cabinets?
Yes. Where the carcasses are sound and the layout is not changing, replacing the doors, renewing the worktop, adding a splashback, reworking the lighting and changing the tap can produce a marked result on a far smaller budget. But if the carcasses have suffered moisture damage, or the layout itself does not work, a surface refresh only postpones the problem.
What is the largest item in a kitchen budget?
Usually the cabinetry and worktop, followed by the appliances. The three items easiest to flex are the door material, the worktop material and the appliance tier. Plumbing, electrics and installation labour come down only by reducing scope. The factor that quietly inflates a budget is a layout that changes after work has started.
Let us talk about your kitchen project
At Kaya + Partners we design not just the cabinetry and worktop but the layout, ventilation and electrical arrangement behind them: zone planning, appliance decisions, construction detailing, sequence of works and site management all run from one place. Among the interior design practices working in Ankara, what sets us apart is that design and delivery sit within the same team.
To discuss your project, get in touch with us; you can review our completed work on our projects page.