When should you measure your kitchen for the layout?

Measure after plastering, never before. Plasterboard and skim add roughly 15 to 25mm per wall, which can break a planned run of standard units and force a custom filler panel cut on site. Architect's drawings get you started, but post-plaster measurements are what your fitter and trades work from.

What is the kitchen work triangle?

The work triangle is the relationship between your three most-used points: hob, sink, and fridge. Each leg should fall within a sensible range and the total perimeter should stay modest, so you are not bumping into people or walking miles between tasks. For open-plan kitchens, a five-zone approach can be more flexible.

How much clearance does a kitchen island need?

An island needs a minimum clearance on all accessible sides, with a little more being better for two people working at once. If the island has a sink, hob, or sockets, those services must be routed through the floor before the screed is poured, because you cannot retrofit them afterwards.

What is the best layout for an extension kitchen?

L-shaped layouts are the most versatile for extension kitchen-diners because they open up the rest of the room for dining or living space. Galley suits narrow extensions, U-shape maximises storage, and islands suit larger spaces. The right choice depends on the room's dimensions and where doors, windows, and services fall.

What sill height should kitchen extension windows be?

Set kitchen window sills higher than the worktop rather than level with it, so there is clearance for tiling and the window frame depth above the work surface. A sill at exactly worktop height leaves no room for tile or floor variation and stops you running units across the wall below.

How accurate does a kitchen layout drawing need to be for trades?

It needs to be a dimensioned, build-ready drawing, not a rough sketch. Your electrician, plumber, and kitchen fitter all work from the same plan showing unit positions, appliance locations, socket heights, and service points, so any vague figure becomes a costly mistake once first fix begins.

Back to Kitchen Extension

Phase 5 · Specification · Task 02 of 06

Measuring Your Kitchen Space and Planning the Layout

How to measure your extension kitchen accurately, plan a layout that works for real cooking, and produce the drawing your electrician and plumber need before first fix.

15 min readUpdated 2026Premium

Process infographic showing the four stages of kitchen layout planning: measure the room, map services, draw the layout, hand off to trades

Prerequisites

Complete this first

Designer vs Self-Source

Get the kitchen layout wrong and your electrician wires sockets in the wrong places. Your plumber routes pipes to a wall that ends up as a window. Your pendant lights hang 150mm off-centre because someone measured the island position from an unplastered wall. Every one of those mistakes costs real money to fix, and every one is avoidable with two hours of careful work before first fix begins.

Measuring and layout is the specification-phase task that turns your kitchen design into a build-ready drawing: what to measure, when to measure it, how to turn those measurements into a layout your trades can actually work from, and the dimensions that matter when planning where everything goes.

Do this first

You should have already decided whether you're using a kitchen design company or self-sourcing. If you're using a showroom's design service, they'll handle measuring and layout for you. What follows is for everyone else, and for anyone who wants to check the showroom's work before their electrician starts drilling.

What this guide covers

01When to Measure (and Why Timing Matters)
02What You Need
03How to Measure the Room
04Planning the Layout
05Standard Dimensions You Need to Know
06The Services Plan: What Your Trades Need From You
07Drawing the Layout
08Common Layout Mistakes
09The Professional Option
10What Happens Next

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