Renovation advice
Kitchen Renovation Checklist for an Islington Home
Practical checks before you plan the work.
A new kitchen is easier to plan when you start with how you use the room. Before looking at cabinet colours, write down what gets in your way now: too little preparation space, awkward storage or a table that blocks the route through the kitchen.
Measure the room before choosing a layout
Record doors, windows, radiators, pipes and sockets. Include ceiling height and any uneven walls. In an older Islington home, the room may not be perfectly square. Check that cupboards, drawers and appliances can open without colliding. A showroom layout needs checking against your actual room, not just its approximate floor area.
Decide what stays and what moves
Keeping the sink and cooker in roughly the same positions may reduce changes to services, but should not lock you into a poor layout. Discuss plumbing, electrical and ventilation work before ordering cabinets. If a wall is to be removed, establish whether it is structural and arrange the appropriate design and approvals before work starts.
Choose appliances before finalising cabinets
Appliance dimensions affect the whole kitchen plan. Check the required clearances and connections for your chosen models. Decide where bins, small appliances and everyday crockery will go. An island should earn its space: if it makes movement difficult, a smaller peninsula or a clear central floor may work better.
Agree who supplies each item
Ask who orders worktops, taps, appliances, lighting and handles. Confirm whether worktop templating and fitting are separate visits. Keep product details and lead times together. A fitting quotation should distinguish between labour and supplied products, and identify removal, disposal and making good.
Plan for the days without a kitchen
Set aside somewhere safe for basic food preparation and washing up. Ask when water or power will be interrupted and whether the room will be usable between stages. At handover, check doors, drawers, sealant, visible finishes and outstanding items against the agreed scope before treating the job as complete.
A useful layout test
Imagine unloading shopping, emptying the dishwasher and making a meal while someone else enters the room. If all three activities meet in one tight corner, revisit the layout. Keep crockery near the dishwasher and give yourself a practical place to put hot dishes. Test the proposed cupboard doors on the plan rather than counting cabinets alone.
Questions for the fitting visit
Ask where the existing services have been checked, which products still need a decision and what must arrive before fitting starts. Clarify who takes the final worktop measurements and whether any floor or wall preparation must happen first. Keep a short outstanding-decisions list so a missing tap or appliance specification does not hold up the whole room.
Your checklist before work starts
- Confirm the measured layout and appliance specifications.
- List supplied items and delivery dates.
- Agree preparation, removal and disposal.
- Allow for issues revealed after the old kitchen is removed.
For the work itself, see our kitchen refurbishment service. To discuss your property, contact us or call 020 3026 9485.