Ten kitchen guides, written in the order the decisions arrive.

Reference photograph — an island bench with seating and pendants above it, the layout and lighting decisions covered in guides 03 and 08

What the index covers

A kitchen renovation is mostly a sequence of decisions, and almost all of them are cheaper to change on paper than on site. These ten guides take the decisions one at a time — what actually moves the cost, how much a small room can be asked to do, which layout suits the shape you have, how cabinetry is specified, what separates one benchtop material from another, where a splashback should stop, and how storage and lighting are planned before a single cabinet is cut.

Each guide is written for a homeowner reading before a renovation is committed to, and each names the part of the work it belongs to, so the guide on benchtop materials leads into Kitchen Benchtops and the planning guide leads into our twelve-stage process. Read in order, the ten cover a renovation end to end; read alone, each answers one question properly.

Index at a glance

01–02 Cost and scaleBudget

03–04 Layout and joineryDesign

05–06 SurfacesMaterials

07–08 Storage and lightDetail

09–10 Sequence and pre-startPlanning

Every guide cross-links to the matching line item in Kitchen Renovation Services.

Guides 01–05

Cost, space, layout and cabinetry

01 What Drives Kitchen Renovation CostsBudget

Where the money actually goes: room size, cabinet specification and hardware, benchtop material, and whether plumbing and electrical services move. Reads alongside Complete Kitchen Renovations.

02 Small Kitchen Ideas That WorkCompact

Getting a unit or cottage kitchen to work through bench continuity, vertical storage and restraint with finishes. Reads alongside Small Kitchen Renovations and Kitchen Storage Solutions.

03 Kitchen Layouts Compared: Galley to IslandLayout

Galley, L-shape, U-shape and island plans measured against room proportion, door positions and the way a household moves through the space. Reads alongside Kitchen Design.

04 Kitchen Cabinet Ideas, Doors & FinishesJoinery

Door profiles, board and finish choices, handle versus shadow-line, and why hinge and runner quality shows up years later. Reads alongside Kitchen Cabinets and Custom Cabinetry.

05 Benchtop Materials ComparedStone

Engineered stone, porcelain, natural stone, timber and laminate set against durability, maintenance, edge profile and cost. Reads alongside Kitchen Benchtops.

Guides 06–10

Surfaces, storage, light and sequence

06 Choosing a Kitchen SplashbackTile / Slab

Tile, glass, stone slab and full-height options, where the top edge should land, and what each choice asks of the setout. Reads alongside Kitchen Splashbacks and Kitchen Tiling.

07 Kitchen Storage That Removes Daily FrictionStorage

Drawer banks instead of low doors, pantry types, corner solutions and bin placement — decided in the drawing, not at installation. Reads alongside Kitchen Storage Solutions.

08 Kitchen Lighting: Task, Ambient & FeatureLight

Layering under-cabinet task light, general ceiling light and island pendants, and why the positions belong on the plan before rough-in. Reads alongside Kitchen Design.

09 How to Plan a Kitchen RenovationSequence

Budget first, design locked second, materials ordered against lead times, trades sequenced last — mapped against the twelve-stage process.

10 Pre-Start Kitchen Renovation ChecklistPre-startThe decisions, measurements and approvals worth having settled before demolition day, and what to gather before you request a quote.

Reference photograph — an installation under way: the point where reading turns into a measured, written scope on site

From reading to a written scope

A guide is useful up to the point where a room has to be measured. After that the questions stop being general — this wall, this window, this appliance, this budget — and the answers belong in a drawing and a written scope of works rather than an article.

If you have read enough to know roughly what you want, the next step is the same one every kitchen starts with: a consultation and a measure in Murrumbeena, Carnegie, Hughesdale, Oakleigh, Chadstone, Malvern East, Bentleigh East, Ormond or McKinnon, followed by a design and a quote you can read line by line.

Kitchen Renovation ServicesTwelve line items

Our 12-Step Renovation ProcessSequence

Kitchen Projects & Case StudiesRecords

Kitchen Renovation FAQQuestions

Murrumbeena VIC — Next step

Read the guides, then have the room measured.

Send through what you have — the suburb, the kitchen you are working with and what you want changed — and the conversation starts where the guides leave off: a consultation, a measure, a design and a written quote.

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