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03 Murrumbeena VIC — Scope of works

Small kitchen renovations planned to the millimetre.

In a Murrumbeena unit, a Carnegie villa or a period cottage off Neerim Road, a kitchen rarely fails because it is small. It fails because the small space was fitted out with the same cupboards and the same setout as a large one. A compact renovation is won on the drawing: wall by wall, millimetre by millimetre, deciding what earns its depth and what does not.

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This scope covers

01 Galley & single-wall setout

02 Borrowed depth from adjoining walls

03 Full-height joinery to the ceiling

04 Drawer banks in place of cupboards

05 Slimline and integrated appliances

06 Light-reflective finishes

Related line items: Kitchen Storage Solutions and Kitchen Design.

Reference photograph — compact shaker run with open timber shelving, patterned tile and a grey benchtop over an undermount sink

What a small footprint can and cannot do

A 2.4 metre galley will not become an entertainer’s island kitchen, and pretending otherwise is how compact renovations go wrong. What it can do is hold everything you actually use, within reach, with clear bench either side of the sink and cooktop. That is the brief we design to.

Most of the gain comes from three decisions made before ordering: whether the sink and cooktop stay where the services already run, whether the overhead cabinets go to the ceiling, and whether the base run is drawers or doors. Move plumbing and power only where the layout genuinely improves — in a small room, relocation money is often better spent on the joinery itself. The rest is setout discipline: no dead corners, no 150 mm fillers, appliance openings sized from the real measure rather than a brochure.

Where the space comes from

01 Setout before cabinetry

Galley and single-wall runs are measured end to end, then divided into cabinet widths that leave workable bench beside the sink and the cooktop — not whatever is left over after the appliances land.

02 Borrowed depth

A shallow bank of 300 mm joinery along an adjoining wall or the end of a hallway takes the pantry load off the main run and gives the working bench back to cooking.

03 Height, used properly

Carrying overheads to the ceiling removes the dust shelf and adds a full extra tier for seasonal items. In older Murrumbeena cottages the ceiling height is usually the most under-used asset in the room.

04 Drawers, not cupboards

A deep drawer brings its contents to you; a base cupboard asks you to kneel and reach past the front row. Full-extension runners on the base run change how a small kitchen feels more than any finish does.

05 Appliances sized to the room

Slimline dishwashers, 600 mm ovens, integrated fridges and concealed rangehoods keep the run visually quiet and recover width that a freestanding appliance would eat.

06 Finishes that carry light

Pale stone, satin doors, a continuous splashback and under-cabinet lighting stop the room reading as a corridor. Fewer material changes across a short run make it look longer.

Reference photograph — base cupboard holding organised dry-goods containers under a white benchtop

The base run does the heavy lifting

In a compact kitchen the base cabinetry is the storage. Specify it as three or four deep drawers per bank, with dividers for cutlery, pegs for plates and a tall narrow pull-out beside the cooktop for oils and spices. Above the bench, keep only what is used weekly.

Corners are where small kitchens lose the most volume, so an L-shaped run gets either a proper corner pull-out or a deliberate blank with the bench carried over it. The detail work behind these decisions sits under Kitchen Storage Solutions, and where the room needs sizes no standard carcass offers, custom cabinetry takes over.

Order of spend

Where the budget works hardest in a small kitchen

FIRST Hardware and drawer systems

You open them every day, and in a short run there is nowhere for poor hardware to hide. Soft-close runners and hinges carrying real weight are the upgrade that is felt for the life of the kitchen.

SECOND Benchtop and splashback as one surface

A small kitchen shows less stone, so the better material costs less than it would in a large room. Running the same surface up the wall, or tiling with a tight setout, keeps the eye moving along the bench. See Kitchen Benchtops and Kitchen Splashbacks.

THIRD Light on the bench

Under-cabinet strips and a warm ceiling layer remove the shadow that makes narrow rooms feel closed. It is a small electrical item with an outsized effect.

Questions we are asked about compact kitchens

More answers sit on the renovation FAQ, and the staging is set out in the 12-step process.

Is it worth moving the sink or cooktop?

Only when the existing position blocks the bench you need. In many units the services stay put and the budget goes into joinery instead. We confirm this at the measure, before the design is drawn.

Can a small kitchen still have an island?

It depends on clearance. If the gap between bench faces drops below comfortable walking and door-swing space, a peninsula or a shallow breakfast ledge gives the same benefit without choking the room. Layout options are compared under Kitchen Design.

Do dark finishes make a narrow kitchen smaller?

Not by themselves. Contrast and clutter close a room faster than colour does. A dark base with pale bench, splashback and overheads usually reads well, provided the finishes are kept to a short list.

Is a makeover a better option than a full rebuild?

If the carcasses are sound and the layout already works, replacing doors, benchtop and splashback can be the sensible scope — that is a kitchen makeover. When the setout itself is the problem, a complete renovation is the only way to fix it.

Read alongside this item

G1 Small Kitchen Ideas That Work Guide

G2 Kitchen Layouts Compared: Galley to Island Guide

G3 Kitchen Storage That Removes Daily Friction Guide

G4 What Drives Kitchen Renovation Costs Guide

Compact kitchens are renovated across Murrumbeena, Carnegie, Hughesdale, Oakleigh, Chadstone, Malvern East, Bentleigh East, Ormond and McKinnon — the full coverage is listed under service areas.

Scope item 03 — next step

Find out what actually fits the footprint

A 2.4 metre galley, a single-wall unit kitchen or a cottage corner with one awkward wall each hold a different amount, and the only honest answer comes from the measurements. Send the dimensions of the run, or photographs with a tape against the wall, and we will come back with the layouts the space will genuinely take and a written scope for the work.

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Prefer to ask a question first? Use the contact form, or look through projects and the wider scope of works.