Kitchen layouts
Five layouts, and what each one costs you
Layout does not set the price on its own: total benchtop area, the number of inside corners and whether services move are what move the number. These five pages say which of those each layout triggers, so you can see the cost coming before anyone quotes.
Updated
Single-wall
Everything against one wall: fridge, sink and cooktop in a row.
Typically 2.4–3.6 m of bench.
Costs and trade-offs →Galley
Two parallel runs of bench with a working corridor between.
Typically Two runs of 2.7–4.2 m.
Costs and trade-offs →L-shape
Two adjacent runs of bench meeting at a corner.
Typically A 2.4–3.6 m run plus a 1.8–3.0 m return.
Costs and trade-offs →U-shape
Three runs of bench enclosing the cook on three sides.
Typically Three runs totalling 6.0–9.0 m.
Costs and trade-offs →Island
An L or U with a freestanding island as the social centre.
Typically A 1.8–3.0 m island plus the perimeter runs.
Costs and trade-offs →What actually drives the price?
Not the shape on its own. Total benchtop area is the single biggest material decision and it scales with how many runs of bench you have; inside corners either waste storage or take expensive pull-out hardware; and moving a sink, waste or hob is what turns a replacement into a remodel.
- Benchtop area. The single biggest material decision, and it scales with how many runs of bench you have.
- Inside corners. A blind corner either wastes storage or takes expensive pull-out hardware. A galley has none, a U-shape has two.
- Whether services move. Moving the sink, waste or gas adds $3,000–8,000 (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026) and can turn a Replace into a Remodel.
- Clearances. Not a cost, a constraint. If the room cannot give an island 1.0–1.2 m on each working side, budget will not fix it.
These pages are drawn, not photographed. We have no completed jobs yet, so you will not find a stock kitchen presented as our work anywhere on this site.
Which layout is right for your room?
That is what a measure answers. A $595 design consult gives you two layouts drawn to scale for your actual room, with the cost of each one next to it.
Book a design consultSources
- CheckMyBuilder, kitchen renovation cost (updated July 2026)
- Superior Renovations, kitchen renovation cost Auckland (2026)
Checked 15 September 2026. We re-check every published figure quarterly.