In theory, rearranging your kitchen is simple.
Just move the fridge away from the window, keep the island in the middle and shuffle the worktop appliances around until things feel right. An easy afternoon task: or is it? Understanding how to design a kitchen layout actually requires a lot of thought.
Before you start unplugging appliances, all homeowners should know exactly what makes luxury showroom displays feel calm and capable. As the UK’s number one Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom outlet, we know the secret: it’s structural flow.
Where your main appliances (fridge, hob, sink) are positioned can make a massive difference to usability, and if you’re not designing your kitchen around the way you actually live, no amount of reshuffling will work.
If you’re ready to learn how to design a kitchen layout, consult our tips and tricks before getting started.
1. Start with how your kitchen needs to work
Before falling in love with cabinet colours and luxury appliances (Miele, Siemens and Fisher & Paykel come to mind), take a step back and think about how your kitchen works day to day.
Are you a home cook who needs more worktop space than the average person? Or is your kitchen the type that needs to accommodate multiple family members around an island for family get-togethers?
For example, if you love hosting large dinner parties, you might look at a spacious, premium ex-display German kitchen from brands like SieMatic or Schüller on Rehome. These listings offer plenty of space for multiple cooks.
If your kitchen is a busy family room where several people cook, snack and unload the dishwasher at once, a luxury British brand like Tom Howley or Harvey Jones offers the kind of classic, durable construction required for heavy daily use.
Set out your lifestyle priorities first, and then you can make sure that every choice you make serves a real purpose.
2. Measure your room properly before planning the layout
When you’re learning how to design a kitchen layout, a centimetre can dictate whether a fridge door opens fully or hits a wall. Accurate measurements are the foundation of a kitchen project, so before you plan the layout, grab a tape measure.
Map out the entire perimeter of the room, noting the exact positions of windows, doors, structural pillars, and any architectural quirks (sloping ceilings, fuse boards, etc).
Be sure to mark existing services such as plumbing lines, gas points, electric sockets, and radiators.
If you’re eyeing a luxury pre-loved kitchen on Rehome, having these exact dimensions to hand means you can look at the product dimensions and visualise how one of our listings would look in your home.
3. Choose the right kitchen layout for your space
With your measurements locked in, you can match the room's geometry to the perfect structural shape, and there are several to be aware of:
One-wall kitchen
Single-wall kitchens place cabinets, appliances and worktop space along a single run. They are often used in studio flats, apartments, small cottages, open-plan kitchen-living spaces and rooms where one wall needs to do most of the work.
Galley kitchen
If you’re looking to learn how to design a kitchen layout, the process will be much more straightforward with a galley kitchen. These set-ups use two parallel runs of cabinetry with a walkway between them, and it’s brilliant for long, narrow rooms.
A handless galley setup from a brand like Hacker or Leicht can make a narrow corridor feel instantly more expansive.
L-shaped kitchen
L-shaped kitchens use two adjacent walls to form a natural corner, which frees up the rest of the room for a dining table. It can work well in small, medium and large rooms.
U-shaped kitchen
U-shaped kitchens use three sides of a room, and it can be very practical because the kitchen work triangle sits within easy reach: refrigeration on one side, sink on another and hob or oven on the third.
Peninsula kitchen
Similar to an island layout, the projecting section of a peninsula kitchen is attached to a wall or cabinet run. It appends a connected breakfast bar to an existing run of units for open-plan layouts where a full island won't quite fit.
Island kitchen
For large, square rooms, island kitchens usually consist of a standalone central workstation that becomes the main focus for cooking, dining, and chatting over dinner.
4. Plan the working route: fridge, sink, hob and prep space
Now that you know how to design a kitchen layout, it’s time to think more about the route between the busiest parts of the room: fridge, sink, hob and prep space.
Also known as the kitchen work triangle, this design principle focuses on the path between your three most important zones.
So, start with the fridge. When you take food out, you need somewhere nearby to put it down: this could be a worktop or a short run of counter space.
From there, you’ll usually move to the sink to wash ingredients, then to the main prep area, then to the oven. After cooking, you’ll need somewhere safe to set down hot pans. Plates then need to travel back towards the bin, sink and dishwasher.
The route should feel natural: you don’t want to cross the whole room with hot pans or heavy trays, so if you’re looking through pre-loved kitchens from Rehome, study the listing photos with this route in mind.
Does the island offer prep space, or does it mostly hold appliances? Are premium appliances from brands such as Miele, Neff, Siemens, Gaggenau, Bosch or AEG included, and would their positions work in your home?
Find the ex-display, pre-loved kitchen you love for an affordable price with the UK’s number one Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom outlet!
Bringing your goals to life has never been more affordable. Right now, you could become the proud owner of a luxury ex-display kitchen for hundreds, potentially thousands, less than high-street prices. It’s why we’re the UK’s number one Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom outlet!
Our collection of quality, pre-loved kitchens is constantly rotating, so if you’re interested in space-saving galley kitchens from Harvey Jones or larger Nolte peninsula kitchens (complete with appliance packages from brands like Neff), we’re here to help.
