Test your kitchen layout before choosing the cabinetry

Choose a meal you actually make

Pick a familiar dinner rather than an imagined entertaining occasion. Write down what comes out of the fridge, where you wash it, where you chop it and how it reaches the hob or oven. Then follow the dirty utensils back to the sink and dishwasher.

I would mark the point where the process stalls. Perhaps the chopping board occupies the only place to put the groceries, or the person loading the dishwasher blocks the cutlery drawer. Those are specific problems a new layout can be asked to solve.

• Where do ingredients wait before preparation?
• Where does the board sit while the kettle and toaster are out?
• Can someone get a drink without interrupting the cook?

Draw the kitchen with things open

Ask for an in-use version of the plan. Show the dishwasher door down, the fridge open and the drawers extended. Add people standing at them. A gap between two cabinet fronts is not the same as usable space once an appliance is open.

Use the intended appliance models and their installation information when the design is developed. I would not approve a layout around a generic fridge rectangle and hope the chosen door opens far enough later. The designer and suppliers should check the actual clearances, access and installation requirements.

• Can the dishwasher be unloaded into nearby storage?
• Do opposing drawers or appliance doors clash?
• Can the fridge drawers be removed with the door in its available opening position?

Give the island a job before giving it a size

I would ask what an island needs to do: preparation, washing, cooking, sitting, or some combination. Then draw the occupied stools as well as the benchtop. A seat that looks generous when tucked away may compete with the route to the garden when someone is sitting there.

Here is a hypothetical test: one person prepares dinner while another sits with a laptop and a third opens the dishwasher. If all three need the same patch of floor, try changing the functions before enlarging the island. A peninsula or a separate dining table may suit the room better.

MBIE's room-by-room guidance makes the useful point that cooking habits and whether cooking is social should shape the kitchen. An island is an option, not a requirement.

• Which activity has priority on this surface?
• Where will plates, bags and homework land?
• What would improve if the island were smaller or absent?

Check what moving things involves

A new sink position on paper needs a workable plumbing route. Before committing, ask the designer and plumber what must change below the floor or inside the walls, and have the wider work assessed.

Moving existing sanitary plumbing does not automatically require building consent. MBIE's exemption guidance allows qualifying alterations by an authorised person where the sanitary fixture count does not increase and no specified system is affected. Water-heater alterations are excluded from that exemption, and plumbing work affecting structural performance may require consent. This is not a blanket exemption for the whole renovation.

• What services need relocating, and how will they get there?
• Does the proposal involve structural work or changes beyond the cabinetry?
• Who will confirm the consent requirements before work starts?

Bring a short test list to the design meeting

Take the proposed plan and record each snag as an action: 'allow unloading without blocking this drawer' is more helpful than 'make it flow'. Ask the team to demonstrate the revised arrangement against the same meal and clearing-up routine.

If you are weighing up a kitchen renovation, bring your plan, appliance list and the moments that frustrate you. I am happy to talk through what needs testing before the cabinetry becomes a commitment.