Kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth

What prompts kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth?

Homeowners in Portsmouth often ask for a design when the kitchen layout no longer suits how they live, even though the room itself is a reasonable size.

Owners of new-build homes in Portsmouth sometimes redesign the standard kitchen after a few years to add tall storage, an extra appliance or a breakfast bar. We cover all of Portsmouth, including the PO5 postcode district, and travel out to neighbouring towns across Hampshire.

What does kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth include?

Your written quote lists everything included. For kitchen design and planning, that normally means:

Appliance positions, housings and ventilation gaps checked against real sizes
Socket, switch, lighting and extraction positions marked for the electrician
Elevations and 3D views for larger or open-plan kitchens where chosen
A final plan and specification to order from and fit to
Positions of water, waste, gas, power and radiators recorded on the plan
Working zones planned for preparation, cooking, washing and storage

Kitchen design and planning prices in Portsmouth

Use these ranges to plan your budget. They include VAT, reflect costs in the South East, and are firmed up once we have seen your Portsmouth kitchen. Prices in the South East usually run above the national guide, mainly because labour and parking cost more.

Kitchen design and planning prices in Portsmouth
Typical project	Guide price
Design for a kitchen we supplyMeasured survey, layout plan and specification are part of the supply-and-fit price	Included
Measured drawings and layout plan for a kitchen bought elsewhereMeasured drawing, layout and service positions for your fitter and supplier	£340–£1,000
Detailed design with 3D views and elevationsFor larger or open-plan kitchens	£690–£1,700

Design is included in the supply-and-fit price; for kitchens bought elsewhere, the guide prices cover the measured survey, layout drawing and service positions, with 3D views and elevations in the detailed option. The survey visit to quote is free; the fee covers the measured drawings and layout plan you can take to any supplier. Prices include VAT at 20%.

Kitchens in homes around Portsmouth

Typical homes in this part of Hampshire include Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war estate houses and thatched and brick cottages. Terraces in Southampton and Portsmouth often have a narrow back kitchen, while post-war estate houses tend to have a compact rectangular room suited to an L-shape.

Water across Hampshire is mostly hard, largely from chalk sources, so limescale on taps and boiling water taps is common and a filter can help. Dense terraced streets can be very tight for parking, and New Forest lanes and village roads may limit the size of delivery vehicle.

Do you need approval for kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth?

Designing and fitting a kitchen needs no planning permission in England, but a good plan allows for the rules that follow. New circuits are notifiable under Part P, a cooker hood extracting outside should achieve about 30 litres per second under Approved Document F, and removing a load-bearing wall needs a structural engineer and building control approval. Listed buildings and flats may need consent before a new outside vent is cut.

Homes within the New Forest or South Downs national parks, listed cottages and conservation areas may need consent for a new extractor vent or alterations to historic features.

Before you book kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth

Open every cupboard in your current kitchen and decide what you use, what you store and what you could do without before planning storage.
Note where sunlight falls in your Portsmouth kitchen during the day, as it affects where people like to prepare food and sit.
If your home in Hampshire has a boiler in the kitchen, ask for service access to be designed in rather than boxed in tightly.
Keep the sink, hob and fridge reasonably close; the classic work triangle is a useful check, not a rule every kitchen must follow.

Questions about kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth

How much does kitchen design and planning cost in Portsmouth?

Kitchen design and planning in Portsmouth typically costs £340 to £1,000 including VAT for measured drawings and a layout plan for a kitchen bought elsewhere, based on prices in the South East. Larger or more involved jobs cost more, and your price is fixed in writing after a free survey visit.

Which parts of Portsmouth do you work in?

All of them. Our Hampshire coverage takes in the whole of Portsmouth, including the PO5 postcode district, as well as surrounding towns such as Southsea. If you are unsure, send us your postcode.

How long does kitchen design take?

Usually one to three weeks from the survey to a final plan, depending on how many layout options you want to compare and how quickly choices about doors, worktops and appliances are made. A replacement in the same layout can be settled quickly, while an open-plan room with an island or moved services often takes a few rounds of changes.

What is the kitchen work triangle?

The work triangle is a planning idea that links the sink, hob and fridge, keeping each within a short, unobstructed walk of the others so cooking takes fewer steps. It is still a useful check, but many kitchens are now planned in zones for preparation, cooking, washing and storage, which suits larger and open-plan rooms where more than one person uses the space.

Which kitchen layout suits my room?

It depends mainly on the shape of the room, where the doors and windows sit and how many people cook. Narrow rooms suit a galley, rooms with a corner suit an L-shape, and wider rooms can take a U-shape. An island needs space for walkways of around a metre on each side, and a peninsula gives similar worktop space where an island will not fit.

Nearby places we cover

Neighbouring towns where we offer kitchen design and planning: