Plan before you order · East Dulwich
Kitchen planning in East Dulwich
Design-led: we plan the room before we price the work, so the drawing and the build match.
Build-led: our own builders, plumbers and electricians on site, one team from strip-out to finish.
Before choosing units, compare what the room could do.Our kitchen planning in East Dulwich brings layout, storage and service routes into one brief.
SE15 · SE22 · Southwark
Compare the options
Kitchen planning in East Dulwich: where to start
Compare a galley with a side-return layout before choosing cabinets.
In a narrow rear addition, draw the garden route past the preparation space.
Test whether a peninsula leaves more useful room than an island.
Start with what frustrates you now: too little preparation space, awkward storage or a route through the cooking area.
Test the layout with appliance doors open and chairs pulled out.Keep the version that fits daily life.
Make it buildable
Layout and service routes in East Dulwich
Mark the back door, window reveals and any shared hallway on the measured plan.
Keep a version within the existing walls beside the extension option.
This makes the extra building work a visible choice.
Settle what stays, what moves and what needs checking before ordering units or worktops.
Three layouts to test
Compare the room before choosing units
Galley
Use two working runs where the room allows.Draw open drawers and appliance doors on both sides.Check that passing through does not interrupt preparation.
L-shape with a table
Keep the working run around a corner and test dining separately.Pull the chairs out on the drawing.Compare tall storage at the end with cupboards around the whole room.
Island or peninsula
Decide whether it is for cooking, washing up or seating.Mark the connections and the path around it.Compare the same room without it before committing the floor area.
Bring a useful starting brief
A rough sketch, photographs and an appliance list are enough for the first conversation.Mark doors, windows, radiators and current service points.
List what must stay and what you would change.Include storage, dining, laundry and access needs alongside the look you prefer.
A first conversation does not replace measured checks.Confirm dimensions and service routes before placing orders.
The local check
What changes from one property to another
Much of Dulwich sits under the Dulwich Estate's Scheme of Management.
It is a second consent on top of planning permission.
Freeholders need a licence from the Estate before any structural change or anything that alters the outside.
That includes removing an internal wall, replacing windows and fitting a boiler flue.
Replacing kitchen units on their own does not need it; knocking the kitchen through to the dining room does.
The Estate's own guidance puts rear extensions at around 3m from the rear wall and 3m high to a flat-roof parapet.
It asks for a 600mm offset from a shared boundary unless your neighbour agrees in writing.
Southwark's householder guidance is the one to read before you draw anything.
Permitted development does not apply to flats or maisonettes at all, so any external change needs a full application.
A large single-storey rear extension can go ahead under permitted development, with Prior Approval.
That means the council writes to your neighbours first.
In a conservation area, or under an Article 4 direction, those permitted development rights are cut back again.
We check the actual address and the proposed work before saying what consent is needed.
Check the rules for your address
These are the local authority and estate sources relevant to East Dulwich.
Before work begins
What to check before changing the room
A layout brief should record the building, tenure and proposed changes.Bring these questions to the first call.
- Which walls and openings stay?Flag any removal for a structural check before developing the cabinet plan.
- Where can extraction, water, waste and power run?Confirm the routes before choosing appliance positions.
- Does the option change the outside of the building?Check the address, local guidance and any estate conditions.
- For a flat, check the lease and shared services before planning to move the kitchen or alter a wall.
From our work
A closer look at our work
Details from our own finished kitchens.Bring the storage and layout ideas you like to the first call.
Talk it through
Start with a call, then a site visit if it helps.
Tell us the postcode, what does not work now and what you want to change.Start with a call.A site visit can follow if useful.
Keep exploring
Related work nearby
Further reading
The regulations: the official guidance
- Planning Portal: Kitchens and bathrooms: when Building Regulations approval is needed
A straightforward refit does not generally need approval, but drainage or electrical work may.A new kitchen or bathroom in another room is likely to need it.
- Planning Portal: Internal walls
Taking out an internal wall rarely needs planning permission, but structural work needs Building Regulations approval.
- GOV.UK: Electrical safety: Approved Document P
The Building Regulations guidance on electrical safety in homes, including special locations such as bathrooms.
- GOV.UK: Ventilation: Approved Document F
The Building Regulations guidance on ventilation, including extraction from kitchens and bathrooms.
- Planning Portal: Extensions
When a rear or side extension can go ahead under permitted development, and when it needs permission.
- Historic England: A guide for owners of listed buildings
Making changes to a listed home, with sections on kitchens, bathrooms, extensions and windows.