Before you commission a new kitchen in Perth you will have the same questions everyone has: what it costs, how long it takes, whether you need an island, drawers or doors, how big the rangehood should be, what height the bench should be. Here are the answers we give at consultations, without the sales gloss.
A custom kitchen takes eight to twelve weeks from consultation to handover with about a week on site; the price is driven by door finish, hardware and benchtop; drawers beat doors for base cabinets; islands need a metre of clearance on every side; and bench height should follow the cook, not the catalogue.
How is a bespoke kitchen quoted?
A useful quotation follows a clear scope. The room, the cabinetry detail and your preferred materials all influence what needs to be designed, made and installed.
- Cabinet sizes, door profiles, finishes and visible end panels
- Benchtop selection, edge details, joins and installation requirements
- Appliance integration, storage fittings, handles and lighting provisions
- Removal, site access, preparation and associated trade coordination
Bring plans, room photographs and a shortlist of priorities to the consultation. Ask for inclusions, exclusions and assumptions to be identified so you can assess the proposed kitchen as a complete project.
How long will it take?
The programme depends on the design, procurement and site work. Ask for a project-specific sequence covering these stages:
- Design: consultation, measurements, revisions, selections and approved drawings.
- Preparation: confirm appliances, materials, access and the required trade bookings.
- Manufacture and installation: coordinate cabinetry production with removal and site readiness.
- Benchtops: allow for any final site measurement, fabrication and installation dependencies.
- Completion: schedule splashbacks, connections, finishing work and a final review.
Appliance availability, existing conditions and changes after approval can affect the sequence. Establish decision deadlines early and confirm the expected period without a working kitchen before removal begins. A clear programme also identifies who will communicate changes and coordinate the next trade.
Keep one current record of the approved drawings, finish selections and equipment models. Ask how a proposed change will be described, quoted and accepted before work proceeds. If several people are involved in decisions, agree who gives the final approval and how everyone receives the updated information. Before installation, confirm delivery access, protection for adjoining rooms and where materials can be stored. These arrangements do not remove every uncertainty, but they give the household and project team a practical reference when dates or site conditions change.
Should I have an island?
An island is worthwhile when it creates useful preparation space, storage or a natural place to gather. The test is how comfortably the room works around it, with drawers extended, appliances open and stools occupied. A peninsula or a well-planned wall layout can serve some rooms better.
Start with the routes through the kitchen, including the refrigerator, dining table and outdoor area. Someone collecting a drink should be able to do so without constantly crossing the cooking zone. Marking the proposed island on the floor can help you understand the room's proportions beyond the drawing.
Give the island a clear role before deciding its size. A preparation bench, a social perch and a cooking station make different demands on services and space. Have the designer resolve circulation and appliance requirements for your household, rather than relying on a universal island dimension.
Drawers or doors?
Drawers often make lower storage easier to see and use, particularly for cookware, crockery and frequently handled pantry items. Plan their internal heights around the contents and check the runners' suitability for the expected load. A wide drawer is useful when its divisions support what will actually live inside.
Doors remain appropriate for many applications, including taller storage, particular appliances and some areas around plumbing. Under-sink drawers are also possible in suitable configurations; their design depends on the services and usable space.
Compare a storage plan alongside the external elevations. This helps direct the investment towards the fittings you will use, while keeping the front of the kitchen visually composed.
Choose the opening and internal arrangement together, with the contents and the person reaching for them in mind.
Do I really need a rangehood?
Extraction deserves attention whenever you plan a cooking area. A suitable rangehood helps manage cooking grease and odours, and a ducted system carries extracted air outside. Selection involves the cooktop, the way you cook, capture performance, noise and the available duct route. Discuss these together before the overhead cabinetry is settled.
Recirculating models return filtered air to the room. They typically use grease filters and additional odour filters, with maintenance or replacement requirements. They should not be treated as equivalent to removing moisture outdoors. Miele's rangehood installation guidance illustrates how extraction and recirculation arrangements differ.
In an apartment or a house with restricted duct access, have the proposed approach checked before choosing the unit. The installer must resolve the relevant appliance instructions and ventilation requirements. Allow access to filters so routine maintenance remains practical after the kitchen is finished.
What height should the benchtop be?
The useful answer comes from the people using it. Try preparation tasks at a representative surface and discuss whether the height feels comfortable. Consider chopping, washing up and handling larger cookware separately; a single measurement taken from your body does not capture every task.
Where people have different reach or mobility needs, a second work area may be worth exploring. It could be a seated preparation position or a distinct section with another height. Check the relationship to appliances, sinks, storage and the overall room before adopting a change.
Bespoke cabinetry allows these questions to be considered early, but alterations can affect construction and services. Confirm the final dimensions and implications on the drawings, ideally after testing a simple mock-up of any unfamiliar arrangement.
Open shelving — yes or no?
Open shelves can bring warmth to a run of cabinetry and keep selected everyday pieces close at hand. Choose a purpose for them: favourite bowls, cookbooks or a small display, with enough closed storage for everything else.
The right amount depends on how you like to live. Displayed items need cleaning, and shelving near cooking can collect grease as well as dust. View the arrangement from the adjoining living room and consider whether it still feels restful when everyday objects are in place.
Test shelf depth, reach and lighting before specifying them. A carefully positioned shelf can be more useful than a larger arrangement that is difficult to clean or access.
Should I supply my own appliances?
You can discuss supplying your preferred appliances as part of the project scope. Agree who selects, purchases, receives, stores and installs each item, together with responsibility for checking damage or missing components. This keeps the arrangements clear for everyone involved.
Provide the exact model and installation documents before cabinetry is approved. Nominal width alone is insufficient: ventilation, door travel, connection positions and access can all affect the design. Confirm availability before committing to delivery dates, and have any later substitution reviewed before it is ordered.
Can I cook while my kitchen is being built?
Some manufacture can happen while the existing kitchen remains in use. The period of disruption begins when removal or preparatory work makes the room unavailable, and ends when the necessary installations and connections are complete. Confirm those milestones for your project.
Plan an appropriate temporary food-preparation area away from the work zone, with refrigeration, washing arrangements and suitable power. Have the project team advise on what can be used safely while work proceeds. Portable appliances should be operated in accordance with their instructions.
Think about children, pets, deliveries and access through the home. Whether you stay elsewhere or remain at home, make the arrangements before installation starts.
Is a custom kitchen really worth it over flat-pack?
Custom cabinetry is valuable when the room or brief benefits from tailored dimensions, particular details and a coordinated design. Its strongest argument is the quality of fit and function it can offer for your circumstances.
Standard cabinetry can suit a straightforward layout. Bespoke work allows more freedom around difficult walls, integrated appliances, storage requirements and architectural proportions. Both approaches still need appropriate materials, sensible allowances and careful installation.
Compare complete proposals, including panels, fittings, benchtops, removal and associated work. A cabinet-only figure does not describe a finished kitchen, and custom construction does not automatically guarantee every detail. The drawings and specification should show where the proposed approach adds value.
Bring your plans, room photographs and priorities to a conversation with Bhadu. Whether you are refining an existing idea or starting with a list of frustrations, those details help turn the questions into a kitchen brief and an individual quotation.
Questions we hear about this
Eight to twelve weeks from first consultation to handover: about three weeks of design and approvals, four to seven weeks of manufacture while your existing kitchen stays in use, and roughly a week on site. Stone benchtops add ten to twelve days for templating.
Drawers, almost always. Deep pot drawers bring everything to you and use the whole cabinet depth; a cupboard with shelves loses the back third to things you cannot reach. Keep doors for the sink cabinet and tall units.
At least 900 mm on every working side, and 1,000–1,100 mm where two people pass or a dishwasher opens beside it. Less than that and the island gets in the way more than it helps.
The standard is 900 mm, which suits most people between about 160 and 180 cm. Taller cooks are often happier at 920–950 mm. Custom cabinetry lets you choose; a good designer will ask who does the cooking.
Related reading and services
Free in-home design consultations across Perth, Rockingham and Mandurah. We measure, bring samples and give you a realistic budget range on the day, followed by a fixed itemised quote.