Published 25 September 2026
Independent guide — not a contractor. Planning information only. Confirm licences, waterproofing, and quotes with qualified trades and the relevant state authority.
guides
How to brief a kitchen designer
A boring-on-purpose brief for Australian kitchen designers: who cooks, what must be stored, which SKUs are frozen, and whether the sink can move.
What visitors always ask
How do I brief a kitchen designer?+
Bring a measured plan, photos, a list of what must be stored, who cooks at the same time, appliance models you will not change, and a planning-band budget with a contingency. Say whether the sink, cooktop, and fridge can move. Ask for a lighting and power plan in the same pack as the elevations.
What should I lock before cabinets are drawn?+
Appliance model numbers (not categories), whether the sink can move, extraction path (ducted or recirculating), hinge sides, and the planning band after you have estimated joinery and benches. A late fridge is a carcass that no longer fits.
How many power points should the brief mention?+
Enough that daily appliances do not share a single overloaded point. Count what you own, then add two on the prep run and any island. Dedicated circuits for oven, cooktop, dishwasher, and sometimes a fridge ice-maker are an electrician’s design — we do not invent amps.
Keep reading
Kitchen hub
Layouts, stages, and briefing.
Cosmetic refresh vs full renovation
How Australians tell a paint-and-tapware job from a strip that redoes joinery or a wet-area membrane — in both kitchens and bathrooms.
Hard water tapware Australia
WELS, WaterMark, serviceable aerators, and finishes that survive Australian hard-water regions — kitchens and bathrooms.
Australia · kitchens & bathrooms
Make a renovation day of it
Whether you have a weekend cosmetic refresh or a full wet-area rebuild, start with the checklist, then read the cost bands with their assumptions still attached.