Timeline for a Bespoke Kitchen in London

When you are planning a home renovation in London, knowing the exact timeline of your project is essential for managing your day-to-day life—especially when your kitchen is completely out of commission. Over our 12+ years of designing, manufacturing, and installing bespoke kitchens across London and Surrey, the question we hear more than almost any other is: "How long is this actually going to take from start to finish?"

The Initial Design and Planning Phase

The timeline for any custom kitchen begins long before the first cabinet carcass is assembled in our workshop. During the first two weeks, we sit down with you to map out how you actually use your cooking space. We visit your property—whether it is a Victorian townhouse in Clapham or a modern apartment in Kensington—to take laser measurements and check floor level tolerances. London properties are notorious for uneven walls and sloping floors, and catching these quirks early prevents costly delays down the line.

Once the layout is pinned down, we move on to material selections and hardware specifications. This is where the functional beauty of your kitchen takes shape. We specify high-grade moisture-resistant Egger boards for internal carcasses, pair them with Blum soft-close hinges and drawer runners, and lock in your choice of door styles, handles, and internal accessories like pull-out larders and spice racks. After final sign-off on 3D renders and detailed technical drawings, your project transitions from our design studio into production.

Workshop Manufacturing and Quality Control

Manufacturing a truly bespoke kitchen takes about 3 to 4 weeks of dedicated workshop time. Unlike mass-produced modular units that sit in a dusty warehouse for months, every single component we build is cut, edged, and assembled specifically for your room. We use state-of-the-art CNC machinery to ensure millimetre-accurate cuts, followed by hand-finishing by our skilled cabinet makers. If you have chosen a painted finish, the doors and panels undergo multiple stages of priming, spraying, and curing in our controlled spray shop to guarantee a flawless, durable surface that withstands daily wear and tear.

We recently completed a large open-plan kitchen project in a Victorian semi-detached property in Wimbledon, where the homeowners opted for classic shaker doors hand-painted in a deep forest green, paired with solid oak internals. Because of the sheer volume of bespoke cabinetry—including a floor-to-ceiling pantry unit and a 3-metre central island—our production phase took the full four weeks to ensure every dovetail drawer box and integrated appliance housing met our strict quality standards before it was loaded onto our delivery vans.

The On-Site Installation Process

When installation day finally arrives, you can expect our professional fitting team to arrive promptly on-site. For an average-sized London kitchen, the physical fitting process takes between 5 and 10 working days. Day one always starts with protection: laying heavy-duty floor protection across your hallways and sealing off adjacent rooms to keep dust to an absolute minimum. We then bring in the base and wall units, carefully scribing panels to fit snugly against those charmingly crooked period walls.

"Fitting a bespoke kitchen in a period London property is always a puzzle. In our experience, spending an extra half-day getting the scribe work millimeter-perfect on the tall larder units makes the difference between a kitchen that looks 'fitted' and one that looks like it grew organically out of the room." — Marek, Lead Installer at Smiths

Once the timber carcasses and doors are securely fixed, the next phase of the bespoke kitchen installation timeline involves template and templating for solid surface worktops, such as composite quartz or granite. Typically, a specialist templater visits once the base units are locked in, and your stone is fabricated off-site, taking about 5 to 7 working days to arrive and be installed. During this brief gap, your sink and taps might be temporarily plumbed in so you aren't completely left without water, keeping disruption to your household manageable.

Appliance Integration and Final Handover

The final stretch of the project focuses on integration, electrical connection, and the meticulous details that elevate a good kitchen into an exceptional one. We integrate your ovens, induction hobs, dishwashers, and extraction units, ensuring all integrated appliance doors align seamlessly with the surrounding cabinetry. Our certified electricians handle all necessary part-P compliance certificates, and our plumbers ensure every waste pipe and water feed is completely leak-free.

Budget-wise, a fully bespoke kitchen installation by our team typically ranges from £12,000 to £30,000+ depending on the size of the room, the complexity of the layout, and your choice of worktops and appliances. After a thorough final clean-down and a 10-point quality check with you present, we hand over your keys along with your guarantee documentation. You are left with a stunning, durable space built specifically for the way you live, cook, and entertain.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I need to be without a working kitchen?

In most cases, you will be without a fully functioning kitchen for about 2 to 3 weeks during the actual installation phase. We always do our best to reconnect your sink or set up a temporary washing station as early as possible to make the transition smoother for your household.

Can I stay in my home while the kitchen is being fitted?

Yes, absolutely. Over 90% of our London clients stay in their homes during a kitchen refit. We take extensive measures to seal off the work zone with zip-walls and dust extractors, keeping the rest of your home clean and liveable throughout the process.

What causes delays in the kitchen fitting process?

The most common causes of delay are late deliveries of third-party appliances or changes made to the layout midway through production. This is why we always recommend ordering your appliances well in advance and locking down your exact specification before workshop manufacturing begins.

Do you handle gas and electrical certification?

Yes. All electrical and gas connections carried out during our installations are handled by certified professionals (NICEIC and Gas Safe registered), ensuring your new kitchen fully complies with current UK building regulations.