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Kitchen design ideas for real UK rooms

Six layouts shown in the kind of homes most of us live in: terraces, 1930s semis, new-build flats and rear extensions. Find the shape that suits your room, then check it fits with a tape measure and one of our planners.

A Victorian terrace rear extension with a sage green island, oak worktop, a long rooflight and black-framed sliding doors to the garden.
Open-plan rear extension
A grey-blue shaker U-shaped kitchen in a 1930s semi with a Belfast sink and oak floor.
U-shaped, 1930s semi
A compact flat kitchen with a breakfast bar opening onto a sofa area.
Small open-plan flat

Pick a layout by the shape of your room

Style is the easy part. The shape of the room, and where the doors and window sit, decide which of these will work.

Love a photo? Check it fits your room

Three short planners. Type a few measurements and get a plain answer, with the reasoning shown.

A sage green island with three wooden stools.

Will an island fit?

Room size in; island size, stool count and walkway widths out.

Try it A fridge housing, sink and hob arranged around a corner with oak worktops.

Sink, hob and fridge check

Three distances in; a verdict on whether cooking will mean extra walking.

Try it A rear kitchen extension with two rooflights and sliding doors.

What would an extension cost?

Floor area and finish in; a 2026 price range with every line itemised.

Try it

Ideas that look good and still work on a Tuesday

Tall units at the ends

A fridge-freezer tower in the middle of a run cuts your worktop in two. Bank tall units at one end and keep one long, clear surface.

Room either side of the hob

Leave 400 mm of worktop each side of the hob if you can, 300 mm at the very least, so a hot pan always has somewhere to land.

A landing spot by the sink

About 600 mm of worktop on one side for dirty plates and the same on the other for the drainer. Put the dishwasher right next to it.

Walkways before islands

An open dishwasher door reaches about 600 mm into the room. That is why 1000 to 1200 mm between island and units feels easy and 900 mm does not.

Light where you chop

Ceiling lights put your shadow on the worktop. Under-cabinet strips or pendants over the island fix it for little money.

Measure low, middle and high

Old UK walls are rarely straight. Measure each wall near the floor, at worktop height and at about 1.5 m, and plan to the smallest figure.

Standard UK kitchen sizes, all on one page

Short on space?

A small grey single-wall kitchen in a new-build flat with a round table for two.
A single wall and a small round table can be all a flat needs.
A galley kitchen with a sash window at the far end.
A galley uses every metre of a narrow room.

Small kitchen layout ideas, with the sizes that make them work