how to measure your space

The first step to planning your new kitchen is understanding the space you have to work with, so you can maximise every nook and cranny!

To measure your kitchen accurately, here are some top tips to help you along the way, as well as a guide on exactly what and how to measure your kitchen space!

measuring tips

  • Ever heard of the saying, measure twice and cut once? Well that applies here too. It helps to be as accurate as you can by double-checking your measurements. We always recommend measuring your kitchen space twice over.

  • Rely on good tools. Your tape measure will be your trusty friend for measuring your kitchen space. Make sure you own a good tape measure that’s free from kinks and bends. Manual tape measures will do the trick, even old ones are fine, but for keen DIY’ers digital measuring tools are a great alternative. Learn more about DIY measuring tools here.

  • It sounds obvious but make sure you accurately record your measurements. A scrap piece of paper will work, or, if you have access to a printer, you can download and print our grid sheet here. It will assist you to record and layout your kitchen measurements more accurately.

  • Remember, you don’t have to measure your benchtops or cabinets that are currently installed. These will eventually be replaced and potentially moved to a different position depending on your new layout. As such, just stay focussed on the kitchen space itself and measuring the items below.

  • Keep it consistent by jotting down your dimensions in one type of metric, millimetres is usually best.

  • Always measure to the outside of the architraves as they need to be taken into account. Architraves are the frames around your doorways and windows.

  • Whether you’re getting new appliances or using your existing ones, it’s always good to have your appliance dimensions handy, including heights, widths and depths. Better yet, take note of the appliance’s model number, which will be helpful when you’re designing your new layout. It’s really important to consult your appliance manufacturer’s specifications to ensure adequate clearances are allowed between cabinets and appliances.

  • If you are seeking advice from a professional, have some photos of your existing kitchen handy, it gives context and clarity on the space, and will reveal if any further measurements are required.

  • *Your waste service point is normally a 50mm PVC pipe that carries waste water out from your kitchen sink. A waste service point will flow through either the floor or the wall. If your waste pipe is installed on the wall you’ll simply need to measure the distance from the floor to the pipe in the wall. But if it flows through the floor, look inside the sink cabinet, and measure from the middle of the pipe to the wall. Remember, when it comes to plumbing and electrical works, you always need a licensed trade to manage these parts of the renovation for you.

measurement’s you’ll need

  1. floor to the ceiling/bulkhead _________ mm

  2. floor to window height _________ mm

  3. any wall lengths, e.g. wall to wall, wall to window, wall to door (record all) _________ mm

  4. *waste service points: wall waste pipe (WWP) to floor_______mm, OR floor waste pipe (FWP) to wall ________mm

  5. height from floor to incoming water source (usually located inside your sink cabinet)_______mm

  6. mark all windows with a 'W' (measure to the outside of the architrave)

  7. mark all doorways with a 'D' or ‘SD’ (measure to the outside of the architrave)

  8. mark the location of any service points if you can see them (sometimes they’re not accessible).

  • mark any light switches/powerpoints with an 'LS' or ‘PP’

  • mark any gas service points with a ‘G’

  • mark any other permanent fixtures such as balustrades, beams, pillars, low ceiling

Floor plan sample

note: the ‘c’ symbol (with a cross through the middle), means that the measurement is taken from the centre point.