Can You Move a Kitchen to Another Room? What Homeowners Need to Know
If the current position of your kitchen no longer works for the way you live, you might have wondered whether you could simply move it somewhere else in your home.
The answer is yes — in many properties, a kitchen can be relocated to another room.
However, moving a kitchen involves considerably more planning than replacing an existing kitchen in the same position. Plumbing, waste pipes, electrics, appliances, ventilation and the new layout all need to be considered before work begins.
At Collins Kitchens, we recently completed exactly this type of transformation for a homeowner in Holywell, North Wales, turning an existing bedroom into a completely new, fully functioning kitchen.
So, what is actually involved in relocating a kitchen?
Why Would You Move a Kitchen to Another Room?
There are plenty of reasons why the original kitchen location might no longer be the best use of a home.
You may want to:
Create a larger kitchen
Make better use of an underused room
Create an open-plan kitchen and living area
Improve the flow of the ground floor
Gain additional storage and worktop space
Repurpose the existing kitchen for another use
Rather than automatically accepting the layout you inherited when you bought your home, a kitchen renovation provides an opportunity to look at the property differently.
Sometimes, moving the kitchen can completely change how the whole house works.
What Is Involved in Relocating a Kitchen?
The biggest difference between replacing a kitchen and relocating one is the services.
An existing kitchen already has much of the necessary infrastructure in place. When you move into a room that wasn’t previously used as a kitchen, those services may need to be created from scratch.
New Plumbing
Your new kitchen needs suitable hot and cold water supplies as well as drainage.
The exact requirements depend on the design, but plumbing may be required for:
The kitchen sink
Dishwasher
Washing machine
Other water-fed appliances
Where the waste can run is particularly important and should be considered during the initial survey and design process.
New Electrics
Modern kitchens place significant demands on a home’s electrical system.
Depending on the project, new circuits or electrical supplies may be required for ovens, hobs, extraction, refrigeration, dishwashers, washing machines, sockets and lighting.
This is why electrical requirements should form part of the kitchen planning process rather than being considered after the design has been finalised.
Our Holywell Kitchen Relocation
A recent Collins Kitchens project provides a great example of what’s possible.
Our customer wanted to move their kitchen into an existing bedroom, meaning the new room needed to be converted into a practical cooking, cleaning and utility space.
The project required careful coordination between our kitchen fitters, plumbers and electricians.
New hot, cold and waste services were installed for the sink, washing machine and dishwasher. The electrical work included a new electrical ring running back to the mains board as well as a new 32amp cooker supply.
Once the necessary infrastructure was in place, the new kitchen could be professionally installed.
The transformation was completed in approximately one and a half weeks.
Read our full : Kitchen Relocation Transformation in Holywell case study to see the completed project.
Designing the New Kitchen Around the Room
Relocating a kitchen isn’t simply a matter of putting cabinets into another room.
The new space needs to be designed specifically as a kitchen.
We consider factors including:
Position of doors and windows
Natural light
Available wall space
Appliance locations
Worktop space
Storage requirements
Plumbing and electrical routes
How people will move around the kitchen
Getting these details right at the design stage can prevent expensive changes once installation begins.
One Team Makes a Complicated Project Much Simpler
Moving a kitchen can involve several different trades, and this is where professional project management becomes particularly valuable.
Our Holywell project involved plumbers, electricians and kitchen fitters working together at different stages of the installation.
Rather than the homeowner having to find each individual trade and coordinate everyone’s schedule, the project could be managed as one complete kitchen transformation.
This was one of the things our customer particularly appreciated, commenting that having Phil and his team involved “took all the stress away from organising multiple trades.”
That’s particularly important with more complex renovations where one stage often needs to be completed before another can begin.
How Much Does It Cost to Move a Kitchen?
There isn’t a standard price for relocating a kitchen because every property is different.
Costs will depend on factors such as:
Distance from existing services
Plumbing requirements
Electrical work
Condition of the new room
Kitchen size
Cabinetry and worktop choices
Appliances
Additional building work
Our Holywell kitchen relocation had a total project cost of £15,000, but this should be viewed as an example of that particular project rather than a guide price for every kitchen relocation.
A proper home survey is the best way to establish what’s possible and what would be involved in your property.
Is Moving Your Kitchen Worth It?
If relocating your kitchen allows you to make significantly better use of your home, it can be well worth exploring.
The important thing is to look beyond where the existing kitchen happens to be and consider where the kitchen would work best.
With careful planning and the right trades involved, a bedroom, dining room or another suitable area of the property could potentially become the new heart of your home.
Thinking About Relocating Your Kitchen?
If your existing kitchen isn’t in the right place, don’t assume you have to work around it.
At Collins Kitchens, we provide kitchen design, supply, installation and project management, helping homeowners understand what’s possible before committing to their renovation.
Our Holywell project demonstrates just how dramatically a home can be changed when the kitchen is designed around the way you actually want to live.
