Setting up a kitchen from scratch isn’t about choosing nice cabinets and placing them. It’s a sequence of decisions where each step conditions the next: if you install the sink before defining the cooking zone, you’ll end up with an uncomfortable kitchen for years. This article describes the real assembly order, with the points where most people get stuck and the cases where it’s worth rethinking.
Before buying anything: the work triangle
The first decision isn’t aesthetic, it’s functional. The path between the sink, cooking zone, and refrigerator defines how much you’ll walk every day. The usual recommendation in home ergonomics manuals places the three vertices at a total distance of between 3.5 and 6 meters, with each side under 2.7 meters. Less than that and you’re tripping over each other; more, and you multiply the trips.
There’s an exception almost no one mentions: in kitchens under 8 m², the classic triangle doesn’t work and it’s better to move to a linear layout with the sink in the center. Forcing a triangle into a narrow space creates 60 cm walkways that become a problem when you open the dishwasher.
Measurements you must verify in the space itself
Don’t trust the developer’s floor plan. Measure with a level and check the verticality of the walls: a 2 cm deviation on a 3-meter wall is common in construction and ruins the installation of a custom countertop. Also verify the ceiling height and the exact position of water connections, drains, and outlets. In apartments renovated decades ago, it’s common to find the sink drain 40 cm from the floor, when current regulations require a higher outlet to avoid forced traps.
Step 1: define the installations before the cabinetry
The correct order is: installations (water, drain, electricity, gas, ventilation) → masonry and flooring → cabinetry → countertop → appliances → finishing touches. Reversing this order is the most expensive mistake in a kitchen renovation.
Electricity: separate circuits
According to the interior installations guide that electricians use, the kitchen needs independent circuits for the oven, ceramic hob or induction cooktop, dishwasher, and washing machine if there is one, plus a general outlet circuit. A 7,200 W induction cooktop can’t share a line with the oven. If you’re going to install an induction cooktop, check the amperage of the main panel: in old homes with a 25 A meter, turning on the induction cooktop and oven at the same time can trip the breaker.
A practical detail that gets forgotten: leave power outlets inside the upper cabinets for the microwave and under the countertop for the dishwasher. And place at least two outlets above the countertop away from the water zone.
Ventilation and gas
If there’s a gas cooktop, regulations require permanent ventilation and extraction. A recirculating extractor hood (without exterior venting) doesn’t comply for gas in most communities. For induction or ceramic, recirculation with activated carbon filters is valid, but it loses efficiency: filters must be changed every 3-6 months depending on use, and in kitchens with frequent frying the performance drops sooner.
Step 2: finalize the cabinetry design with real measurements
With the installations decided, it’s time for the cabinetry. Here it’s best to work with countertop height as a reference: the standard measurement of 90 cm works for people up to approximately 1.75 m. If you’re shorter, a countertop at 85 cm reduces shoulder strain when chopping; if you’re taller than 1.85 m, 95 cm prevents you from hunching over. Cabinets with adjustable legs allow adjustment without construction work.
A specific case that repeats
A kitchen 2.20 m long with a washing machine integrated under the countertop: the washing machine cabinet is usually 60 cm wide, but the machine needs ventilation and access to the water connection. If you place the sink right above it, the trap collides with the top of the washing machine. The solution is to move the sink or choose a flat trap. It’s a detail that doesn’t appear in catalogs and that forces you to redo the order if it isn’t checked beforehand.
Frequent ordering mistakes
- Not leaving clearance for the baseboard and toe kick: the cabinet ends up separated from the wall.
- Forgetting space for the handle in corners: two doors that open at the same time need a minimum of 5 cm separation.
- Choosing 60 cm deep drawers on a wall with exposed pipes: the drawer won’t close.
Step 3: assembly order on site
Assembly follows a logic that installers always apply:
- Level the floor and check the wall. If there’s an uneven surface, it’s corrected with battens or leveling plates before placing the base cabinets.
- Assemble the base cabinets starting from a corner or the end of the wall, joining them with the connecting hardware.
- Anchor to the wall the upper cabinets and the hood. Never before checking that the wall supports the weight: on drywall partitions, prior reinforcement is needed.
- Place the countertop. If it’s natural stone or compact, it’s measured and cut in the workshop after assembling the base cabinets. If it’s laminate, it’s cut on site, but the edge must be sealed.
- Install the sink and faucet. The faucet is mounted before fixing the sink to the countertop in many models; check the manual.
- Connect appliances and check for leaks and grounding.
- Finishing touches: baseboard, plinth, silicone sealing, and door adjustment.
The critical moment: the countertop
The countertop is placed after the base cabinets and before the built-in appliances. If the countertop is quartz or granite, the cut for the sink and cooktop is made with a template; a 5 mm error means redoing the piece. That’s why it’s best to have the sink and cooktop at home before ordering the countertop. On solid wood countertops, sealing should be renewed approximately every year, and they aren’t recommended in sink areas without protection.
Step 4: appliances and fine adjustments
The refrigerator is placed before the upper cabinets if it’s integrated, because it needs rear ventilation and space for the hinges. Built-in ovens and microwaves require a recess with standardized measurements; verify the niche height in the manual, not in the commercial catalog, because it varies between brands.
The dishwasher needs a water connection with an accessible shut-off valve, a drain with a trap, and an outlet. If the cabinet is 45 cm, the machine must be specifically 45 cm; a 60 cm one can’t be adapted.
When this order doesn’t work
In rental homes you can’t touch installations or structure. There the configuration is limited to freestanding cabinets, modular countertops, and countertop appliances. The order described also doesn’t work if the kitchen is in an old building with load-bearing walls: any change to the drain requires community approval and, in many cases, isn’t authorized.
Step 5: final check before considering the work done
Do a real-use test before putting away the tools:
- Open all drawers and doors with the appliances on: do they collide?
- Check that the extractor hood has suction with a sheet of paper (if it doesn’t hold it, check the duct or the filter).
- Let hot water run through the sink and check the trap after 10 minutes.
- Verify that the outlets above the countertop aren’t blocked by the hood or upper cabinets.
- Run your hand along the edge of the countertop: any roughness on the sealed edge will end up accumulating moisture.
What can’t be promised
No configuration guarantees a perfect kitchen: daily use changes over the years and what works today may fall short if you change habits or appliances. Planning reduces errors, but doesn’t eliminate them. And there’s an honest limit: without knowing the exact measurements of your space, any layout recommendation is orientative. Measure, draw to scale, and consult each appliance’s manual before buying.