Questions we are asked before a kitchen
Most people fit one or two kitchens in a lifetime. These are the things worth knowing first. See also what it costs, design options and materials compared.
- What does a fitted kitchen cost in Kenya?
- KES 12,000 to 28,000+ per running foot depending on carcass material and hardware. A family kitchen of 18–26 running feet at mid spec lands at KES 290,000–570,000 for the joinery. Worktops, appliances and any plumbing or electrical alteration are separate.
- What exactly is a running foot?
- The horizontal length of the run with floor and wall units counted together. A 3-metre wall with cupboards above and below is about 10 running feet, not 20. Always ask for the rate and the measured length, a single figure with no unit cannot be compared to anything.
- Why is a built-in wardrobe so much more than the ones advertised online?
- Because they are different products. Most wardrobes advertised in Kenya are freestanding or flat-pack furniture, some of them plastic units at a few thousand shillings. Built-in joinery is made for one wall, floor to ceiling, fitted around the skirting and the corner that is not square.
- MDF, melamine, plywood or solid wood?
- Marine plywood under the sink without argument. Melamine-faced board for the rest of the carcass. MDF for sprayed and shaker fronts, with every cut edge sealed. Solid timber for doors and frames but not carcasses, because it moves with humidity. The materials page explains each.
- How long does a kitchen take?
- Typically six to eight weeks from approved drawings to installation, with worktops following after the units are set and levelled. We survey and template on site after plastering, which adds a visit and prevents most of what goes wrong. Your actual dates are confirmed in writing at sign-off.
- Can I have an island?
- Only if the room gives 900mm clear all round, and 1,000–1,200mm where an appliance opens or people pass. In practice that means about 4.2m of width. Below that a peninsula gives most of the benefit and needs clearance on three sides rather than four. We will measure and tell you honestly.
- Do you supply worktops and appliances?
- We coordinate and template worktops in granite, quartz or terrazzo, and we can supply appliances, but both are quoted separately from the joinery so you can see exactly what is what. We will also tell you where a cheaper appliance is a false economy.
- How do you take payment?
- Staged: a deposit once drawings are approved, the balance on delivery and installation, with an M-Pesa receipt at each stage. We do not ask for a large sum before there is anything to show for it.
- Will my kitchen fit through the door?
- We measure the delivery route before cutting: the doorway, the lift, the turn of the stair. Long runs and large islands are sectioned in the workshop with the joint placed where it will not be seen, rather than cut on the landing on delivery day.
- Do you work in apartments as well as houses?
- Yes, and it is a large part of what we do in Westlands, Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Parklands. Compact kitchens are a different design problem from large ones, not a large layout shrunk down, and access usually sets the panel size.
- Do you do commercial joinery?
- Yes: reception desks, tea points, workstations and storage walls. It is a heavier specification than domestic work because a commercial tea point is opened hundreds of times a day, and we install outside working hours.
- Which areas do you cover?
- Across Nairobi: Karen, Runda, Muthaiga, Gigiri, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Westlands, Parklands, Lang'ata and the Kiambu Road corridor. Each area page sets out what actually differs about fitting there.
Send us your kitchen plan
A rough sketch with the wall lengths is enough. We will come back with a running-foot price and a layout suggestion, and we will tell you where spending more genuinely lasts longer and where it does not.
Templated on site, never from a drawing · made in our own workshop · staged payments with M-Pesa receipts