Cordless circular saw
Tape measure
Utility knife
Steps:
1. Build full-scale models of cabinets and appliances from ½-inch plywood or cardboard.
2. Cut plywood to size to represent the countertops.
3. Set the mock components in the kitchen according to the desired layout.
4. Prop up the countertops with vertical 2x4s or sawhorses.
5. Rearrange the components to create the most appealing, practical design.
6. Test several layouts, including L-shaped, U-shaped, galley or introduce an island.
7. If necessary, cut down or enlarge components to best fit the space.
Pro Tip: Don’t overlook clearances between major elements. On one TOH project, the homeowner worried about the tight space between the refrigerator and the island. The solution was specifying a French door refrigerator with shallow-depth doors, which preserved the walkway. As TOH’s Norm Abram has demonstrated, a U-plan kitchen layout is especially efficient “because it means that you can go from one work center to the other in a kind of triangular pattern and there’s not too much wasted steps.”
From the Field: On one TOH project, a full-scale mock-up revealed that opening the dishwasher blocked access to a planned storage drawer for dishes with a peg system. As the homeowner, Tamara, put it: “Too much of a reach.” The fix was simple — relocating dish storage to a glass-front cabinet and converting those drawers to pantry storage. On another project, a mock-up made the team realize that “the counter next to the fridge would probably end up being a junk collector,” prompting a last-minute decision to move the pantry there instead — putting all food storage in one spot.
