Kitchen Renovation Kensington

GS Renovation designs and fits kitchens across Kensington, from lower-ground kitchens in W8 townhouses to mansion-flat kitchens near South Kensington. We handle the cabinetry, worktops, appliances, plumbing, electrics and any structural work as a single, coordinated project.

In Kensington, a kitchen renovation typically costs £18,000 to £60,000 or more from design to fitting (indicative London ranges, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Kensington: we carry the strip-out, services and fit as one contract, with the electrics certified by a registered electrician.

How the job runs

1. Free design visit at your Kensington home and an itemised quote.
2. Strip-out and any structural work, first-fix plumbing and electrics, plastering.
3. Units fitted and levelled; stone worktops templated and cut off site.
4. Worktops, appliances, tiling and second fix. Electrics certified under Part P by a registered electrician, or notified to building control. Typically 3 to 5 weeks on site.

Open-plan kitchen-diners in Kensington homes

The classic Kensington kitchen project opens the rear of a period townhouse, knocking through to create a bright kitchen-diner facing the garden. As the dividing wall is usually load-bearing in these period houses, we install a steel beam sized by a structural engineer and signed off by building control. On terraced homes, you serve a party wall notice where the wall is shared with a neighbour, using the drawings we supply.

We then fit the kitchen itself: bespoke or handmade cabinetry, quartz, granite or composite worktops, integrated appliances and layered lighting. Lower-ground kitchens in W8 often have reduced natural light, so we plan the layout, glazing and lighting to open the space up. Plumbing, electrics and tiling are all organised by us, and the notifiable electrical work is certified by a registered electrician under Part P, or notified to building control, on completion.

Housing in Kensington

The Council Tax list puts Kensington at about 9,000 homes, 85% flats against 15% houses; 75% went up before 1919, 6% between the wars and 19% after 1945. Since most homes here are flats, a kitchen in a flat in Kensington drains to the building's shared soil stack, while a new extract through the outside wall needs the freeholder's licence first.

Relocating a kitchen inside a Kensington mansion flat

85% of homes in Kensington are flats, so the kitchen question here is more likely to be where a kitchen can go inside a flat than how to extend a house. Moving it across the plan is mainly a drainage problem. The waste has to fall to the building's soil stack, and in a period mansion block the stack is fixed, so a sink moved far from it needs a raised floor, a boxed run or a pumped waste. Some leases also restrict kitchens or wet rooms over the bedrooms of the flat below, so the lease is read before the layout is drawn.

Extraction is the other constraint. A cooker hood needs somewhere to discharge, and a new grille through an outside wall changes the building's appearance. The Royal Borough notes that flats do not benefit from permitted development rights, so that grille can need planning permission, and where the flat is in the Kensington Conservation Area its position on the elevation matters more. The freeholder's licence to alter covers the same hole from the landlord's side. Where neither route works, a recirculating hood is the fallback, and the layout is planned around it.

Bespoke kitchens for Kensington proportions

Kensington's period houses and mansion flats have tall ceilings, chimney breasts and alcoves that suit made-to-measure cabinetry rather than standard carcasses. We design around these features, using full-height units and considered detailing that respects the age of the home. From classic in-frame Shaker to sleek handleless designs, the kitchen is built to sit comfortably in a Georgian, Regency or Edwardian interior near Holland Park or the museums of South Kensington.

In leasehold mansion flats, a kitchen refurbishment works within the lease, so we coordinate with the managing agent on waste, water isolation and working hours, and check whether the freeholder's consent is needed for any layout or plumbing changes. Structural change is limited in a flat, so we make the most of the existing footprint with clever storage, good ventilation and appliances integrated to keep the space calm and uncluttered.

Staying in a W8 home during works

Kitchen work in a Kensington townhouse or mansion flat means losing your kitchen for several weeks, so we set up a temporary one before the old is taken out. A sink, a fridge, a microwave and a kettle somewhere sensible is the difference between a manageable few weeks and an intolerable few weeks. In a flat that is often a corner of the dining room; in a townhouse it can go in a utility or on the lower ground floor.

Protection is heavier here than in most houses because the finishes are frequently original. Cornices, panelled doors and timber floors are boarded and taped rather than loosely sheeted. In a mansion block the communal parts count too, so lift linings, hall carpet and the front steps are all covered, and hours are kept to whatever the block permits. Dust extraction runs at source rather than relying on an open window, which is rarely practical on a busy W8 street.

• Floor levelling and screeding before the flooring goes down
• Old kitchen strip-out, disposal and making good
• New circuits and consumer unit work certified by a registered electrician under Part P

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Kensington Abingdon and Kensington Gardens. Counts rounded by the VOA.

When comparing kitchen renovation in Kensington with other work, it helps to read load-bearing wall removal in Kensington, kitchen renovation across Kensington and Chelsea, kitchen fitting in London, building contractors for London kitchen projects, kitchen renovation anywhere in London and Galley Kitchen Ideas.

Trusted Kitchen Renovation in Kensington

Kensington homeowners choose GS Renovation because one team delivers the whole kitchen, including any steel beam knock-through, the services and the finish. You get bespoke design suited to period proportions, transparent pricing and tidy working in an occupied home, whether a W8 townhouse or a mansion flat. It is all backed by our founder's 30+ years on the tools.

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254). Structural design is by the consulting engineer appointed to your project.