Ceiling height decides the upper half of the kitchen
This is the design fact that separates the two halves of Goregaon. At 3.0 metres — the township towers in Goregaon East — a wall unit can be 900 mm tall with a 450 mm loft above it and the room still feels open. At 2.6 metres, which is what the MHADA blocks in Motilal Nagar, Siddharth Nagar and Unnat Nagar give you, the same arrangement leaves 300 mm of visual space and the kitchen closes in around you. What we do instead in the low-ceiling stock: 700 mm wall units, a shallow 250 mm loft used only for annual items, open or glazed fronts on one short run to break the mass, and under-cabinet lighting rather than a ceiling-mounted fitting that eats another 80 mm. It is a smaller kitchen and it should look like one handled well, not like a large kitchen compressed.
| Stock | Ceiling | Typical running feet | ₹ per running foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| MHADA and 1970s colony blocks, Goregaon West | 2.6 m | 7 – 10 ft | ₹20,800 – 29,000 |
| 1990s–2000s mid-rise, Link Road and SV Road | 2.75 m | 9 – 12 ft | ₹22,000 – 31,500 |
| Goregaon East township towers | 3.0 m | 12 – 16 ft | ₹24,500 – 38,500 |
| Redevelopment possession, any location | 2.9 m | 10 – 14 ft | ₹23,000 – 35,000 |
| Demountable kitchen, society awaiting redevelopment | Any | 8 – 13 ft | ₹20,800 – 27,000 |
Ex-GST, per running foot of base and wall units. Excludes appliances, sink, tap and chimney.
Two point six metres, or three. It changes everything above the counter
Worked example: 11 running foot kitchen, MHADA-era flat, Goregaon West
A 1979 block, 2.6 metre ceiling, existing masonry platform, aluminium wiring in the kitchen circuit and a cylinder connection. The family has lived here for thirty years and is not moving.
| Scope | ₹ lakh | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition of the masonry platform | 0.11 | Platform, tiled face and built-in store removed and carted |
| Civil, plumbing and a new gas point | 0.19 | Sink line replaced, drain re-fallen, cylinder cabinet vent formed |
| Base and wall carcass | 0.78 | BWP throughout — the north wall holds monsoon damp |
| Shutters — matt laminate | 0.52 | 700 mm wall units to suit the 2.6 m ceiling |
| Hardware | 0.36 | Soft-close throughout; carousel; deep vessel drawers |
| Granite counter and dado | 0.30 | 20 mm granite, moulded edge, 600 mm dado |
| Tall unit with pull-outs | 0.22 | Larder with a ventilated cylinder cabinet below |
| Shallow loft | 0.05 | 250 mm deep, annual items only — anything deeper closes the room in |
| Total, ex-GST | 2.53 | ₹23,000 per running foot |
Add 18% GST. Excludes appliances and chimney. The kitchen circuit rewire is quoted with the electrical scope, not here, and on this stock it is not optional.
The kitchen you can take with you
Where a society has signed a redevelopment agreement, spending two and a half lakh on a kitchen you will vacate in five years is a choice worth examining. What we build instead is a fully modular kitchen designed for dismantling: carcasses on adjustable legs rather than a masonry base, cam-lock assembly instead of glue and pins, a counter in two or three pieces cut to sizes that will suit the new flat's likely dimensions, and services connected with flexible rather than rigid runs. It costs about 20% less than a fixed installation and it comes apart in a day. Re-installing it in the new flat typically runs 10 to 14% of the original cost, with new counter pieces where the dimensions have changed. Several Motilal Nagar clients have now done exactly this.
Two local notes
- Aarey-side damp. Flats backing onto the green belt hold moisture on north-facing walls into October. Carcass goes to BWP rather than MR on those runs, with a 12 mm ventilation gap behind wall units and sealed edges throughout. It is a small cost that prevents the bottom rail of a base unit swelling in year two.
- Delivery down a single-lane approach. Film City Road and the township internal roads take a tempo nose-in with nowhere to turn. We consolidate a kitchen into two deliveries — carcass and hardware together, then shutters with the counter — rather than the usual four, and book both before 10am.
One more Goregaon-specific note on the low-ceiling stock: the kitchen door. In the MHADA blocks the kitchen usually has a hinged door that swings inward and takes a metre of the small floor area with it. Replacing it with a sliding or folding leaf, or removing it entirely where the layout allows, returns more usable space than any cabinetry decision available in that room, and it costs under ₹18,000.
For the suburb as a whole, see interior designers in Goregaon. For our kitchen specification and warranty across Mumbai, see modular kitchen designers in Mumbai.
Kitchen work by Greenbox Design Studio.
Frequently asked questions
What wall unit height suits a 2.6 metre ceiling?+
700 mm, with a shallow 250 mm loft above for annual items only. A 900 mm unit with a 450 mm loft — standard in a 3 metre township flat — leaves a 300 mm band of ceiling and makes a small kitchen feel like a corridor. Under-cabinet lighting rather than a ceiling fitting saves another 80 mm of perceived height.
Can a modular kitchen really be dismantled and reused?+
Yes, if it is built for it: adjustable legs instead of a masonry base, cam-lock assembly rather than glue and pins, a jointed counter and flexible service connections. It comes apart in a day and re-installs for 10–14% of the original cost. We build these routinely for Motilal Nagar societies with signed redevelopment agreements.
Is BWP worth it on the Aarey side?+
On north-facing walls, yes. Those walls hold moisture into October and MR-grade board swells at the bottom rail within two monsoons. BWP with sealed edges and a 12 mm ventilation gap behind the wall units adds a few thousand rupees and removes the most common repair we are called back for.
Our kitchen circuit is aluminium wiring. Does it matter for the kitchen?+
Considerably. A modern kitchen with a chimney, a microwave, a mixer and a fridge on an aluminium circuit is a real risk and a certain nuisance. Rewiring the kitchen circuit before the cabinets go in costs a fraction of doing it afterwards, when the wall is behind a finished dado.
Why are Goregaon East kitchens more expensive?+
They are larger — 12 to 16 running feet against 7 to 10 in the western colony stock — and open to the dining area, which raises the finish expectation for the visible faces. The per-foot rate is also higher because township clients specify acrylic and quartz where the west specifies laminate and granite.