Designing a kitchen for two cooks
A single-cook kitchen is planned as a triangle. A two-cook kitchen is planned as two stations that do not collide, and the differences are measurable. Circulation between opposing runs goes to 1,100 mm rather than 900, because two people pass each other carrying things. There are two prep zones with their own counter length, one beside the hob and one beside the sink, each at least 900 mm clear. The sink is a single large bowl rather than a divided double, because vessels are washed here and a divided bowl fits nothing useful. Sockets are at counter level in four positions rather than two. And the bin is not under the sink, because in this pattern of use the sink is occupied and the bin is needed at the same moment.
| Specification | Carcass | Shutter | ₹ per running foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | 710-grade ply, BWP at the sink | Matt laminate, PVC edge | ₹20,000 – 23,800 |
| Considered | BWP throughout | Laminate with acrylic on tall units | ₹23,800 – 28,500 |
| Fine | BWP throughout, sealed edges | Acrylic with veneer feature fronts | ₹28,500 – 33,000 |
| Premium | BWP with imported fittings | Lacquered glass or polished veneer | ₹33,000 – 36,500 |
Ex-GST, per running foot of base and wall units. Excludes appliances, sink, tap and chimney.
Two cooks, one room, 1,100 millimetres between them
Worked example: 16 running foot kitchen with a utility, LBS Marg tower
A 2018 podium tower, 2.95 metre slab, piped gas, separate utility balcony. A household of six across three generations, with two people cooking most evenings and a pooja niche in the adjoining passage.
| Scope | ₹ lakh | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Civil work and plumbing | 0.26 | Second prep sink added; utility drain re-laid; pooja niche formed |
| Base and wall carcass | 1.28 | BWP throughout with sealed edges |
| Shutters — laminate with acrylic on the tall bank | 0.86 | Matt laminate on base units; acrylic on the two tall fronts |
| Hardware | 0.62 | Tandem drawers at both prep zones; corner pull-out; heavy-duty vessel runners |
| Quartz counter, dado and second prep counter | 0.52 | Continuous counter with no joint in the main run |
| Tall units | 0.38 | Larder and a second tall bank for bulk grain storage |
| Utility run | 0.18 | Marine ply; washing machine housing and vessel rack |
| Grinder and appliance garage | 0.06 | Permanent wet-grinder position with a counter-level socket |
| Total, ex-GST | 4.16 | ₹26,000 per running foot |
Add 18% GST. Excludes appliances and chimney. The second prep sink and the appliance garage are the two items that make a two-cook kitchen actually work, and together they are under ₹25,000.
Old stock and new towers, side by side
A 1968 Mulund Colony kitchen is 7 to 9 running feet with a separate masonry store and a 2.9 metre ceiling — a small room with generous height and a walk-in store that does a great deal of work. A 2018 LBS Marg tower kitchen is 14 to 18 running feet with a utility balcony and no store at all. The mistake is to treat the second as simply better. The old kitchen's store holds bulk grain, the spare gas cylinder and the once-a-year vessels in a way that no run of cabinetry does economically, and when families move from one to the other, that store is what they miss. In the new flat we replace it with a dedicated tall bank and a full loft over the utility — and we say at the outset that the total storage will be similar, not greater, despite the kitchen being twice as long.
Two practical constraints
- Transfer slabs in the podium towers. Where a kitchen sits on a podium level, drilling into the transfer slab for services support usually needs the developer's written consent in addition to the society's. It affects how a chimney duct and any heavy ceiling element are fixed. We establish it before the services drawing is issued.
- Deliveries route through the internal lanes. There is no unloading on the Eastern Express Highway service road, and the towers fronting it are entered from behind. We issue a routed map with each delivery and book the goods lift slot; a driver improvising this loses an hour and, on a counter delivery with a crew waiting, that is a day.
A last practical note on storage volumes, because Mulund households store more than most. A useful rule we work to: allow 0.9 cubic metres of enclosed kitchen storage per person in the household, plus a full-width loft for the annual items. On a household of six that is around 5.4 cubic metres in the kitchen alone, which a 16 running foot layout provides comfortably and a 12 foot one does not. Counting it at the survey is a twenty-minute job and it prevents the commonest complaint we hear about other people's kitchens.
For Mulund as a whole, see interior designers in Mulund. For our kitchen specification, hardware and warranty, see modular kitchen designers in Mumbai.
Kitchen work by Greenbox Design Studio.
Frequently asked questions
What changes if two people cook at once?+
Circulation goes from 900 mm to 1,100 mm between opposing runs, there are two prep zones of at least 900 mm each with their own counter, sockets appear in four counter-level positions instead of two, and the bin moves out from under the sink. The cabinetry cost barely changes; the plan changes completely.
Where should the wet grinder live?+
On the counter, in a permanent position with its own socket and a splash-tolerant surround — not in a cupboard it has to be lifted out of. A wet grinder is heavy, used often and awkward to move. An appliance garage with a roller shutter keeps it out of sight without making it a two-person job to use.
Single bowl or double sink?+
A single large bowl, in this pattern of use. Vessels here are large and a divided double bowl fits almost none of them, so both halves end up compromised. If a second point is needed, a small dedicated prep sink at the other station is far more useful than dividing the main bowl.
We are moving from an old flat with a kitchen store. Will we lose storage?+
Probably not lose, but you will not gain as much as the length suggests. A masonry store holds bulk grain, a spare cylinder and annual vessels very efficiently. We replace it with a dedicated tall bank and a full loft over the utility, and we say up front that total storage will be comparable rather than double.
Is a pooja niche in the kitchen a good idea?+
Adjacent to it, usually better than inside it. Cooking heat, steam and oil deposit on anything nearby, so a niche in the passage or dining edge with its own light and a stone or solid-surface base lasts far better. Where it has to be in the kitchen, we keep it away from the hob wall and give it a closable front.