The standard kitchen, node by node
| Node and stock | Usable running feet | Utility provision | ₹ per running foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIDCO sector building, older sectors | 8 – 10 ft | Dry balcony, sometimes unplumbed | ₹18,500 – 26,500 |
| 1990s sector stock, Sanpada and Juinagar | 9 – 11 ft | Plumbed utility in most plans | ₹19,500 – 28,000 |
| Vashi and Nerul private towers | 11 – 14 ft | Separate plumbed utility | ₹21,500 – 31,000 |
| Seawoods and Palm Beach-side | 12 – 16 ft | Utility plus a service balcony | ₹23,000 – 34,500 |
| Airoli and Ghansoli newer towers | 10 – 13 ft | Plumbed utility | ₹20,500 – 30,000 |
Ex-GST, per running foot of base and wall units. Excludes appliances, sink, tap and chimney.
Wet and dry, properly separated
Households across the nodes cook substantially at home and use the utility or dry balcony as a genuine wet kitchen: the pressure cooker goes there, the grinder goes there, the vessels are washed there, and on occasion the messier frying happens there. Designing as though the main kitchen carries all of it produces a kitchen that is permanently full. What works is a deliberate split — a prep and cook zone with the hob, the counter and the daily storage inside, and a serviced wet zone outside with a deep sink, a drain that actually falls, bulk storage and a vessel rack. Getting the wet zone right is the difference between a kitchen that photographs well and one that stays tidy in year three.
One plan, built a thousand times, measured before we arrive
Worked example: 10 running foot L-shape, Nerul sector building
A 1990s CIDCO flat, fourth floor, lift working. Standard kitchen plan with a window over the sink position and a dry balcony off the far end. Cylinder gas, which the family intends to keep.
| Scope | ₹ lakh | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Civil work and plumbing | 0.12 | Sink line replaced; drain re-fallen to the stack |
| Base and wall carcass | 0.68 | BWP under the sink and in the balcony run, 710-grade elsewhere |
| Shutters — matt laminate | 0.45 | Full overlay, PVC edge-banded, soft-close throughout |
| Hardware | 0.32 | Soft-close hinges and runners; corner carousel; cutlery insert |
| Granite counter and dado | 0.28 | Two-piece counter with the joint under the hob; 600 mm dado |
| Tall unit with pull-outs | 0.24 | Larder beside the fridge; ventilated cylinder cabinet below |
| Chimney interface | 0.03 | Duct connection through the existing sleeve |
| Loft storage over the kitchen | 0.03 | Shallow loft for annual vessels |
| Total, ex-GST | 2.15 | ₹21,500 per running foot |
Add 18% GST. Excludes appliances and the chimney unit. The two-piece counter is not a compromise here — it is how a slab gets up a CIDCO staircase.
Three things particular to working here
- Walk-up buildings decide the module sizes. A large part of the older CIDCO stock is ground-plus-four with no lift. Tall units arrive flat-packed and are assembled in the flat, counters arrive as two pieces with the joint designed under the hob or sink, and nothing exceeds about 1,900 mm. It is a design decision, not a delivery-day discovery.
- Timed water supply changes the testing day. Several sectors are on scheduled supply. New plumbing gets pressure-tested during the supply window, which we book into the programme. Testing from a stored tank tells you almost nothing about how the line behaves at mains pressure.
- Creek-facing kitchens are a different specification. On the Palm Beach, Seawoods and Airoli creek frontages the utility run and any exposed metal need SS 316 and marine ply. In Vashi sector 17 or Kopar Khairane, four kilometres inland, that is a markup with no benefit and we do not specify it.
What we would spend the last fifty thousand on
On a kitchen in this band, the marginal fifty thousand rupees does most good inside the cabinets rather than on their faces. In order: proper drawer hardware on the two base units nearest the hob, because those open twenty times a day; a full-height larder pull-out instead of shelves, which converts dead depth into usable front-facing storage; a deep single-bowl sink rather than a double, which is the single most-used item in the room; and under-cabinet lighting on its own switch. What it should not go on is a shutter finish upgrade or a decorative backsplash — both are visible and neither changes how the kitchen works.
On programme, a kitchen-only project here runs about three weeks from final measurement: a week in the factory, three days for carcass installation, five days while the counter is templated from the installed carcass and cut, then shutters, hardware and appliances. We do not template a counter from a drawing, because a millimetre of variation in a sector flat's wall is normal and a counter cut to the drawing arrives with a visible gap at the back.
For the region node by node, see interior designers in Navi Mumbai. For our kitchen specification, hardware and warranty, see modular kitchen designers in Mumbai.
Kitchen work by Greenbox Design Studio.
Frequently asked questions
Do you already know my kitchen's dimensions?+
Often, yes. CIDCO built its sector flats to standard plans and we hold verified measured drawings for several of them, including shaft and window positions. We still measure on site, because previous owners move sinks and close balconies, but the survey is short and the quotation can be fixed rather than estimated.
My building has no lift. Can I still have a granite counter?+
Yes, in two pieces with the joint designed to land under the hob or the sink where it is invisible. A full-length slab will not clear a CIDCO half-landing. The joint is not a compromise in quality — it is planned into the stone order and cut in the yard rather than improvised on site.
Should the washing machine go in the kitchen or the balcony?+
The balcony, every time, if it is plumbed. It removes the noise, the vibration and the wet work from the cooking space and frees a full base unit. Specify the balcony run in BWP or marine ply with sealed edges, because it is a semi-exterior position and MR board will not survive there.
Why is a Navi Mumbai kitchen cheaper than one in Chembur?+
Repeat layouts cut the design and variation allowance, site access is easy so handling costs less, and the local trade prices below the island city. Around 12–15% at the same specification. The ply, the hardware brands and the finishes are exactly what we would use in a Worli kitchen.
Is a chimney worth it if we cook Indian food daily?+
Yes, and the sizing matters more than the brand. For heavy daily cooking specify a suction rating matched to the hob width with the duct run kept short and straight to the existing sleeve. A long duct with two bends halves the effective extraction, which is why an expensive chimney sometimes performs worse than a cheap one.