Kitchen Relocation in a Listed Building: What’s Possible?

Can you move the kitchen in a Grade II listed home? Here’s a simple, design-led guide to what’s possible, what’s sensitive, and how to approach kitchen relocations in listed buildings.

Kitchen relocations are one of the most common questions we receive from clients buying or refurbishing a listed home. Many believe it’s either impossible or extremely restricted – but in practice, kitchen moves are often achievable, provided the design and heritage reasoning are sound.

Here is a clear, straightforward guide to what’s typically possible, what requires sensitivity, and how to approach the process confidently.

Why Kitchens Are Often More Flexible Than People Think

Unlike principal reception rooms or historic staircases, kitchens are considered functional spaces. In many listed homes, their historic location has changed multiple times over the course of the building’s life.

Because of this, heritage officers are often open to kitchen relocations when other heritage considerations are respected.

Typical relocations include:

• moving the kitchen from a basement to the ground floor
• relocating a cramped internal kitchen to a brighter rear room
• combining kitchen and dining spaces into one
• moving the kitchen to improve circulation

In most Grade II and Grade II* homes, at least one relocation option exists.

What Makes a Kitchen Relocation Sensitive?

Although relocations are possible, certain constraints need to be handled carefully:

1. Impact on the Historic Plan Form

If the move significantly alters the building’s original layout, particularly in Georgian or Victorian homes, the proposal needs a clear justification.

2. Plumbing and Ventilation Routes

New drainage or extraction must be positioned sensitively to avoid damage to the historic fabric.

3. Location of Significant Rooms

Some front rooms or principal spaces are treated with greater protection. Relocating a kitchen into a historically crucial front-facing room is usually discouraged.

4. Integration with Contemporary Layouts

Design matters – layouts that feel proportionate, coherent and well-considered are far more likely to succeed.

Where Kitchen Moves Are Commonly Approved

In our experience, relocations often gain consent in the following situations:

Basement to Ground Floor Moves

A neglected or dark basement kitchen is often upgraded to a ground-floor space – especially in terraced houses where the basement is poorly used.

Rear Extensions

A new or existing rear extension is often the preferred location for a kitchen, offering better light and greater layout flexibility.

Side Returns (Where Permissible)

Even in listed homes, a modest side return extension can create a well-connected kitchen zone.

Upper-Floor Flats

In some listed mansion blocks or conversions, the historic plan form is less rigid, allowing kitchen moves to be more flexible.

What Is Unlikely to Be Approved

Not everything is possible. Heritage officers tend to resist:

• relocating the kitchen into a highly significant formal or front-facing room
• installing intrusive extraction flues on principal elevations
• removing historic, structural walls to create open-plan layouts without justification
• moving the kitchen in a way that undermines the building’s hierarchy of spaces

Even then, there are ways to work around constraints through clever design or alternative routes.

How to Approach a Kitchen Relocation Properly

A successful kitchen move depends less on the physical work and more on how the strategy is presented.

1. Understand the Building’s Significance First

Identifying which rooms and features matter most is essential before choosing the new location.

2. Keep Plumbing Routes Sensible

Compact, predictable drainage paths reduce the impact on heritage.

3. Use Sensitive Detailing

Joinery, mouldings and proportions help the new kitchen settle comfortably into its new space.

4. Present a Clear Heritage Justification

The reasoning must show that the move does not harm the building – or that clear benefits outweigh any minimal harm. This is where professional guidance adds significant value.

How We Support Clients with Kitchen Relocations

At Heritage Atelier London, we help clients:

• assess which rooms are suitable for a kitchen
• understand the heritage implications of each option
• plan plumbing and extraction routes sensitively
• develop a design-led justification for Listed Building Consent
• create layouts that are both modern and respectful

We have completed many kitchen relocations in some of London’s most sensitive listed homes – including properties where previous applicants were refused.