Consultation
A designer in the kitchen for half a day: layout options, what the building allows and where the money will go. Worth doing before any money goes into drawings.
- One visit
- Options, not drawings
- Fee fixed in advance
from AED 2,500
Kitchen design
Kitchen design in Dubai
A kitchen design settles where the sink, hob and fridge go, what the cabinets are made of and which approvals the plan will need, before a single board is cut. What the design stage should hand you, and what it costs in the UAE.
Design first
Kitchen design Dubai: what does the design stage decide?
Kitchen design Dubai studios and cabinet showrooms sell two different things under one name. One is a design service: drawings and a specification you can take to any contractor. The other is the in-house designer at a kitchen supplier, whose drawings exist to sell that supplier's units. Both are legitimate. Ask which one you are buying, because it decides what the fee covers and who owns the drawings afterwards.
How much does kitchen design cost in Dubai?
Kitchen design in Dubai costs 10 to 20 percent of the project value where the designer charges a share, the band three UAE sources publish for design fees, and a half-day consultation is published at AED 2,500. Studio 11 lists a kitchen design service at AED 50,000 to 150,000 without saying whether the build is included. The kitchens being designed are published from AED 12,000 for a small refit, so read any design fee against the kitchen price bands it applies to.
What should a kitchen design hand you?
A design is finished when a contractor can price it without guessing. That means paper, not a mood board. Emaar's own checklist for a Home Modification NOC asks for current photographs, proposed floor plans, elevations and 3D visualisations where the work calls for them, so a good design stage builds the approval file at the same time as the kitchen.
- A measured survey: every wall, window, door and beam, with the existing drain, water and gas positions.
- A layout plan with the sink, hob, oven, fridge and extraction placed, and the walking space around them.
- Wall elevations with every cabinet drawn, including tall units, end panels and fillers.
- A cabinet schedule: carcass board and grade, door finish, hinges, runners and handles.
- The worktop material with each cut-out, edge and join marked.
- An appliance list by model, so each cabinet opening matches its machine.
- A lighting and socket plan, and a services drawing showing anything that moves.
Layouts that suit Dubai homes
The building usually picks the layout before the homeowner does. In an apartment the drain stack and the extract point are fixed, so apartment kitchens tend to stay a single wall, a galley or an L-shape. Villas have the floor area for a U-shape or an island, and more freedom to move services, at a price.
- Single wall. Everything on one run. The cheapest to build and the easiest to keep on the existing services.
- Galley. Two parallel runs with a walkway between them. It suits a narrow room and keeps every service within a step.
- L-shape. Two runs meeting at a corner, which leaves floor free for a table. The corner unit is where cheap hardware shows first.
- U-shape. Three runs. The most storage and worktop one room can hold.
- Island or peninsula. A counter standing free, or joined to a wall at one end. Our kitchen island guide sets out what one costs to approve.
Kitchen design Dubai approvals: which layout changes need one?
Every line a designer draws has an approval consequence, and in Dubai most of those consequences are written down. The table puts the common layout decisions against what the rules say about them.
| Design decision | What the rules say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Same positions, new cabinets | Minor alteration at AED 1,000 in Town Square; no NOC under Nakheel's 2023 villa codes | Town Square manual; Nakheel villa codes, 2023 |
| New counter run or a custom island | Major alteration in Town Square: AED 2,000, AED 5,000 deposit, 5 working days | Town Square homeowner manual |
| The sink or drain moves | Not permitted in Emaar apartments, which bar relocating MEP services | Emaar Home Modifications factsheet |
| A wall comes out | Barred in Emaar apartments; major works in Town Square townhouses | Emaar factsheet; Town Square manual |
| A structural element changes | Leaves every no-permit route; filed as a modifications case by a consultant | Dubai Municipality Circular 3-12-1 |
| Bigger appliances, more power | An additional-load request to DEWA, filed by an enrolled consultant or contractor | DEWA builder services |
None of this rules out a new layout. It means the approvals have to be known before the programme is written, and the programme belongs in the quote. Our Dubai kitchen rules take each developer in turn. The authority side, from the Municipality to Trakhees and the Development Authority, is in the hub's Dubai permits guide.
Send us a photo of the floor plan
Who designs the kitchen, and who owns the drawings?
Three arrangements are common, and each is paid for differently. The fees below are the ones UAE firms publish; apart from the one studio already quoted, none of the firms in the table prices kitchen design alone.
| Fee type | Published by | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Half-day consultation | AI Designs | AED 2,500 |
| Site visit with concept suggestions | AI Designs | AED 5,000 |
| Percentage of the project value | Three UAE sources agree on it | 10 to 20 percent |
| Kitchen design service | Studio 11 | AED 50,000 to 150,000 |
| Design folded into a full kitchen build | MBC Renovation Services | AED 25,000 to 40,000 |
- An independent designer. You pay the fee and own the drawings, and any contractor can price them. The design is only as good as the survey behind it.
- A kitchen supplier's designer. Sometimes folded into the price: MBC's published full kitchen at AED 25,000 to 40,000 lists design in its scope. The drawings suit that supplier's units.
- Design and build. One firm draws and delivers under one contract. Dubai Municipality's contractor classification lists Decoration Design and Implementation as an activity of its own, code 100051.
Whichever route you take, the filings belong to firms, not homeowners. A registered consultant files structural modifications, and an accredited contractor files a décor self-permit through Dubai BPS. Ask your designer who will make each filing before the fee is agreed. If the finishes and the look of the room matter as much as the plan, our kitchen interiors page covers that brief, and full kitchen renovations cover the rest of the job.
Options
Three ways to buy a kitchen design
Design-only drawings
A full drawing set and specification that you own and can put to any contractor. Three UAE sources publish the same 10 to 20 percent band for this kind of fee.
- You own the drawings
- Any contractor can price
- Approval file included
10 to 20% of project value
Design and build
One firm draws the kitchen and fits it under one contract. MBC's published full kitchen, AED 25,000 to 40,000, prices the design in with the cabinets and appliances.
- One contract
- Design in the price
- Supplier's own units
from AED 25,000
The order
How a kitchen design runs, survey to signed quote
Survey and brief
Measure the room, photograph the services, and write down the appliances, storage and budget band you want.
Layout options
Two or three plans, each with a note on which services move and which approval class it falls into.
Specification
Cabinets, worktop, appliances and lighting fixed on paper, so every contractor prices the same kitchen.
Approval file
Plans, elevations and visualisations prepared in the form the community asks for, ready for the NOC application.
Quotes against one design
The drawings go to licensed contractors, and each quote comes back line by line against the same specification.
More on Kitchen design in Dubai
Related
Questions
Kitchen design questions
- Is kitchen design free when I buy the cabinets?
- Sometimes the design sits inside the price: MBC's published full kitchen at AED 25,000 to 40,000 includes design, cabinets and appliances. When design comes with the units, ask whether you may keep the drawings if you choose a different contractor, because they were drawn around that supplier's cabinets.
- Do I need a designer for a small kitchen?
- Not always. A like-for-like replacement that keeps the sink, hob and walls where they are can be priced from a measured survey and a cabinet schedule. A designer earns the fee when something moves, because every moved service brings a trade and often an approval with it.
- What does a kitchen designer need from me?
- Wall lengths or a floor plan, photographs of the existing kitchen, your appliance list, the community you live in and a budget band. The community matters as much as the measurements, because it decides which approvals the layout will need.
- Can the designer apply for the permits?
- Only a firm with the right registration can. In Dubai a registered consultant files structural modifications, an accredited contractor files a décor self-permit, and DEWA accepts load requests from enrolled firms alone. The developer's NOC is requested by the owner, through the community portal or app.
- How is kitchen design different from kitchen interior design?
- Kitchen design settles the working plan: where the sink, hob and fridge go and how the cabinets are built. Interior design settles the look: surfaces, colour, light, and how the kitchen sits with the rooms around it. Many projects need both, and one firm can deliver both, but they are separate briefs with separate fees.
- Can I see the design in 3D before I approve it?
- Ask for it at the start. Emaar lists 3D visualisations among the documents its Home Modification NOC may require, so a design that includes them serves the approval as well as your decision.
Who you are dealing with
- OperatorWebsiteOS LLC
- Licence2646567.01
- Cost to homeownerNone
- Figures datedSeptember 2026
Tell us about the kitchen
Size, community, what the room does badly today and what you want it to do. We come back with designers and contractors who quote against the published bands, and show you where each quote sits against them.