Made to fit your Mitcham kitchen exactly, corner to corner
Is your Mitcham kitchen still working the way you need it to?
Plenty of Mitcham homes were built between the 1950s and the 1980s, when the kitchen sat at the rear of the house behind a wall. That worked then. It rarely works now.
Mitcham residents describe the same problem to us. One person cooks alone while everyone else gathers somewhere else, and the benchtop ran out of room years ago.
That is usually the point where a kitchen renovation in Mitcham stops being a someday idea. The Kitchen Design Centre starts with the way you use the room and works out the layout from there.
Why flat pack cabinets rarely suit an older Mitcham kitchen
Flat pack cabinetry comes in fixed module sizes, so the room has to accept the cabinets. Any leftover gap gets covered with a filler panel. Older Mitcham kitchens rarely have square walls or standard runs, which is where that shows.
A lot of Melbourne kitchen businesses sell from a showroom and order the cabinetry in from elsewhere. Measuring the room first is not part of that model. TKDC is one of the very few true bespoke kitchen builders left in Victoria.
TKDC builds every kitchen to the measured dimensions of the room it goes into. Your custom kitchen design starts with the space, and the joinery is made to fit it.
Who actually builds your kitchen once the design is signed off?
The same company that draws your kitchen also makes it and fits it. Your plan stays inside the one business from the first measure to the final fit off.
We build your cabinetry at our Bayswater factory. Our cabinet makers assemble and test every component for fit and function before it leaves.
So the pieces that arrive at your home have already been proven to work together. If something needs adjusting, we find it at the factory rather than in your kitchen.
Choosing finishes that hold up to daily cooking
A kitchen finish earns its place by surviving the way you actually cook. What we see working in Mitcham homes right now leans warm rather than stark.
We work across a wide range of premium engineered stone, mineral and porcelain surfaces from leading suppliers. Your designer helps you pick the one that suits your design, lifestyle and project requirements.
The direction most clients are choosing runs along these lines:
- Warmer neutral palettes have taken over from the cooler greys of a decade ago.
- Natural timber tones add warmth to cabinetry without dating the room quickly.
- Porcelain benchtops with soft warm veining handle heat and daily wear well.
- Durable laminates still earn their place where the design and project suit them.
- Stone benchtops, glass and tile each work as splashback materials, with different install sequences.
Hardware carries as much weight as the surfaces. Häfele Grass drawer systems are our standard specification, so your drawers keep running smoothly for years.
How does a kitchen renovation with TKDC run?
Six stages take you from your first visit to a finished kitchen. Design consultations take place at home with a designer rather than in the showroom, which is worth knowing early.
Your renovation journey runs like this:
- Start with a Showroom Tour. A Showroom Assistant walks you through the displays, materials and cabinetry, and gives you entry-level costing guidance.
- A designer then visits your Mitcham home for your Project Consultation, measures the space and works through how your household uses it.
- You walk your kitchen in 3D at full scale and refine the layout with your designer before final sign-off.
- Your Project Costing follows in writing, covering the scope you have approved.
- Once the contract is signed, a Client Manager takes over and guides the job through check, measure and manufacture.
- Our own installers fit the kitchen and hand the room back to you.
What decides the cost of your kitchen renovation?
The amount of cabinetry sets the base. A galley with two runs sits well below a kitchen with an island, a butler’s pantry and full-height storage. Benchtop material moves the number from there.
Layout changes matter too, because shifting a sink or relocating power points brings plumbing and electrical work into the job. Appliances can swing the total on their own.
A kitchen renovation project works backwards from the design rather than forwards from a number. Your Project Costing goes in writing once the design is settled. A costing that holds is part of why so many of our clients come back or send someone our way.
Can you keep living at home while the kitchen is replaced?
Yes, most households stay put. The kitchen is out of use during removal and installation, and there is no way around that. What we can do is shorten the stretch.
Your cabinetry is manufactured before the old kitchen comes out. It arrives ready to install rather than being built while you wait without a sink.
Your fridge gets relocated and keeps running. Floor protection, dust containment and a daily site clean-up are standard practice here, so you never have to ask. Your Client Manager passes on the schedule set by the factory, so you know which trades are coming and when.
Qualified cabinet makers and certified trades on every job
Michael Simpson and Peter Schelfhout own TKDC and both are registered builders. That is uncommon in this trade. They hold building licences and carry responsibility for the finished work.
They established the factory in 1994 and bring more than 60 years of design and build experience between them. Qualified cabinet makers build every kitchen.
Certified tradespeople install it, and each trade on site holds the ticket for the work they are doing. Several of Victoria’s top-tier new home builders choose TKDC for the kitchens in their own projects. Those are professionals with their own reputation riding on the result.
Can we renovate your laundry at the same time?
Yes. A laundry running alongside your kitchen becomes one renovation project on the Kitchen Renovation pathway, with one design team and one build. The same applies to a butler’s pantry, a wardrobe, a home office or bathroom renovations.
An outdoor kitchen can join the same project where the space suits it. Standalone projects work differently, so laundry renovations or a wardrobe on their own start with a Discovery Call. Running the work as one job keeps finishes and hardware consistent through the house.
Custom cabinetry and custom vanities carry the same detailing as your kitchen. Tapware and fittings can be matched across rooms, and you deal with fewer trades.
Come and open the drawers yourself
Blackburn is our eastern suburbs showroom, at 143 Whitehorse Road, Blackburn VIC 3130, a short drive west of Mitcham along the same road. Full-size kitchen displays fill the floor and change as new ranges arrive.
Book a Showroom Tour and a Showroom Assistant guides you through the displays, materials and cabinetry. Pull out a drawer, compare finishes side by side and ask whatever you need to. We are open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and closed Sunday.
Call 03 9894 7445 with a question, or walk in without an appointment whenever it suits you. Essendon and Eltham are the other two showrooms if either is easier for you. To start at home instead, book a Project Consultation and one of our designers will come to your Mitcham home.
FAQs
What is the difference between a Showroom Tour and a Project Consultation?
A Showroom Tour is a guided walk through the displays, materials and cabinetry at a Kitchen Design Centre showroom, led by a Showroom Assistant. A Project Consultation comes next, with one of the designers visiting your home to measure the space and plan the layout.
Does The Kitchen Design Centre offer partial kitchen renovations or resurfacing?
The Kitchen Design Centre completes full custom kitchen renovations, where the existing kitchen is removed and new cabinetry is built for the space. Every project runs as a complete renovation rather than a resurfacing, refacing or staged update.
Can you remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room in an older Mitcham home?
Non-load-bearing walls and minor nib walls in older Mitcham homes can usually be removed to open the kitchen to the dining area. Permits are generally only required where the work involves external walls, load-bearing walls or new window openings. A Kitchen Design Centre designer confirms which walls are structural at the Project Consultation.