The five blocks every modular kitchen quote must cover
A modular kitchen is good or bad based on five blocks of decisions made before fabrication: layout, carcass and shutter, hardware, countertop and sink, appliances and electrical. I plan all five at the site visit, before any price is quoted. The right order is layout first, materials second, electrical third. Cost falls out of those choices. Choosing a cost number first and forcing the kitchen into it is how kitchens look fine on handover and age within two years.Choosing the right layout
The sink line, gas line, chimney route, door and window position rule out most layout options before the design conversation begins. Layout is decided by the room, not by a catalogue.
Straight (single-wall) — for galley-style 1BHK and small 2BHK kitchens where the kitchen is 4 to 6 feet wide. Everything along one wall. The right answer when the room cannot fit anything else.
L-shape — the most common layout I build. Counter runs along two adjacent walls. Sink on one arm, hob on the other. A magic corner in the dead corner.
Parallel — two counter runs facing each other with a 3.5 to 4 foot walkway between. Suits long narrow kitchens, common in older buildings on Ghodbunder Road and CIDCO-era flats in Vashi and Kharghar.
U-shape — counter on three walls. Needs a kitchen room of at least 7×8 feet to feel right. Suits larger 2BHK and 3BHK flats.
Island — a free-standing counter in the middle. Needs an open-plan kitchen wide enough that the island does not block movement, and water or electrical run to the island during civil work.
Materials and brands that actually matter
The carcass is the structural box. The shutter is the visible face. The hardware is the moving parts. Cheap quotes save on the carcass and the hardware — both invisible on handover day, both what fail first.
Carcass: Century or Greenply 710 BWP-grade plywood, 18 mm vertical supports. Particle board carcass is cheaper but swells at the joints in Thane and Mumbai humidity. I do not use it.
Shutters: laminate, acrylic, PU or veneer with PU coating. Membrane shutters look attractive in year one but the membrane lifts at the edges over 4 to 5 years. I generally do not recommend membrane.
Hardware: Hettich or Ebco soft-close hinges and drawer runners, Hafele for premium scope. Hinges should be 3D-adjustable so they can be realigned later. Drawer channels should be tandem-box or full-extension under-mount, not cheap side-mount.
Countertop: quartz for most kitchens, granite where quartz does not fit, Corian or solid surface for premium projects. The countertop options post covers the trade-offs.
Electrical planning has to happen at the design stage
A modern kitchen runs four to six appliances at once. Most older Thane and Mumbai flats were wired for one or two. The mismatch between the electrical board and the modern load is where MCBs trip and chimneys lose performance from sharing a circuit with the microwave.
Separate circuit for the chimney isolator, separate for the hob, separate fridge point. The wall chasing happens before the carcass arrives, not after. The electrical point planning post lays out where every point should sit.
Modular vs carpenter-built — when each makes sense
A modular kitchen costs more than the equivalent carpenter-built one. What modular gives back is consistency — CNC-cut carcass, factory-aligned hinges, even shutter gaps. For a buyer renovating once and staying 10 to 15 years, modular is the choice. Full comparison in modular kitchen vs carpenter kitchen.
How the project runs
Site visit, measurement, layout drawing and written scope — 48 to 72 hours from the visit. Material selection once scope is approved. Factory fabrication of carcass and shutters — 10 to 14 days. On-site installation — 2 to 4 days. Final snag list closed before final payment. Full design walkthrough in the modular kitchen design guide.
Thane, Mumbai & Navi Mumbai
Jyani Interior is based in Thane Manpada and takes projects across Thane, selected Mumbai, and Navi Mumbai locations.
Primary Areas — Thane
- Manpada, Ghodbunder Road (home base)
- Thane West — all interior and renovation services
- Majiwada — civil and full home interior
- Hiranandani Estate — interior design and furniture
- Kasarvadavali — kitchen, bathroom, full renovation
- Kolshet Road, Kapurbawdi — renovation projects
Extended Areas — Mumbai
- Mulund West and East — full interior and renovation
- Andheri, Borivali — selected renovation projects
- Bandra, Dadar — kitchen and bathroom renovation
- All Mumbai projects require a site visit
- Society rules and access are confirmed first
Navi Mumbai
- Airoli, Ghansoli — interior and civil renovation
- Kharghar, Panvel — modular kitchen and interior
- Nerul, Belapur — bathroom and flooring work
- All Navi Mumbai projects are site-visited
- CIDCO-era buildings need extra civil assessment
Our Services
A: About 4 to 6 weeks total. Factory fabrication is 10 to 14 days. The remaining time goes into design finalisation, material selection, civil and plumbing corrections if needed, on-site installation (2 to 4 days), and the final snag list.
A: In most cases yes. If the existing skirting is intact and the wall behind the kitchen is in reasonable condition, the kitchen carcass installs cleanly. If the floor is uneven or the wall behind the hob needs new tiles for a backsplash, I include that as a separate civil scope.
A: This is the most common situation in older Thane and Mumbai flats. The kitchen design includes new electrical points for chimney, hob isolator, microwave, fridge, mixer, water purifier and an extra two for future use. We chase the wall during the civil phase and lay new conduits. It adds 3 to 5 days to the project but it is non-negotiable if the existing board cannot handle the kitchen load.
A: Yes, if they are in working condition and the size matches the new layout.