Can you renovate a kitchen within our existing floor plan without a full rebuild?

Yes. This is one of the most common North Shore projects. We design cabinetry to work within existing walls, plumbing and window positions wherever possible. Keeping the sink and cooktop close to where they are now saves on plumbing and electrical work and usually shortens the renovation.

Can you do whole-home joinery across several rooms?

Yes. Kitchen, butler's pantry, wardrobes and home office can be planned together for a consistent material and hardware language throughout. Doing it as one package also means one set of drawings, one quote and a single installation schedule, which is usually easier than managing separate jobs.

What suburbs on the North Shore do you cover?

We regularly work across Mosman, Chatswood, Lane Cove, Wahroonga, Willoughby, Cremorne, North Sydney and Gordon, and the surrounding Lower and Upper North Shore. If your suburb is not listed, get in touch and we will confirm coverage for your project before the consultation is booked.

Do you work with the interior designers or architects North Shore homeowners often use?

Yes. We regularly coordinate shop drawings and finishes with the architect or interior designer already engaged on a North Shore renovation. We work to their drawings and specification, prepare samples for their approval and keep them in the loop on any changes during manufacture and installation.

What's a typical North Shore joinery project?

Kitchen renovations within an existing floor plan are the most common brief, often paired with a butler's pantry, wardrobes or a full whole-home joinery package across several rooms. Home office and laundry joinery are frequently added to the same project.

How long does a kitchen renovation take on the North Shore?

A full kitchen renovation commonly takes 12 to 20 weeks end to end, from the first consultation to handover. Manufacture typically takes 4 to 8 weeks of that, from signed-off drawings. The time the kitchen is actually out of action is usually much shorter, often a few weeks, depending on other trades.

Do I need council approval for new joinery?

Usually not. Joinery itself rarely needs a development application. Approval may be needed if the project involves structural work, such as removing a load-bearing wall, or external changes to a house in a heritage conservation area. Your builder or architect normally handles that approval.

Do we need strata approval for an apartment kitchen in Chatswood or North Sydney?

In most cases yes. Replacing a kitchen in a strata building is generally treated as a minor renovation under NSW strata law and needs owners corporation approval before work starts. Check your by-laws, and we can supply drawings and product details for the application.

What finishes suit a busy family kitchen?

For a family kitchen, laminate from Polytec or Laminex is the cheaper and tougher option, though it will not look like sprayed 2-pac up close. 2-pac gives a smoother finish in any colour but can chip on edges if knocked. Many families use 2-pac on feature areas and laminate or veneer where wear is highest.

Can you work in our home while we live there?

Yes. Most North Shore projects are in occupied homes. We protect floors, keep dust down, work reasonable hours and install in as few site visits as possible. For kitchens, we can help you plan a temporary kitchen setup for the weeks the old one is out.

Custom Joinery North Shore | Mosman to Wahroonga

Joinery on the North Shore: the housing stock

The North Shore is Sydney's most common renovation belt. Most projects here work within an established house footprint, so the joinery has to solve for existing walls, windows and ceiling heights rather than a blank canvas.

Housing is mostly established family homes on standard to generous blocks. You see 1930s to 1960s brick homes, Federation and interwar houses in older pockets, and more recent architect-designed rebuilds. Around Chatswood and the rail corridor there are townhouse and apartment developments, from older walk-up blocks to newer high-rise towers. Kitchen and whole-home renovations are the most common project type.

The Lower North Shore, around North Sydney, Cremorne and Mosman, has more apartments and semis on tighter sites. Further up the line through Gordon and Wahroonga, blocks get larger, houses get bigger and storage briefs grow with them.

Common joinery challenges on the North Shore

Renovating within a floor plan

Joinery has to work around existing structural walls, window positions and ceiling heights. A common example is a kitchen window with a sill at about 1,000 mm, which leaves only 100 mm above a standard 900 mm bench for a splashback. We plan bench heights, splashback material and tap positions around it, or suggest lowering the sill if the window is being replaced anyway. Moving a sink is possible, but the waste pipe needs enough fall to reach the existing drainage, so we check that before committing to a new layout.

Family-scale storage

Larger homes need higher-capacity wardrobe and kitchen storage than inner-city apartments. That means 600 mm deep wardrobes with a mix of double hanging (roughly 1,000 mm per rail) and long hanging, deep drawers in place of shelves in the kitchen, and a proper pantry. A drop zone near the back door for school bags and shoes solves a lot of daily clutter and takes only 600 to 900 mm of wall.

A wide range of eras

1930s bungalows, 1960s brick and contemporary builds each bring different wall conditions, which affects fixing and fitting. Double brick needs masonry anchors rather than stud fixings. Older homes often have floors that are 10 to 20 mm out of level across a room and walls that are out of square, so we use adjustable legs, scribe panels and allow fillers in the design.

Ceiling heights

Older houses often have ceilings of 2,700 mm or more, while many 1960s and 1970s homes sit at around 2,400 mm. With higher ceilings we either run overhead cupboards to the ceiling for extra storage or finish them with a bulkhead, which avoids a dust shelf on top.

Matching an older house

In Federation and interwar homes, a sleek handleless kitchen can look out of place next to original cornices and leadlight windows. A Shaker door in 2-pac, a timber veneer island or a simple profiled edge often sits better. We can also match skirting heights and paint colours so new built-ins read as part of the house rather than an add-on.

What we build most on the North Shore

Full kitchen renovations, whole-home wardrobe fit-outs, home office and laundry joinery for family homes, and cabinetry for townhouse and apartment renovations around the Chatswood corridor. Typical projects are kitchen renovations within an existing floor plan, butler's pantries added alongside a kitchen upgrade, and whole-home joinery across kitchen, wardrobes and home office for growing families.

Kitchen renovations

New custom kitchens designed within the existing walls, plumbing and window positions wherever possible.

Butler's pantries

A butler's pantry added beside the main kitchen for appliances, bulk storage and a second sink.

Whole-home wardrobes

Built-in and walk-in custom wardrobes planned across every bedroom so finishes and hardware match.

Home office and laundry

Home office joinery and laundry joinery, often done in the same package as the kitchen.

Custom kitchen with timber cabinetry and a white stone island bench — A timber and white stone kitchen, a common brief for North Shore family homes.

Many North Shore homeowners already have an architect or interior designer on the project. We work from their drawings and finishes, and for panelling, built-in shelving and other detailed elements see our architectural joinery page.

North Shore suburbs we cover

Suburbs we regularly work in across the North Shore:

Mosman: harbourside Federation and interwar houses, plus apartment blocks. Many kitchens here are being brought up to date inside a heritage shell.
Chatswood: a mix of high-rise apartments around the transport interchange and established houses in the surrounding streets.
Lane Cove: post-war brick homes, newer townhouses and apartment blocks close to the village.
Wahroonga: large family homes on generous blocks, with much of the suburb in heritage conservation areas.
Willoughby: interwar bungalows and brick homes, often extended at the back with a new open-plan kitchen and living area.
Cremorne: semis, older walk-up apartments and newer units on compact sites.
North Sydney: apartment towers and terraces, where lift access and parking shape the install plan.
Gordon: Upper North Shore family homes plus newer apartment developments near the station.

We also cover the surrounding North Shore suburbs. If yours is not listed, get in touch and we will confirm. Nearby, we also work across the Northern Beaches.

Strata, council and access notes

For apartments and townhouses, you will usually need owners corporation approval before work starts. In NSW, replacing a kitchen or wardrobes is generally treated as a minor renovation, which still needs approval under your scheme's rules. Check your by-laws and allow a few weeks for the process. Most buildings also need a lift booking, lift padding and a set delivery window, and we plan deliveries to suit.

Joinery itself rarely needs a development application. Council approval becomes relevant if the project involves structural changes, such as removing a load-bearing wall, or external changes to a house in a heritage conservation area. In those cases your builder or architect will usually handle the approval, and we work to the approved drawings.

On streets with limited parking, we plan delivery times and, where needed, organise a council parking permit for the truck.

Planning your North Shore project

Every project starts with a free consultation and in-home measure. From there we prepare the design, shop drawings and a 3D concept, then a written, itemised quote. Manufacture in our workshop typically takes 4 to 8 weeks from sign-off, with laminate fastest and 2-pac and veneer longest. A full kitchen renovation commonly takes 12 to 20 weeks end to end, including trades we coordinate such as plumbing and electrical.

Before the consultation, it helps to gather a few things: any plans or photos of the rooms, a rough budget range, and a list of what does and does not work in your current kitchen or wardrobes. If you have an architect or designer, send us their drawings. If you are also planning a bathroom, ask about bathroom vanities so the finishes can be chosen together.

For indicative Sydney pricing, see our joinery cost guide. You can also browse examples of our work, or see the other areas we cover across Sydney.

Custom joinery for the North Shore