Lindfield · Ku-ring-gai
Kitchen renovations in Lindfield.
28.5% of Lindfield homes are rented, the highest in Ku-ring-gai. A kitchen for a tenant and a kitchen for yourself look similar on a drawing and should be specified completely differently.
NSW contractor licence 397801C · Ku-ring-gai Council area · About 18 minutes from our Hornsby showroom
Apartments — 44.3% of Lindfield
Nearly half of Lindfield is strata.
The 2021 Census counted 1,699 flats and apartments against 1,997 houses. Whichever you own, the approval question is the first one — and in a unit it is usually the longest item in the programme.
Newer buildings, tighter by-laws
Much of Lindfield's unit stock is recent, and modern schemes tend to have more prescriptive renovation conditions, not fewer.
Waste position is fixed
On a suspended slab the sink stays close to where it is. The layout works around that rather than fighting it.
Lift, dock and hours
Old cabinets out and stone in through one booked route. It is scheduling before it is building.
Filter, not duct
External venting crosses common property. A carbon-filter hood is almost always what the scheme permits.
Specification
Renting it out, or living in it?
With more than a quarter of Lindfield dwellings rented, a meaningful share of the kitchens we build here are on investment property. The brief sounds the same in both cases and the right specification is close to opposite.
Laminate is not a compromise here
On a rental, a good laminate benchtop takes abuse, replaces cheaply and lets for the same rent as stone.
Hardware is where to spend
Soft-close runners and hinges are what fail first under turnover. Cheap hardware is a maintenance call every year.
Freestanding appliances
Integrated units look better and cost far more to replace part-for-part. On a rental that is the wrong trade.
For yourself, invert all of it
Living in it? Then spend on the surfaces you touch and the things that cannot be changed later. We will ask which it is.
Lindfield by the numbers
3,824
occupied private dwellings in Lindfield
28.5%
rented — the highest in Ku-ring-gai
44.3%
flats or apartments
Median age 40
the youngest profile in Ku-ring-gai
How it runs
On a rental, vacancy is the expensive part.
Every week of programme is a week of lost rent, which is why the sequencing matters more than it does in an owner-occupied job.
01
Decide the brief honestly
Owner-occupied or investment. Everything downstream of that question changes, so we ask it first.
02
Approval before vacancy
On a tenanted unit, get consent in hand so demolition starts the week they move out, not two months later.
03
Everything ordered early
Joinery and appliances on site before demolition. Nothing wastes a vacancy like waiting on a benchtop.
04
Services and install
Plumbing and electrical rough-in, then cabinets, working to the building's access hours.
05
Template, return, handover
Stone measured off the fitted carcasses, installed on a second visit, then the property is ready to list.
Credentials
Licensed for owner and investment work.
NSW contractor licence
397801C
Renova Holdings Pty Ltd
Director and builder
99764S
Alireza Kamalzadeh
Joinery
Made to measure
Specified for owners or for tenants
Showroom
Hornsby
104 George St, by appointment
Dwelling and tenure figures from the ABS 2021 Census QuickStats for Lindfield (SAL12348). Anything we say about depreciation or rental return is general observation, not advice — speak to your accountant and your agent. Verify licences on the NSW Government public register.
Lindfield questions
Two very different briefs.
Should a rental kitchen have a stone benchtop?
Usually not, and it is one of the few places we will actively talk someone out of an upgrade. A good laminate takes abuse better than people expect, costs a fraction to replace if a tenant damages it, and does not meaningfully change what the property lets for. Put the difference into hardware instead.
Where should the money go on an investment kitchen?
Into the parts that fail under turnover. Soft-close runners and hinges, a durable door finish, and freestanding appliances that can be swapped part-for-part rather than integrated units that require a cabinetmaker. Those choices reduce maintenance calls for years.
Can you renovate between tenancies?
Yes, and it is the right window. The key is having owners corporation approval granted and all long-lead items on site before the tenant moves out, so work starts immediately rather than after two months of waiting. We build the procurement schedule around the vacancy date.
Are newer apartment buildings easier to renovate in?
Generally the opposite. Recent Lindfield schemes often have detailed renovation by-laws covering approved hours, lift protection, insurance and documentation. Older blocks are sometimes more relaxed. Either way, get the by-law from your strata manager before any design work.
Our house is from the 1930s. What will you find?
Typically corroded galvanised supply, cast iron waste and wiring that predates modern earthing. Ordinary for the vintage, and it belongs in the budget rather than arriving as a surprise. We carry a named contingency instead of quoting low and issuing variations once the cabinets are out.
Living in it, or letting it?
Answer that honestly and the specification writes itself. We ask it at the first meeting.
