Vastu for kitchen design rests on one relationship: fire and water. The hob is the fire element and belongs, traditionally, towards the south-east; the sink is water and sits more comfortably towards the north-east of the room. The cook ideally faces east. In fitted UK kitchens you rarely get all three, but you can usually get closer than you think.

Fire, water and the cook: the core of Vastu for kitchen layouts

Vastu Shastra assigns each direction an element. The south-east is ruled by Agni, fire, which is why it is the classic kitchen zone for a whole house and the classic hob position within the kitchen. Water is linked to the north and north-east. The tension in any kitchen comes from bringing fire and water together in one small room, and much of the traditional guidance is simply about giving each its own space.

The third element is the person cooking. Facing east while cooking is the traditional preference, with north as a reasonable alternative. Cooking with your back to the door is generally avoided, partly for comfort, since nobody likes being surprised from behind with a hot pan in hand.

Planning a kitchen now and want a view before the fitter arrives? Send us your question with the kitchen plan and the direction of each wall.

Where the kitchen sits within the house

South-east is traditionally ideal and north-west is widely accepted as a second choice. Kitchens in the north-east are the placement Vastu is most cautious about, because fire meets the zone intended for water and stillness. In British homes, though, the kitchen is almost always at the back of the house for plumbing and drainage reasons, so its direction depends entirely on which way your street runs.

If your kitchen is in a less favoured zone, focus on the arrangement inside it. That is where you have real choices.

To map the kitchen itself, stand in the middle of the room with a phone compass, away from the fridge and oven, and note which wall faces which direction. Sketch the units, hob, sink and door on a simple grid. Most of the questions in the rest of this guide can then be answered from that one drawing, and it is exactly what a practitioner will want to see if you ask for a personal view.

Placing the hob and the sink

The hob

Within the kitchen, place the hob towards the south-east corner where you can, positioned so the cook faces east. If the extractor or gas supply makes that impossible, aim at least to keep the hob out of the north-east corner of the room.

The sink

The sink sits best towards the north or north-east. Under a window is a common UK position and often works well if that window faces north or east.

When the hob and sink are side by side

Fire directly beside water is the arrangement people ask about most. Where possible, leave a section of worktop between them. If the run is too short, a wooden chopping board kept standing between the two, or a small plant on the worktop, is a gentle way of marking a separation. Directly opposite each other across a galley is also traditionally avoided, though far less important than a clean and orderly room.

Working with typical UK kitchen shapes

Galley kitchens

Common in terraces and flats. You usually have two parallel runs, so choose which run takes the hob based on direction, and keep the far end of the galley uncluttered so the room does not feel like a dead end.

L-shaped kitchens

These give the most flexibility. The corner of the L can separate fire and water naturally, with the hob on one arm and the sink on the other.

Islands and open-plan kitchen-diners

An island hob in the middle of the room places fire at the centre, which Vastu prefers to keep open. If you are designing from scratch, consider a hob on a perimeter wall and a sink or prep area on the island instead. In open-plan spaces, treat the kitchen area as its own zone within the larger room and read its corners separately.

Appliances, storage and colour

Fridge: the south-west or north-west of the kitchen is the usual suggestion; avoid the north-east corner.
Oven and microwave: close to the fire zone, towards the south-east.
Heavy storage and tall larders: south and west walls.
Colour: warm, light tones such as soft yellow, cream, terracotta or warm white suit the fire element. Very dark schemes are traditionally less favoured, though a light worktop and good lighting balance them.
Bins and recycling: out of the north-east and away from the hob.

If you work from the kitchen table, our piece on a home energy reading for a multipurpose room looks at spaces that do several jobs at once.

None of this needs to be perfect. Good Vastu for kitchen spaces in a real British home is about moving each element a step closer to its traditional place and keeping the room clean, bright and orderly.

A personal kitchen and home review

A kitchen is never read in isolation: its place in the house, the people cooking in it and the rest of the plan all matter. The Energy at Home / New Home session is a 45-minute consultation that combines your home's own horoscope with your personal horoscope and the principles of Vedic astrology, Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui, so that suggestions for the kitchen fit the whole home. If you are mid-refit, bring the designer's plan so that positions can be discussed while they can still change.

Frequently asked questions

Is an electric or induction hob treated differently from gas?

It still represents the fire element, so the same placement principles apply.

What if my kitchen is in the north-east of the house?

Keep it especially clean and bright, place the hob towards the south-east corner of the room and avoid clutter. A personal session can suggest further steps for your layout.

Which way should I face when cooking?

East is the traditional preference, with north as an alternative. Avoid standing with your back to the kitchen door where you can.

Whether you are planning a new kitchen or living with an old one, send us your question with a quick plan, or book the home energy session to look at the kitchen alongside the rest of your home.