Straight answer: the kitchen belongs in the south-east. That corner, called Agneya, is the seat of the fire element in the mandala, and cooking is the most concentrated fire a home produces. The workable second choice is the north-west.
Why south-east, in one minute
Every direction hosts an element. Fire sits in the south-east, so a kitchen there feeds the house from the element working in its own home ground. The morning sun also reaches this corner early, which old texts and modern hygiene agree on: heat, light and dryness where food is made.
Inside the kitchen: the three placements
The stove sits in the south-east of the kitchen with the cook facing east while cooking. The sink and water storage stay toward the north-east of the kitchen, as far from the stove as the room allows, because fire and water quarrel when pressed together; the full logic is in the sink and stove guide. Heavy storage settles along the south and west walls.
Kitchens in the wrong corner
A north-east kitchen is the genuinely serious case: fire sitting on the water corner disturbs the calmest zone of the house. A south-west kitchen burdens the stability corner. Neither needs instant demolition; both need honest correction: shift the actual cooking fire within the room toward its best available sub-zone, correct colours toward the corner’s element, and rebalance the disturbed zone. This is exactly what a Kitchen Correction Plan sequences for your plan.
Common questions
My kitchen is in the north-west. Change it?
No. North-west is the accepted alternative in the texts. Keep the stove in its south-east sub-zone and carry on.
Which colours suit a kitchen?
Warm earthy tones, soft yellows and clean whites. Avoid heavy blues and black around the stove; see the colour logic explained here for how colours carry elements.
Does a gas stove differ from induction?
The element is fire either way. Placement rules stay the same for both.
Want the whole kitchen read against your actual plan? Take a Kitchen Vastu Consultation or book a consultation with your layout.

