1. Decide the furniture layout first
Everything else hangs off it. Where the bed goes decides where the wardrobe goes and whether its doors can swing; where the sofa goes decides the TV wall, and the TV wall decides where power and signal points have to be. A layout drawn to measured dimensions is the one document every trade after this works from.
2. Electrical and plumbing first fix
With the layout fixed, every point is marked and the wiring is pulled while walls and ceilings are still open. This is the stage people most want to skip and most regret skipping. It includes:
- the chimney point and duct route, and the water purifier point and its drain, for the kitchen;
- a recessed back box and conduit behind the TV wall;
- every downlight, cove and switch from the lighting plan;
- any lighting inside wardrobes or along a partition.
3. The false ceiling
Framing, boarding and skimming come after the first fix and before any joinery is installed, because ceiling work is dusty and needs clear floor space. In bathrooms and utility areas the board should be cement fibre, not gypsum. More on ceilings and lighting.
4. Kitchen and wardrobes
Carcasses go in once the ceiling is done and the first-fix points are where the drawing says. The kitchen countertop is templated only after the base units are fixed and levelled. Wardrobes are measured to the finished walls, not the drawing, because walls in a new flat are rarely perfectly plumb. See modular kitchens and wardrobes.
5. Partitions, TV unit and the rest of the joinery
Anything fixed to the ceiling needs to reach the slab, not the false ceiling; a partition or a media wall goes in after the ceiling is finished but is fixed through it.
6. Paint last
Final coats go on after the dusty trades have left. Earlier coats are fine as a base, but the last one should not have to survive carpentry.
7. Second fix and handover
Fittings go in and everything is tested: every light on the right switch, every door and drawer closing properly. What to check at handover is its own list.
If you are already living there
The order does not change, but it is worth agreeing which rooms stay usable and for how long, and how dust is kept out of them. Doing one room completely before opening the next is slower and far easier to live with.