Advice on a new kitchen - design, layout and installation

Nell51

We are currently applying for planning permission to extend our existing kitchen. It has taken us ten years to get to this stage and I want to ensure we make all the right choices as we won't be in a position to afford this again.

We have never had a new kitchen before so I would be very grateful for any advice you could offer or any tips you could pass on with regard to suppliers, recommendations for the major companies, design do's and dont's, etc. I am hoping that we can start approaching some kitchen companies to draw up some plans with all the measurements taken from the plans submitted to our council. Our budget is restricted and I expect we are looking at B&Q, Ikea or the like. We will also need to buy all new appliances as our current ones are all on their last legs.

I particularly like white gloss units but everyone I have mentioned this to has tried to put me off, saying they show up all the dirt so if anyone has these perhaps you could let me have your view.

Also I would particularly like wooden worktops but have been advised they need to be rubbed down and oiled every six months or so - is this the case as it sounds quite tedious. Otherwise, in my dreams, black granite would be good!!

With so many decisions to be made I am worried about making the 'right' decisions.

Thanks for your help.

Biggie

i'm also planning for a Kitchen here are a few pointers:-

- Don't buy appliances from Kitchen suppliers they are well over priced.
- Look at alternatives for Granite e.g Dipol may save a packet
- Don't tell B&Q that it's for a build that doesn't exist they may well refuse to do a plan for you.
- B&Q are generally overpriced bad units at least that was the perception, however I think they're latest range through quite a lot dearer are much better IMO
- Don't fall for offer half price sale etc etc for most kitchen suppliers, they nearly always have a sale on as they rotate the products they have on offer.
- Ikea are also good quality units with value for money
- Have you considered Cream gloss units as this is what we have decided to go for.

Also have a big around these forums as there's a lot of advice regarding kitchens

recyclingbox

Ikea do a good online/downloadable planning tool for their kitchens. Very useful it is too:

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/rooms_ideas/splashplanners.html

worried_jim

got my kitchen thru b&q 6 years ago . 100% happy. used own builders to fit.

Meepster

Nell51

If you want you could scan and email your plans to me and I could work on a basic plan for you, that you could then use to price up at all the sheds.

You could use the online planners available at a few of the websites, the problem is, they don't offer any advice regarding current regulations or actual planning and they are quite fiddly to use.

If this is of any use to you, let me know. (And no I wont charge you for this and I'm not expecting you to buy a kitchen from me, I'm just happy to help)

Oh, and BTW, I agree with Biggie, don't even think about getting your appliances from the sheds, they are well over priced. Online is best option...

pandora205

I'm planning a new kitchen just now too, though nothing as grand as having an extension. Having researched units and the type I like, I'm going for Howdens. They do some very nice sturdy (ready assembled) units. I've chosen Calgary, which is white gloss though I'm undecided slightly about worktops. Howdens are not available directly to the public so you need to go through a builder.

I've had one quote and have asked for a second. Howdens designer came to measure up and discuss layout and options. I am sourcing appliances (if I go for integral - I've had separate quotes for with and without) and taps separately, as I didn't like Howdens and they seem overpriced.

It's worth having a look at their catalogue. These are the units I'm going to have: http://www.howdens.com/kitchens/ranges/contemporary-collection/calgary/
They have samples of the units and some on display in their trade stores which you can visit. I don't think they are that much more expensive than B+Q etc.

shaggyjh

We've just ordered a kitchen from Homebase. We are on a very tight budget. We got a quote from Howdens for £4600 including appliances.

Our kitchen (not installation) cost just over a £1000 from Homebase using a 20% voucher i got given. We have sourced the appliances from Dixons as they came out cheapest. But keep an eye on Comet. If you want 3 appliances like we did they do a thing called Multibuy for kitchen appliances. They will give you a quote for the 3 appliances and guarantee to knock at least 10% off the total of the appliances if bought seperately from them.

Just shop around, we did for a couple of months. Changed the designs from premium drawers to normal drawers. Got bog standard cupboards and have bought soft close hinges of Ebay for a fraction of the cost. The designers were very keen to give us all the gadgets and extras that we really didn't need!

Depends on the hassle you can put up with, but it'll save you loads if you source stuff from seperate places rather than all from B&Q, Howdens or whoever.

Forgot to mention that we wanted white gloss and went for the "Stockholm" in the end. We nearly went for the "Roma" in Wickes which was a cream gloss kitchen.

Doozergirl

Call me odd, but thought that showing the dirt would actually be a good thing so you can clean it off? I love gloss units, the smoothness of them makes them easy to wipe down and with all that greasy dirt that inevitably comes with using a kitchen, you can just wipe it off - it doesn't ingrain in the surface. The slab doors as well mean no crevices for dirt to hide. They don't scratch either IME - I've never taken to them with a scourer just a soft cloth and elbow grease.

Buying bigger units will cut your price down - a 1000 unit is going to cost a lot less than 2x 500mm units for example. Consider larder units for lots of storage in a small space. Also drawers are not cheap but are better than cupboards because you can fit more in and can see everything at a glance - if space is at a prenium, they're invaluable. It's cheaper to buy freestanding appliances than inbuilt also.

Try not to buy gadgety magic corners or pull out larders. You don't fit any extra in and well, we all have weird gadgets that we hardly use that can be hidden round that corner.

Go through your quote and make sure it's just stuff you need. Looking through a B&Q quote there's 9 quid for an ecloth (hello?) and they've put in an end panel for every larder unit (there's five and we only need one!)

Where they try to use end panels for filling gaps, go with plinth instead if you can because you only need filling at the front where it's visible, not all the way down the sides of units.

These new curvy doors and drawers are very pretty but cost a small fortune.

Steve_Groves

I started writing up some notes on designing kitchens. They can be found at http://thegrovesfamily.co.uk/Kitchen.aspx Links to the major suppliers we used are on the links page.

Also there are some photos of our kitchen to give an indication of what you can achieve for £5K

PM if you want to talk about the breakdown of prices.

Nell51 wrote: »

We are currently applying for planning permission to extend our existing kitchen. It has taken us ten years to get to this stage and I want to ensure we make all the right choices as we won't be in a position to afford this again.

We have never had a new kitchen before so I would be very grateful for any advice you could offer or any tips you could pass on with regard to suppliers, recommendations for the major companies, design do's and dont's, etc. I am hoping that we can start approaching some kitchen companies to draw up some plans with all the measurements taken from the plans submitted to our council. Our budget is restricted and I expect we are looking at B&Q, Ikea or the like. We will also need to buy all new appliances as our current ones are all on their last legs.

I particularly like white gloss units but everyone I have mentioned this to has tried to put me off, saying they show up all the dirt so if anyone has these perhaps you could let me have your view.

Also I would particularly like wooden worktops but have been advised they need to be rubbed down and oiled every six months or so - is this the case as it sounds quite tedious. Otherwise, in my dreams, black granite would be good!!

With so many decisions to be made I am worried about making the 'right' decisions.

Thanks for your help.

jennifernil

if I was fitting a kitchen on a budget I would go with Ikea for units , and possibly worktops depending on the sizes you need. bear in mind the Ikea units are
deeper than most others. appliances I would buy on-line and go for a decent quality (say Bosch oven etc and Franke sink etc).

wooden tops are hard wearing, how often you need to oil or refinish them will depend on how you treat them, but at least they can be refinished. we have beech block, now in place 21 years and refinished only 3 times.

eager2save

Hi Nell51,

Me and my partner are in the same position as you. Our extension is just being built so last weekend we went to Avanti (I know, one of the most expensive!) and took our architects plans with us. We knew what kitchen we wanted, and did it on a 'wish list' basis. So we told them what we wanted and we went through a few designs together their and then on their computer. It's great and it really brings it to life seeing it in 3D on sreen.

Anyway, now that we have seen the experts, had advice and have a cost breakdown of everything, I'm going to try other places. Often if you show them a kitchen design they can show you their most similar kitchen, and it will probably be cheaper!

The kitchen we wanted also included a wooden worktop and a belfast sink. My dad is a tiler, and every body I have spoken to has said don't have it. A friend even ripped one out after 12 months because the draining board sink area went black - and that's with all the treatment! So we've decided to go for a cheaper 'beech effect' laminate. It looks like wood but it's easy to clean. The only problem is that we will have to swap the belfast sink for a ceramic sink that comes up to level wth the worktop rather than just under.

So I'd go for your ideal, use the expertise out there and make them compete for your business - you'll end up getting the best advice and the cheapest deal.

Hope this helps