Paint units, new units, or new kitchen entirely!

lana22

I have a kitchen which I don't like.
I have painted the tiles white which has made it better.
But I don't like the units, and the ends have stupid open units with just shelves which are a waste of space (the kitchen isn't big).
I don't want to spend a lot of money, so I was considering just painting it, but think that may look rubbish.
Have also considered keeping tiles, work top, sink etc, and just replacing units.
However the current extractor is one that is covered by a fake door. Could I buy a fake door to replace this? Also would I be able to get the right size units to replace the current one? This would mean I wouldn't need a new floor/tiles.
Or do I wait and spend more money on getting the kitchen redesigned to use the space better, and end up having to replaster where the old extractor was, getting new extractor, getting new floor, tiles etc?
I have seen really reduced units in homebase that are a couple of hundred quid, and it seems that we could do it pretty cheap if my Dad fits it. We would prefer to replace the work top as well.
Are these viable options? Which would everyone consider to be the most sensible?
Can you just replace units? We can't just replace the doors (which would be my preferred option) as the units have horrible surrounds and the end open bits are ugly.
Is it overoptimistic thinking we can replace the units for under £500?
I have 3 floor units and 4 upper units, plus the fake door over the extractor, so it is a small kitchen.

Steve_Groves

If you choose sensibly and keep away from the fancy kitchen units then you might be able get new units and doors from IKEA.

If I remember right then for less than £40 you can get a 600mm unit and door. Worktop is also quite cheap.

If you reuse sinks, taps etc or try and pick up some bargains from EBAY then £500 should be achievable

lana22

Steve_Groves wrote: »

If you choose sensibly and keep away from the fancy kitchen units then you might be able get new units and doors from IKEA.

If I remember right then for less than £40 you can get a 600mm unit and door. Worktop is also quite cheap.

If you reuse sinks, taps etc or try and pick up some bargains from EBAY then £500 should be achievable

Thanks for the reply. We don't want anything fancy, just plain and simple.

We are planning to keep the sink and oven - there is nothing wrong with the sink, and the oven is fine, but is free standing anyway so could be replaced at a later date if needs be.

What happens when you replace the worktop if you already have tiles in place? Does it overlap OK or might there be a gap? I am so clueless when it comes to stuff like this.

ormus

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Kitchen-Cabinets/Edmonton/icat/kitedmontoninst

you can certainly get 7 units for less than 350 quid. see above as an example.

Steve_Groves

lana22 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. We don't want anything fancy, just plain and simple.

We are planning to keep the sink and oven - there is nothing wrong with the sink, and the oven is fine, but is free standing anyway so could be replaced at a later date if needs be.

What happens when you replace the worktop if you already have tiles in place? Does it overlap OK or might there be a gap? I am so clueless when it comes to stuff like this.

The tiles will be put on after the worktop was in place so you want to make sure that you break the seal between the worktop and the grouting before removing the worktop. You should be able to then slide it out without disturbing the tiles.

Almost all kitchen units come with adjustable feet so you can work out the height the units need to be so that the top of the worktop is just below the tiles. Then all it will need is a bit of silicone to seal the join.

The drawback of working to the height of the tiles is that you do not have control of the height of the plinth under the units so it will most likely need to be made narrower.

Not a big deal but usually you would work from the plinth height and not have to cut it down.


If you only have a couple of rows of tiles above the worktop then consider taking the tiles off gently and replacing them. It is not a hard job if you buy a bag of spacers and plain white tiles are smart and cheap (my 9 year old helped tile the cloakroom last year and didn't do a bad job).

lana22

Steve_Groves wrote: »

The tiles will be put on after the worktop was in place so you want to make sure that you break the seal between the worktop and the grouting before removing the worktop. You should be able to then slide it out without disturbing the tiles.

Almost all kitchen units come with adjustable feet so you can work out the height the units need to be so that the top of the worktop is just below the tiles. Then all it will need is a bit of silicone to seal the join.

The drawback of working to the height of the tiles is that you do not have control of the height of the plinth under the units so it will most likely need to be made narrower.

Not a big deal but usually you would work from the plinth height and not have to cut it down.


If you only have a couple of rows of tiles above the worktop then consider taking the tiles off gently and replacing them. It is not a hard job if you buy a bag of spacers and plain white tiles are smart and cheap (my 9 year old helped tile the cloakroom last year and didn't do a bad job).

OK, thanks. My Dad is pretty good at tiling, so he should be able to do that. (If I ask him nicely and make him lots of cups of tea!)