new kitchen advice?

HannahApple

I am redesigning my kitchen and would be grateful for any advice.

My main priorities are to have a basic functional "no frills" kitchen that's easy to
clean and will last a long time, so easy to repair or replace parts.

My plan is to design it myself, buy the units from B&Q and then find someone to fit it for me- not sure if I should find someone to do whole lot (ie units, tiling, elect and plumbing) or find different people and organise it myself?

Also- so far I have wanted to go for free standing appliances rather than integrated (except for the cooker and hob where I'm keeping the ones already in the kitchen- although not sure if I should just go for a free standing new one?

I'm also considering using some of my units and just getting new doors, but I'm not sure how easy it'll be to do this?

So if anyone's got any recommendations about the above or general advice etc I'd be grateful. Thanks alot.

ic

Download the kitchen planner from Ikea's website - its easy to use and will even spit out a full price list whenever you want, so you can see how much you're running at (including all the hinges, shelves, handles, etc). Once you have a design you're happy with, use it to compare prices with other stores.

a_star_3

How old is the current kitchen? You could get new "off the shelf" doors if they are a standard size units or get a chippy to make some for you. You should try and find a person that can do everything it's more cost effective. Ofcourse it's best to make sure they are appropriately qualified to carry out plumbing and electrical work.

If you were to replace the worktops for cheap and cheerful you could use laminate. B&Q have a decent priced range. They also sell Speedstone.. but don't be fooled, when they say granite its not really solid granite. Speedstone has a layer of granite, quartz or marble (whatever you choose) usually 15mm mounted on MDF usually 25mm. It gives the same effect obviously because it is effectively a granite surface but the 40mm thickness gives away thats its not all natural. None the less, job done in a few hundred pounds.

B&Q website also offers several different free planning tools.. inc kitchens.

HannahApple

Thanks for the replies.:j

I've looked at the Ikea software and as I'm a mac user I can't use it, and the B&Q one doesn't seem to want to work on my mac either but I'll try on a friend's pc.

Yes- I think I'll try to get some "off the shelf" doors hopefully for the units I want to keep and supplement them with additional units.

Thanks for the tip about getting one person in to do the whole lot- I'll start looking around..

Also, I've decided to do away with cornices and lighting trims as they're only decorative and I'm trying to keep costs down.

Any thoughts on freestanding cooker vs integrated hob and oven?

Also, I was thinking about rubber flooring- though not sure how easy it'll be to find someone who's done it before?

daveyjp

Visit a Wickes store and get a free design done for you. You'll need to provide a basic layout of the kitchen with doors, windows and main dimensions on, but the designers are usually excellent.

CKdesigner

I would say find a decent independent kitchen specialist, you will get a much better quality kitchen that will last a lot longer than a DIY store kitchen. THese DIY stores advertise huge savings 50% of or even more its all marketing rubbish they will always be making at least 50% profit where as an independent kitchen specialist will often cut there margins right down if you are up front with a budget as it is better to take an order with a little profit than none at all, especially in these economic times.

Steve_Groves

Hi,

what sort of a budget are you looking to spend? I know people think B&Q is cheap but in reality they can be more expensive than the better kitchens.

There are companies like www.withknobson.co.uk and www.diy-kitchens.co.uk that do quality doors/carcases but they are not cheap tat so you will not get doors for a tenner.

I have not long completed our kitchen and did so much investigation into how to save money so might be able to give you some pointers.

HannahApple wrote: »

I am redesigning my kitchen and would be grateful for any advice.

My main priorities are to have a basic functional "no frills" kitchen that's easy to
clean and will last a long time, so easy to repair or replace parts.

My plan is to design it myself, buy the units from B&Q and then find someone to fit it for me- not sure if I should find someone to do whole lot (ie units, tiling, elect and plumbing) or find different people and organise it myself?

Also- so far I have wanted to go for free standing appliances rather than integrated (except for the cooker and hob where I'm keeping the ones already in the kitchen- although not sure if I should just go for a free standing new one?

I'm also considering using some of my units and just getting new doors, but I'm not sure how easy it'll be to do this?

So if anyone's got any recommendations about the above or general advice etc I'd be grateful. Thanks alot.