free standing kitchens?

lorryw

Im finding the whole fitted kitchen experience a nightmare. I cant find anyone I have any confidence in, I feel they are all going for the hard sell.
Im starting to toy with the idea of just gutting it,putting down a quarry tile floor, having a butler sink and unit fitted (some beautys on ebay)and buying free standing fridge. cooker, a larder and a couple of cupboards and a small table for food preparation.
Has anyone else had a go at this or will it be more hastle than a fitted kitchen?

Jazzking

We've got a free-standing kitchen with units from Ikea (previous owners left them) and they're perfectly good, look the part with a quarry tiled floor and still seem to be available. Details of the VARDE rage - HERE
I prefer freestanding cookers and fridge reezers anyway, I don't know why everyone wants all this "built-in" stuff nowadays, surely it's just harder to fix/replace without having to change the whole style of the kitchen?

quatro

I like your idea of freestanding units - and I am doing the same here!
I was lucky enough to find a sideboard and matching dresser made out of solid wood and painted cream/distressed - in a secondhand shop.
The dimensions are 'kitchen sized' ie. 90cm highx58cm deep.

I had them in my previous house in the lounge, and the dining room.
Since moving to a new home I have been looking all over for a replacement kitchen for it and like you, have not been impressed, either by the prices and/ or quality or the cost of fitting.

So I've decided to use the units I have already and have a solid wood, fitted kitchen adapting the dresser top into wall units. I have a chunky beech trolley too, and will use a cupboard off the kitchen as a larder. - Add a freestanding fridgefreezer, the range cooker I already have and a new worktop/sink/tap and the cost is minimal.

The kitchen is stripped out and I've laid a new floor, new skirting, painted the walls etc - just need to plumb in the sink/fit the 'sink unit' cupboard - the other is in situ and looking good.
I hope you have luck with yours - freestanding is much easier in my opinion.

lorryw

Thanks for your replies.
Its amazing how few cupboards are actually needed in my current kitchen. I seem to have loads of ancient unused bits and pieces lurking at the back of cupboards.
Fitting a kitchen seems to cost a small fortune, as much as the kitchen itself and do we really need endless worktops? I admit to being no great shakes in the kitchen and dont need something that looks like a science lab to produce a meal. My Gran managed to raise 8 children with a larder, sink, cooker and stove!

quatro

Exactly! My gran did just fine without a fitted cooker and granite worktops, and she opened the window when cooking thus not needing to spend £1k on a cooker hood!

Sadly the fact that HUGE industries have grown up in the fields of [for eg.] babycare, gardening and interiors seems to mean that a lot of people have lost the ability to think for themselves, let alone think outside the box, and to be individual. They buy into the whole brainwashing process when we all know a baby can sleep very happily in a drawer!...and that plant cuttings are free!

It amazes me that so many cannot design a kitchen as many are not huge, and the layout is often dictated by certain issues. Thus they walk into kitchen showrooms like lambs to the slaughter - and the salespeople are so ruthless, I really wonder if they have the customers interest at heart, it's al about their commission first and foremost.

Anyway we are all different....

Kittycat_2

I bought my freestanding kitchen units from Marks & Spencer........Sadly they do not do them anymore!
IMO freestanding is far, far better than fitted.

quatro

I think I've seen some in Habitat too......

never_enough

I like the idea of freestanding, but don't really have the space...or rather a built in kitchen would (probably?) make better use of the space I do have! A friend has recently done a half & half which looks lovely. One wall all cupboards (wall ones, all over) the rest is freestanding.

crox

Our new kitchen is going to be fitted (hopefully next week, it's sitting in our living room as I type!). We got it from Wickes and I can't praise their chap enough, totally opposite of hard sell. In fact he didn't even given us grief for the fact that we'd already asked him to design it a year ago and he had to come out and do it all over again. He also helped us cut costs in ways that Wickes wouldn't approve, tips and tricks on how to get round their system etc etc.