OS Kitchen Makeover

recovering_spendaholic

My kitchen was looking decidedly past its best and lately the doors started falling off and there was no way I could afford a new one so I decided to try and make it over OS style. I took off the doors and cleaned them with very hot water, microfibre cloth and Simple Green cleaner and the grime and grease which came off was incredible. Then I bought some cheap new brushed nickel handles and replaced the old wooden ones, and also replaced hinges where needed. Then I saw a lovely inset sink in B& Q for £100 which I would have loved, so I went to a little old plumbers merchants near my house and asked him if he could get anything like it - he got an even nicer one for £39 and I also got some wonderful designery taps from him for £40 - I hadn't seen anything as nice in B&Q and all their taps were £100+. I got two runs of worktop from a wholesale worktop centre the other side of town in a granite gloss style and paid a joiner to cut out a hole for the sink and fix them in place. I am amazed because my kitchen looks brand new and it only cost me around £250 all in, and if I had even gone to one of those places that just puts on new doors it would have been at least £1500. I spent tonight cleaning all the tiles, mixer, toaster, kettle and microwave with Simple Green and microfibre cloths and got some baskets to put in the cupboards like Anthea advises on Perfect housewife. I would never have thought of doing this before discovering this board!!

JillD_2

I did this years ago in a house we bought.
the kitchen was vile - grubby cream worn out lino, cupboards that wer orangey brown like runny poo and nasty off white worktop.

I painted the walls bright white.
I bought some sage green satinwood paint for about £30 and painted all the cupboards.
I bought a length of worktop to fit, in a fake wood effect design, and had a joiner fit it - around £100 for the piece and fitting.
And bought an end of roll piece of lino that was white square tle effect with a small green diamond shape at every corner of 4 "tiles" - green matched the cupboard. oiner also laid this.
Put up a curtain pole and made some green and white curains to match.
Like you, total was about £250 and it really was like having a new kitchen.

I loved that kitchen

lynzpower

Wow that sounds tops!

Gotta picture?! lol im so nosy

recovering_spendaholic

I can't work the digital camera to the computer but I will get DD1 to do one tomorrow and post it!!

HappyIdiotTalk

This reminds me, I really must do something with our kitchen. Anyone here any good at design - in a maximising the space sense? We have a galley style walk through kitchen that the previous owners must have put in. The problem being that whoever deigned it, or approved of the design must have been an idiot. There is hardly any useable surface space.

We have possibly the worst designed kitchen its posible to have.

On the right as you enter the kitchen is the longest length of counter top. However they didn't make the best of the space. First there is bit of space just wide enough to accomodate the microwave. Then we've got the oven top. Another bit of space, where we've put the kettle. Then the sink and drainer. And finally another small bit of space that usually gets filled with dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned.

On the left. We've lost a bit of counter space due to the door into the kitchen being on the left. Then theres the oven which takes away an ovens width of counter top. Then we've got 4 foot of counter space... and then the wall.

Humm that was supposed to give you an idea of how out kitchen is organised... but after re-reading I doubt anyone could visualise how it fits together. I'll get a picture tomorrow and post it up. Any ideas on how we could improve it to give us more counter top would be much appreciated.

pickle

HappyIdiotTalk wrote:

This reminds me, I really must do something with our kitchen. Anyone here any good at design - in a maximising the space sense? We have a galley style walk through kitchen that the previous owners must have put in. The problem being that whoever deigned it, or approved of the design must have been an idiot. There is hardly any useable surface space.

We have possibly the worst designed kitchen its posible to have.

On the right as you enter the kitchen is the longest length of counter top. However they didn't make the best of the space. First there is bit of space just wide enough to accomodate the microwave. Then we've got the oven top. Another bit of space, where we've put the kettle. Then the sink and drainer. And finally another small bit of space that usually gets filled with dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned.

On the left. We've lost a bit of counter space due to the door into the kitchen being on the left. Then theres the oven which takes away an ovens width of counter top. Then we've got 4 foot of counter space... and then the wall.

Humm that was supposed to give you an idea of how out kitchen is organised... but after re-reading I doubt anyone could visualise how it fits together. I'll get a picture tomorrow and post it up. Any ideas on how we could improve it to give us more counter top would be much appreciated.

I've seen plastic chopping boards which fit across the sink. Sorry I can't remember where I saw it - might have been in one of those booklets 'Homecare' or something. Maybe someone here knows where you could get one.

MATH

In my old house I had a custom build Rolls Royce kitchen but when I moved here I bought a cheap as chips B&Q maplewood style kitchen to tide me over as I planned to extend and re-fit the kitchen within three years. That was 15 years ago LOL. I've just given it a spruce up and changed the handles to set it on it's way for the next 15 years :eek:

wishingonastar_3

HappyIdiotTalk wrote:

This reminds me, I really must do something with our kitchen. Anyone here any good at design - in a maximising the space sense? We have a galley style walk through kitchen that the previous owners must have put in. The problem being that whoever deigned it, or approved of the design must have been an idiot. There is hardly any useable surface space.

We have possibly the worst designed kitchen its posible to have.

On the right as you enter the kitchen is the longest length of counter top. However they didn't make the best of the space. First there is bit of space just wide enough to accomodate the microwave. Then we've got the oven top. Another bit of space, where we've put the kettle. Then the sink and drainer. And finally another small bit of space that usually gets filled with dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned.

On the left. We've lost a bit of counter space due to the door into the kitchen being on the left. Then theres the oven which takes away an ovens width of counter top. Then we've got 4 foot of counter space... and then the wall.

Humm that was supposed to give you an idea of how out kitchen is organised... but after re-reading I doubt anyone could visualise how it fits together. I'll get a picture tomorrow and post it up. Any ideas on how we could improve it to give us more counter top would be much appreciated.

my kitchen is tiny, with very little workspcae, but i've gained more from putting the microwave on brackets on the wall to save worktop space, and also i got a sort of bread board that sits on the sink (think it was from do it all or focus or whatever they are called now) which is great for chopping veggies on as i just tip it up to wash them, lol.
i make sure as much as possible is put away, everything bar the kettle and the radlio lives in a cupboard somewhere, to try and maximise space.
I also found having a smaller kitchen and needing the cupboard space for stuff usually on a worktop made me be harsh about things like mugs (i threw out over 40, lol, we only have 5 now!!) and odd bits of crockery and stuff, (we only have one full set now, the rest has gone) and i found i was amazed how little we do actually use. i never run out of things before i wash up iyswim.

hth a little,

woas

Badgergal

How did you get around the plumbing bit of putting a new sink in? Did you hire someone? Is it possible to do yourself?

I ruined my sink a year or so ago by putting something chemical in that I shouldn't have and it looks constantly dirty as it is marked, I want to replace but am worried about the cost.

dannahaz

HappyIdiotTalk wrote:

This reminds me, I really must do something with our kitchen.

On the left. We've lost a bit of counter space due to the door into the kitchen being on the left.

Have you thought about replaing your kitchen door with a bi-fold door? I don't mean a dirt cheap and flimsy bifold door, I mean one of the better quality ones. This might help you regain the worktop space lost by the door.

Or have the door open the other way, out of the kitchen?

Or take it off completely?

Hazel

sammy_kaye18

This is giving me a few ideas - im due to move into a hosue soona dn the kitchen is unbearable! Its a council house so its just been bunged in to make it some form of kitchen basically.

There is one wall cupboard which my friend ripped out of the alcove - but left the holes form the original cupboard in the alcove
All the cupboards are that nasty white and look liek plaster board with the silver metal slither along the top thats called a handle.
The walls are this colour green and then there is this colour blue planked lino on the floor - hideous.

So im thinking of painting the walls a nice duck egg blue, putting some pine shelves in the alcove for extra storgae and then gettign some of those adhesive floor tiles from poundland to do the floor with to make it a bit more updated and nicer. Then seeing as i have alot of room in there i can have a nice pine dinner table too eventually.