Tips for using DIY kitchens, and also some (basic) designs

tpt · 24 September 2011 at 10:55AM

adamg - are you sure? supplied 3 this week and they all had a minimum of 700mm plus the burners. admittedly it will vary by hob/manufacturer but there is a minimum.

tpt · 24 September 2011 at 10:58AM

These are very popular at the moment, aren't mega expensive and look really stylish once fitted.

http://www.tradepricetiles.co.uk/metro-tiles-bevelled-wall/

As a personal opinion blended with current trends i wouldnt mix the colours (even if you go 100mm), it used to be very popular but it can dominate the kitchen.

adamg · 24 September 2011 at 12:38PM

tpt wrote: »

adamg - are you sure? supplied 3 this week and they all had a minimum of 700mm plus the burners. admittedly it will vary by hob/manufacturer but there is a minimum.

sounds like we agree 750 is normally the minimum requirment for a gas hob if there are no instructions available this can go don to 650 ish depending on the hob. The hob instructions over rule the law as such as they can confirm the hob is safe to be positioned. But yes your right with 700mm being about right for most gas hobs. electric hobs can go down to 450mm although this to me would not be good as can get in way of head room

tpt · 24 September 2011 at 1:19PM

adamg - yep we do!

penguingirl · 25 September 2011 at 12:18PM

Sorry for the delay replying. Few things that people have asked...

The dimensions of the kitchen- the back (oven) wall is 303cm, the distance from that wall to the conservatory door is 280cm (with the 1m wide window being 95cm away from the wall) and the distance on the FF wall from the oven wall to the supporting/dividing post is 245cm. The full length of the kitchen/diner is 468cm so the kitchen takes just over half of the space. Chatted to OH and we decided we would be happy to get a sparky in to do electrics if it will improve the functionality of our kitchen. But I don't want any corner units with the 'diagonal' doors as I don't like them unless they have a carousel in and we can't do that because both our corners have a maze of pipes in them.

Extractor fan- I haven't measured it by the current one looks like it is about 75cm away from the hobs so we'll make sure the new one is a similar high (and obviously read the manufacturers instructions on it and the hob)- I wouldn't want it any lower anyway as I like my head without bruises!

tpt- thanks for the tile suggestions. Coincidentally my OH picked up a tiling brochure on Friday evening and when flicking through we came across some very like those and really liked them, so great minds think alike! No idea what colour we'd go for- the kitchen will probably end up white like the rest of house so something like terracotta might just work. Yes the overall look we're going for is simple and functional, but smart which is pretty much what we've done elsewhere in the house. So for example, we've just done our bathroom in a very simple white suite, but with lovely solid taps and then travertine-look wall and floor tiles and white walls and I'm really pleased with it.

We're now on holiday for a week (yay) and then I start a new job so I have a feeling life is going to get in the way of our kitchen plans, but I feel that I've thought a bit more about what I do/don't want from my kitchen and can work on that.

penguingirl · 2 January 2013 at 11:07AM

Well 15 months since my last post on this thread we have something resembling a finished kitchen! I thought I would post some pictures and comments

We did end up getting the units and doors from DIY kitchens and found them to be delivered promptly, good value for money and good quality with nothing missing from our order. We got our worktops and upstands from a local timber yard (and found cutting them to be the worst job of the kitchen, especially when OH's dad mismeasured one so we ended up having to get a replacement and recut it). The upstands were also difficult to fit as we have boxed in pipes in the corner so the corners were nowhere near 90deg which made fitting them interesting!

Thanks for everyone's feedback and help when we were designing it. I'm now really glad we spent so long getting the design right, as generally I'm pleased with it and it feels very functional.