Kitchen advice - confused lady please help

blaker3

I have a tight budget of about 5K to do a u shaped kitchen with 15 units - tall upper units
Need to go for plain cupboards - ivory or white - not gloss so slab could do something like ikea adel.
Also need to make the kitchen have a wow factor by putting in 3 lots of approx 2.4m work surfaces in
acrylic, earthstone or encore with undercounted or integral sink - I am not sure about going for white as can it stain?
IF we get a dog will it scratch it to bits.

Also need to think about splash backs
LIve in RIngwood and I am struggling to get much help from designers or kitchen fitters.
Which cabinets shall i go for - diy-kitchens or lark and lark or ikea or trend kitchens or bettakitchens.
as in which will look the best and have best quality feel.
There is also a gloss door with a stainless shell glassy edge made in mussel but I have lost the thread for that
Sydenhams seemed expensive
Haven't looked at wicked btw

Have not pursued howdens as pricing was complex and need a good fitter b4 i can pursue that.
Just really need to find a good fitter who will charge reasonably - I hoped fitting would be no more than £1k as should be relatively simple job.
Floor could be a reddish warm cheery colour - lino preferably as the whole room is very big.
May consider other options if there are any for the floor
Any advice extremely appreciated
Lots of fitters around here won't touch ikea jobs btw:(

cattie

Have you also looked at Benchmarx kitchens & Magnet? I've recently had a Benchmarx kitchen fitted, which undercut the Magnet version by quite a lot & I'm more than happy with it.

The wall cabinets/tower cabinets are taller than some manufacturers standard size, which gives a bit more storage space. Units are ready built, not flat packed, fast delivery & when a problem with finding a drawer front missing occurred, it was delivered by van that same afternoon.

This was my first experience with Benchmarx, having had kitchens from both Howden's & Magnet before & would certainly use them again.

Can't comment on fitting costs as my kitchen was a complete refit, needing replastering, new electrics, tiling etc. so came to considerably more, but I used my own choice of fitters.

Be careful with any quotes for fitting being too cheap as an inexperienced fitter could make your new kitchen look rubbish, whereas an experienced person who takes pride in what he is doing will do his best to ensure he'll leave you with a kitchen he can feel proud of.

Regarding sinks, I went for white this time & wondered if I'd regret it, not a bit as I find it easier to keep clean than stainless or other Astracast pale colours I've had in the past

cddc

The reason some fitters wont touch Ikea is there is no service gap at the back of the units, so unless you spec over depth worktops, if your walls are not straight, and whose are, fitting becomes a pain.

Plenty of options at that price point. DIY kitchens have a good reputation, though you need to do the planning yourself.

If you find a fitter with an account, Benchmarx or Howdens will do you something for your budget. so will the DIY sheds if you haggle.

Susan1942

Last year I had a new kitchen fitted . I used a joiner who is self employed and who installed my kitchen some years ago for Intoto I have used him each time I have needed any job big or small carried out
As the standard of his work is so high I didn't .consider any other fitter . I chose a kitchen from Howdens which he purchased for me. and he did me a deal on the price.
I chose to have glass splashbacks which was pretty expensive but it looks great and I am delighted with it.
Sue

Lutonkitchenbathroomtile

If you are including tiling, electrics, plumbing and kitchen fitting for someone to do it for £1000 you may struggle for a decent fitter. I would also suggest that for a total of £5k it seems strange that you would want Encore/acrylic surfaces. Yes they are nicer than laminate but "I want a budget kitchen with solid surfaces" is a little bit of a contradiction imho.

I could recommend the Crown Lifestyle slab ivory door for reasonable price and quality.

stevepeterson67

Hi All,

I just got my worktops in Quartz and upstands in splashbacks with a piece behind the hob. It come to about 3k but was well worth spending the few hundred pounds for a professional looking kitchen. no way im gonna spend a lot on my kitchen to have the worktops looking bad. I got them from glass logic. they have a showroom in berkshire. Friendly guys and have good offers

keystone

cddc wrote: »

The reason some fitters wont touch Ikea is there is no service gap at the back of the units,

The reason some fitters won't touch Ikea is because they are lazy or incompetant. The problems associated with a lack of service void are easily overcome with a little thought and planning.

Cheers