New Kitchen on a Tight Budget

Fosterdog

I'm looking to have a bit of a kitchen refit and need the costs as low as possible. Ideally under £500. It's not a massive kitchen and we don't care right now about it being high end but don't want too cheap and nasty either.

We had two base units replaced a few years ago due to water damage, the guy my landlord hired to do it got the stuff from Howdens and told us how cheap he got it and that he could easily get hold of more units and matching door fronts if the landlord wanted to get the rest of the kitchen done. He's no longer trading and so we can't get the stuff from there to match what we have without paying someone to fit it. We can do that ourselves and cant afford pay for it to be done.

The cheapest quote we've had was from wickes at £600 and it was for their really cheap budget range. We ideally want something a bit better.

Where else can I get the quality and prices of Howdens without needing a trade account?

keystone

Why is your landlord not doing this?

Cheers

Fosterdog

Because he wont do any non essential work to the house. He doesn't see the kitchen as being essential but we do.

The current one has been in since the 70s and is certainly past it's best. A few of the cupboard doors have been taken off as the units had split by the hinges, it's a horrible browny colour (don't know if it's from 40 years of cooking or just the colour they used back then) and it doesn't suit modern day needs. There's no drawer unit, and not enough worktop space.

The worktop we do have was put in when we moved in along with the two new units that were badly damaged by previous tenants so they are OK but we have two modern looking and nice units and the rest horrible and old.

I just want a nice and more practical kitchen with enough space for me to store everything.

The landlord doesn't want to know about a lot of things and we would be well within our rights to pay ourselves for some work and deduct it from the rent but he would just evict us for new tenants and we would never get a house that suits our lifestyle this well for anywhere near what we are paying for it so we have to grin and bear it.

evoke

You could try and search for showhomes in your area and see when they are dismantling the showhomes so you can buy some of the kitchen units. In the past i've also found shops that sell showhome furniture and i've bought a few bits and pieces from such shops at knockdown prices.

ryder72

Have you considered moving? Find another property and rent there. It shouldn't be down to you to replace kitchens.

Fosterdog

We have considered moving but it's really not an option for us right now. We know we shouldn't have to replace the kitchen but the landlord won't and I've put up with it for over three years now but it's the one room in the house I can't stand. I recently bought a lovely new cooker and it's made me realise how much I miss having a decent kitchen.

I may be able to convince the landlord to pay something towards it but he will do so very reluctantly. If he will pay some of it I would still put £500 in and can go for something a bit nicer with the extra he pays.

NervousHomeowner

If you're doing it for less than £500, sourcing as much stuff from Freecycle & Gumtree is your best bet. You can get pretty much everything from sinks & taps to base units & kitchen doors for a pittance! Usually there isn't even anything wrong with it, it's just that it's a bit outdated and they want a brand new kitchen! These sorts of things can easily be fixed up to look good as new (Lots of people giving away pine doors which look dated now but can look great if you sand them down and paint them a nice colour).

A new worktop will do wonders too, especially if your current one is 70s! Ikea do a really cheap 'basics' wooden worktop. Also try painting the walls as it's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do!

Howdens can do really good deals & have some lovely products but it's probably still going to be quite expensive and not really worth it if you're renting & not planning on living there for the next 10 - 15 years.

Fosterdog

Thanks, lots to think about there.

The sink and taps are fine, and our worktops are new it's really only the units and door/drawer fronts that we need new. We don't need to change the tiled splash backs, they were done not long ago.

We only need two 1000mm base units, a 500mm draw unit, two 1000mm wall units and two 500mm wall units and 1500mm of worktop. Ideally if we can get it to match the stuff from Howdens put in three years ago then it's less doors and worktops for us to buy otherwise we'd have to add another three doors and 2500mm of worktop to the above to get a matching kitchen.

I know we could probably just about get what we need for around our budget but I would like something a bit nicer than the really cheap looking budget range, and I don't mean really high end high gloss stuff either just not too flimsy.

LEJC

most kitchen fitters have an account with howdens and will get deals on the units...perhaps you could find out if any in your area are prepared to supply the howdens units you need without fitting if you think you could do it yourself.

Rapished

Painting doors? are they wooden?

Replace work tops?

Or if the doors are the flat type you can buy covers,

We're just about to paint a dark wood kitchen and change the bluish worktops to wood, and new splash tiles, and that's for under £200 and a DIY job.

Mankysteve

ryder72 wrote: »

Have you considered moving? Find another property and rent there. It shouldn't be down to you to replace kitchens.

You tart upthe kitchen then suddenly the LL decides to up the rent as it now worth more. Don't waste your money on this property it. I presume your not a council tenet so you've not got security of tenancy.