Kitchen dilemma

Thrift_Cottage

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Mr_Singleton

Get a Smallbone Pilaster kitchen, stick an Aga in it and bobs your uncle... job done.

Slowly57

If you like trad - freestanding units are the way to go. Dressers and sideboards can be had from charity shops/house clearance places freeing up cash for a Belfast sink etc. My kitchen is half 80s farmhouse half hospice shop furniture! Are your cabinet insides manky? If not you could just do doors/drawer fronts. See if you can Freecycle an old kitchen.

Ilona

My kitchen was manky, put up with it for as long as I could because I didn't have much money. I measured it, drew a rough plan, and went to Homebase to look at what they had. I wanted something simple and plain. I chose the design I liked, the man went through the cupboard sizes with me, I ordered it and paid.

It came in a van. I ripped the old cupboards out and assembled the new ones in the living room. I have a plumber friend who came and fitted it, plumbed in the sink, and cut the worktops to size. Then I went to a carpet shop and ordered a piece of lino floor covering. It came in a van and two men fitted it.

Ilona

maman

I've had a Wickes kitchen for almost 10 years and we've been delighted with it. The design people were very helpful. They always have regular 'reductions' so be sure not to pay more than you need.


Our previous kitchen was also years old (remember Texas anyone?) so we bought new carcases too although you could save by just buying doors provided you don't want to change the layout.


There is a (unfortunately very long and offputting IMO) thread on here about what to have in a kitchen. It's all personal choice of course but I really wanted a solid wood work surface and I've been thrilled with it. My other delight is a spice rack behind one of the cupboard doors. Do think through and ask friends (or virtual friends on here) for suggested dos and don'ts to get ideas.


Like Ilona I've gone for a vinyl floor. There are so many patterns to choose from these days and I find it warm underfoot, easy to keep clean and forgiving if you drop anything. It's also relatively cheap to replace if you fancy a change.


Good luck.:)

jackyann

I do think that the big decision is fitted or not, and both have their advantages.
Not fitted can be cheaper if you have the time & inclination to do as Slowly suggests - and of course you can have some fitted parts (like corner cupboard) and some sourced from secondhand / auction / freecycle / charity shop etc.
If you want fitted then go round all the major chains (remember Ikea often only have specific parts for a short time) and gather ideas. Look in local papers etc. and see if there are any carpenters and get quotes - if you can do a lot of the work yourself it will save ££££
Personally I wouldn't go for a Belfast sink - I would drop something and break it within the year, and if not at least chip it so it would look horrible. I like stainless steel, that may not fit with your look (my look is what I like to call 'eclectic'!)
I agree that just changing door fronts may be cheaper, but not necessarily if your cabinets don't have a lot of life left in them. I reckon that 'standard' (B&Q / Wickes etc) last 30-35 years.
Are you getting new appliances? See if you can bargain if you buy them from one place. Not sure about your budget, but Miele do 'experience days' that are very worthwhile.

Ilona

While fitting a new kitchen, you might want to consider if you need any electrical sockets moving, or new ones added. I didn't bother because I needed to keep the cost down. I also kept the gas cooker in the same place so no adjustments were needed to relocate it. The old sink was removed and the new one put in exactly the same place so the plumbing was an easy job. I didn't bother with tiling the walls, I just wallpapered. I am not a messy cook so don't need tiles. I didn't need an extractor fan, if the kitchen gets a bit warm, it rarely does, I open a window. And, yes, cheap vinyl floor covering is fine for me and my three cats. I get down on my hands and knees every week and wash it with a wet cloth. I walk around the house in socks so the floors don't get too dirty.

Ilona