New kitchen required

maman

Laminate is fine if you don't want to splash out (excuse the pun) and they've improved over the years so look more realistic. I'd definitely a couple of those reinforced glass mats to put where you make tea/coffee and somewhere you're likely to put hot pans (unless you use gas and they can stay on the hob).

My last worktop was solid wood and lasted brilliantly with those precautions and also wiping up spills PDQ. 😊

goldfinches

Just a few things that I think haven't already been covered above.

If you're not having wall cabinets don't be persuaded to add open shelves because they and anything on them invariably end up both sticky and dirty even if you have a good extractor. I've noticed that open shelving suddenly seems to be fashionable again at least in instagrammable makeovers but don't think that anyone really lives like that. 

Have a good look at what's in your cupboards and drawers currently and consider whether you actually use all the equipment you're storing or could maybe do a bit of streamlining to give you more options. The sort of kit you only use during Wimbledon/Cup Finals/Lords could go in a plastic storage crate elsewhere in the flat which all helps. Once you've clarified what you actually use and need to hand it can be worthwhile spending a part of your budget on upgrading your day to day tools so that everything is a pleasure for you to use as well as delivering a reliably good result. High quality equipment makes a big difference to your cooking and choosing kit to suit your physique is much more important than many people realise.

Extra sockets are always useful and quite a lot of small electrical kitchen appliances are now rechargeable rather than having power cords especially the sort of things that can be helpful as you age and the way you cook changes so it's worth having more sockets than you think you'll need. It's a massive pain in the neck to have to keep swapping plugs over at the wall when you're creating! 

If you've got the space and money it would really be worth including an induction hob and an eye level oven if you don't already have them because they are so much easier to use and new ones will be much more energy efficient than your current set up. Even if you don't do that now it's worth putting in a separate electrical circuit for the hob to make it easy to swap in the future because it will appeal to potential buyers.

Last of all beware of creating any holes that can allow mice access to your flat and make sure that any gaps around pipework, doors and so on are filled with wire wool and rodent proof filler and that vents have rodent mesh secured across them. That will hopefully prevent any mice that get into the building from invading your kitchen which will save you a lot of fuss and bother.

Northern_Wanderer

DanielDeronda said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

The only question you ask is about raw materials? They can be bought either way.

What do you want help with other than that?

If you are looking for advice on what to do with 10K - have a think about how you use your kitchen and anything you want to change about layout. Then go into any kitchen supplier and sit with a designer to get a design you are happy with. The least units possible reduces cost, savings can be made on choice of appliances, worktops, backsplash, any ironmongery like drawers increase costs. Get a quote, then repeat process with other suppliers. Also, once you have your design, get fitters quotes including electrical and plumbing work, as those costs can be eyewatering.

The area I've least knowledge is on worktops, what are my options & pros & cons of each.  Want durability but easy clean.
Where would most of my budget go, would it be on worktops or something else? And what's easiest to cut costs? Having no wall cabinets is certainly not something I've thought of before. I'd need to see if I can do without them.
Tiles: again want durability & easy clean. The porcelain tiles I've got currently do the job.
I guess next step is to get some designs & see what they look like. And get a couple of my recommended local fitters in as well once I've confirmed the design.

Laminate worktops are generally less expensive, if you want easy clean, pick a smoother texture and avoid colours that might stain i.e white. Tiles can be costly and tilers are expensive trades to hire. The cheaper option is to have a painted wall with an upstand. A splash back could be purchsed in the largest size and cut in two for both walls (that is what I did as I wanted a seemless finish, easy to clean), would have to check your sizes for this. All these options are usualy available in various price points.

Slab doors can be less expensive (these are flat doors, very sleek) Generally the door you pick is in a "price point", A doors being cheaper than C doors. Some companies give you glass drawers as standard, others charge more for them. Make sure you have enough drawers of the depth you need. I have a 1000 and 500 width drawer unit which I absolutley love. I didn't want to be down on my knees raking in cupboards, the drawers are a lot easier to access stuff. And think about any corner unit carefully, I avoided metal pull-out corner shelves as they seem to reduce usable space, I went for bog standard corner unit with dual doors, I have all my cooking equipment in there and can get to it all.

You can save on some parts of your kitchen and splash out on others. Potentially you can save a lot on cheaper appliances, but you may prefer a good brand that will be relaible and last a long time.

It's all about storage in a kicthen, and most people will want as much as possible. Think carefully about losing wall cabinets.

You can save by keeping electrics and plumbing in similar places.

Be prepared to make a LOT of decisions and triple check all measurements. Don't be pressured into signing up to anything. You might change your mind several times on things. And get samples of everything and look at them in your own kitchen. Sometimes designers will try to con you by adding extra things that aren't needed, like extra fillers are more smaller units rather than less larger ones.

Decide where everything will go in advance, don't forget your bins. Which way do you want your doors to open?

I didn't buy my kitchen in Wren but they do have an impressive showroom for ideas and a good design service where you get all the plans and a quote right away. They seemed to have a limited amount of choice for a fusspot like me however.

It all starts with a showroom visit to get the ball rolling. Take your time.....

Northern_Wanderer

goldfinches said:

Extra sockets are always useful and quite a lot of small electrical kitchen appliances are now rechargeable rather than having power cords especially the sort of things that can be helpful as you age and the way you cook changes so it's worth having more sockets than you think you'll need. It's a massive pain in the neck to have to keep swapping plugs over at the wall when you're creating! 

If you've got the space and money it would really be worth including an induction hob and an eye level oven if you don't already have them because they are so much easier to use and new ones will be much more energy efficient than your current set up. Even if you don't do that now it's worth putting in a separate electrical circuit for the hob to make it easy to swap in the future because it will appeal to potential buyers.

USB / USB C charger points in new sockets are worthwhile. You can minimise isolator switches with a Grid system. Induction hob - super easy to keep clean. I got the Neff Slide n Hide oven so door not in my way, as I didn't have space for a eye level oven. I have put my micro on the wall, saves counter top space. I like minimalist kitchen and a clear bench, so easy to keep clean. I absolutely love my new kitchen and am pleased with everything I picked and where I put it all. It was quite stressful but got there in the end.

Avoid gloss doors unless you want to be polishing off the fingerprints! It's a vast improvement on the ancient MFI ugly kitchen from the 90s that was there before!!!

bjorn_toby_wilde

FreeBear said:

DanielDeronda said: The area I've least knowledge is on worktops, what are my options & pros & cons of each.  Want durability but easy clean.

Laminate worktops are durable, easy to clean, and come in a variety of colours/patterns. Cut edges, particularly around sinks need to be sealed or they can swell up and fall to bits if water gets in. Can be damaged by excessive heat and sharp knives. So hot pans should always have trivets under them. And you should use cutting boards when chopping stuff. Well cared for, a laminate worktop can last 20+ years. Budget grades not as durable, and from the likes of Wickes/B&Q, longest length is usually 3m. Other suppliers can go up to 4.2m in length.

Solid wood worktops can suffer the same type of damage as laminates. Also prone to staining if not regularly oiled. Also more expensive.

Solid stone - Nice, expensive, but can be damaged (also darned heavy). But can look very nice if you have the budget.

Synthetic/reconstituted stone (quartz) - Cheaper than real stone, but still quite expensive.

Solid glass - Suits some tastes, but again, expensive.

Stainless steel - OK if you want an industrial or commercial kitchen look. Can be a cheaper option if you find the right supplier (I'd go to a stainless steel fabricator rather than a kitchen supplier).

Solid laminate - Can be had down to just 12mm thick, and like regular laminate, available in a range of colours/patterns.

Stone, quartz, glass, and stainless steel would all need someone to visit and carefully measure up so that the worktops can be accurately cut in the workshop - This adds to the cost. Joining sections can also be tricky...

Any kitchen fitter should be able to work with laminate and cut/trim on site. And if they are any good, be able to make near invisible joins using a jig & bolts - No need to use ugly plastic or metal joining strips in a modern world (aside from looking cheap, they harbour germs).

Good summary. Just two things to add

1. If you’re not fitting it yourself, the fitter is THE most important thing. Bad fitters can make a real mess of even a high quality kitchen.

2. Don’t buy square edge laminate worktop. I wish we hadn’t. Maybe it’s more fashionable than bullnose, I don’t know, but the edges chip very easily. Our 4 year old square edge worktop now looks worse than the 12 year old bullnose that it replaced. Just catch the edge with a pan or plate and it’s chipped.