New kitchen units

Thank you so much, everyone! LOADS to think about! I do like the reclamation idea. I can see I'm going to have a very busy time.

The other thing that is nice is using free standing dressers and hutches.

We have an old '50s hutch/dresser type thing that I'm going to redo, but we still need wall-mounted cabinets, etc.

The company I work for fits a lot of kitchens for the local housing authority. The last ones we did were around the St Austell area.

I'm not sure how far down in 'deepest, darkest Cornwall' you are but if you're interested we could get some prices for you. Let me know if you are.

I'm further, deeper and darker than St. Austell! About 45 minutes from there. I'll let you know when we get to the stage of wanting prices. Thanks!

I'm not exactly sure what Chary's style preference is, but I imagine it's a bit more rustic than Ikea offers... but correct me if I'm wrong!

You're right. I've had a look at the Ikea website and they're all a bit too ... slick? ... for me. I want cream painted Shaker style.

You're right. I've had a look at the Ikea website and they're all a bit too ... slick? ... for me. I want cream painted Shaker style.

I'm not doing a kitchen, but I agree with you about Ikea.  I wanted to get some furniture there but it's all way modern to me.  I usually like clean lines and not a lot of extra fussiness but I'd prefer something with a bit of decoration.  My old furniture in Chicago was Shaker-style and I loved it. 

Hi Chary!

As per some responses already some good ideas to think about. Ikea is a popular choice, even more so now in more economic challenging times. However I do have some tips to pass onto you for your evalution and yes, it is going to mean plenty for you to to and think about!

Have a look and chat with all the usuall big name places - B&Q, Homebase, Ikea, Magnet (ours is Magnet - installed 2001 for around £5K), Wickes etc etc. Get a price from each for just the kitchen, and then search out a good local installer who'll do the work for you. Some places above obviously don't have any fitting option. Tip for the above - 2 years ago my best mate bought a fantastic house and his wifey of course wanted a 'fantastic kitchen', cue lots of research, and in the end he bought a (to me!) lovely kitchen from ..  Wickes! apparently, wickes kitchens have a 'solid' rear to the cabinets themselves whereas all the others have that flimsy(ish) thin particle board stuff. So the 'quality' of build for the units was the best in comparison to all the others at that price point. I think all together seeing as his kitchen is about 8x14, came to around £2.5K for all the units they wanted. My mate is bit of a dab hand and so he ripped the old kitchen out and 70% installed the new cabinets, including the wall units. The tiling, fitting of granite worktops, plumbing and electrics he got various people in. Total cost I think he mentioned including all materials was around £7K whereas a 'all in one' place would've wanted £10-12K for it all - the savings used put back into other areas of the house.

Tip 2 - Find a price from a kitchen installer to do just the labour for 'everything' that you supply and then also get quotes from individual specialists for thier area of work i.e Get a quote from the electrician for his bits, the plumber for his and so on.

Tip 3 - A kitchen all DEPENDS on the fitting. doesn't matter if you have a 300 quid kitchen or a 3000 one, if it's not fitted up to a high standard it'll show in later years. Golden rule here is to find a person who knows how to fit these up correctly and nicely. With Kitchens, the 'intricate' finishing details are what 'make' the install. for instance ours has some cornice's along the top with some angles, the way the guy made the joins is great along with the lighting as well. We went for plain white with the shiny finish front -cant remember the name - and it still looks great 8 years later! nowadays with the soft closing drawers, TV under the wall units, glass splashbacks etc etc you can have an awesome kitchen - provided it all fits and is installed nicely.

The above all depends of course how much you want to do, how much you want to spend, how much you want to 'save' ! - if you have ultra deep pockets like Racheeee but like the challenge of saving a tidy sum or two you'll find the above can get quite 'enjoyable' as you play off pricing against local tradesmen! if you want a simple life and just want the work done, you can settle on a solution and press the 'Go' button, sit back and wait till its all done!

As in my other thread, I'm currently acting site supervisor for the 20x30 foot extension we're making - and although I do know friends working in various Trade only outlets, the low amount we've paid for this overall is astounding! we love telling everyone about the £300 quid sink for £3.50 !! - if you'd been local to me, I'd have gladly referred the builders to you !

Hope the above helps!

cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK

Further to Dennis' message, I was going to mention Wickes. I have no idea about the quality (although the info Dennis provided sounds very encouraging) but we were in there picking something else up recently and I had a walk about the kitchen displays. I was pretty impressed with the ranges/styles, and from what you have described, I think I might have seen some that might be up your street.

Thanks, everyone!

This wouldn't all be so daunting if we weren't planning a wedding and trying to get the house ready all at the same time! 

Whoah Nelly! (or should I say Whoa Dennis) I haven’t got ultra deep pockets, but luckily we paid pennies for our house, so this was a lovely splurge which we will be paying for until our mortgage is paid off, and the £18K included all brand new Neff & Bosch appliances (including an integrated tumble dryer), painting, travertine backsplash and brand new floors. My kitchen is HUGE  (about 21 feet long) so we had a lot of space to cover. Its beautiful and it is my dream kitchen, and you know what! I bloody deserve it!  I love to cook, and I love my beautiful kitchen!

A friend of mine had a Wickes kitchen done, and you can use their project management service, however their project manager was based in spain and he found they weren’t reliable at all, the whole project took months longer than it should have. If you are looking for something handmade, you should be able to find it.

There should be some local kitchen suppliers in your area, check your yellow pages and ask around, they should be able to give you a good offer in this economic climate! Also, I loved Kuchenhaus, however I think they might now be called the German Kitchen Company, google them. They do beautiful kitchens! Good luck! I am sure you will find something you love at the right price for you!!!

Hiya Racheee,

No, I wasn't implying your bad with your money or overly extravagant in any negative way shape or form! Maybe I could've added to my line there, in so much that 18K on the whole is substantially much more than the average spend on a kitchen!

Every property need is dfferent and so is the individual owner's requirements, clearly, cooking and convenience is a major part of your life so you've felt the need to splash out and live to enjoy your purchase/install to which I can relate to.

And of course you bloody deserve it! hope you've let your better half have his deserved 60 inch plasma and Audiophile Hi-fi equipment!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Hiya Racheee,

No, I wasn't implying your bad with your money or overly extravagant in any negative way shape or form! Maybe I could've added to my line there, in so much that 18K on the whole is substantially much more than the average spend on a kitchen!

Every property need is dfferent and so is the individual owner's requirements, clearly, cooking and convenience is a major part of your life so you've felt the need to splash out and live to enjoy your purchase/install to which I can relate to.

And of course you bloody deserve it! hope you've let your better half have his deserved 60 inch plasma and Audiophile Hi-fi equipment!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I took it as good natured, I wasn't offended!!! And yes it was expensive. I had 7 quotes and this one was the mid range one! The kitchen itself (including everything cost £14k and the tiling, painting, supplies cost about £4K) If I had to do it again, I would go with Ikea...but hey ho!

And to make you laugh, yes, my husband has bought a new flat screen telly, however it was for me, for my kitchen!

Tip 2 - Find a price from a kitchen installer to do just the labour for 'everything' that you supply and then also get quotes from individual specialists for thier area of work i.e Get a quote from the electrician for his bits, the plumber for his and so on.

I'll second that tip about separate quotes for wiring and plumbing, if only for your own peace of mind.  "Kitchen fitters" might be good at getting the cabinets installed, but they've acquired a poor reputation when tackling electrical work related to moving outlets, etc.  Some of the horrendous bodge jobs have to be seen to be believed.