Updating kitchen on a budget - cabinet doors only?

[FreeLitres]

I'm exploring updating our kitchen on a budget.

We currently have this (horrible!) style of cabnet.



Is it possible just to buy new cabinet doors that will screw onto the existing fittings? If so, where would I get such doors and how much are the likely to cost?

Are there any other ways to improve the look on a budget?

[hotchy]

Now i have no idea if they'll fit etc but you can buy doors and fittings etc all separate in ikea, just check there website for sizes. Could always just do one to see.

[Wacky Racer]

Don't take offence but,

I would certainly get rid of a lot of that clutter om the worktops, keep it to the bare minimum.

You can cut out laminate in virtually any colour, and stick it onto your existing doors, or if you prefer a "country" look you could paint them with something like "Annie Sloanes", or "Rustoleum" chalk paint.

[CAPP0]

B&Q doors are sold in standard sizes and can be purchased without cabs. If you wait for a sale you'll get decent doors for a kitchen that size for around £200 ish. Worth thinking about replacing the worktops too.

[FreeLitres]

That's not my actual kitchen by the way. I just googled "Dated kitchen" to find one of a simmilar style to mine!

Hmm, quite like the idea of stuck on laminate. Can it actully look nice, or will it always look like stuck on laminate?

Are you thinking wood effect, or something else? Any example pics for inspiration?

[Wacky Racer]

FreeLitres said:

That's not my actual kitchen by the way. I just googled "Dated kitchen" to find one of a simmilar style to mine!

Hmm, quite like the idea of stuck on laminate. Can it actully look nice, or will it always look like stuck on laminate?

Are you thinking wood effect, or something else? Any example pics for inspiration?

Sorry, didn't realise it wasn't your kitchen...

Providing you take your time and cut it perfectly it will look fine, or you can always buy just the doors. Self fit if you are handy at d-I-y, or there are plenty of firms that specialise in doors only.

Consider (Non granite) new worktops with curved fronts, they are not really that expensive, they will really freshen your kitchen up.

Colour is obviously to personal preference, but high gloss white seems to be the "in" colour at the moment.

[DocJock]

It will always look like stuck on laminate as you will have no way to finish the edges seamlessly or finish the step where it meets the hand pulls.

New doors and drawer fronts is an easy swap.

[FreeLitres]

I'll check out new doors t Ikea and B&Q.

We are looking to sell the house and don't want to chuck loads of money into updating it. I'm looking to do just enough to prevent the kitchen being a massive turn-off.

[battered]

If it's just a tart up then go to MRI b n q or whoever. Also che cm out local cabinet makers, they often do stuff at low cost. If you are staying then I'd say rip it all out, usually by the time the fronts look dated the carcass es are buggered and they are dirt cheap. The fronts are the expensive bits, esp if solid wood.

[Nickyboy]

There are companies that specialise in replacement doors for an upgrade on a "budget" Problem i found is that they are bloody expensive, yes they are a budget replacement for say a £10k kitchen but for me it was more cost effective to buy new cabinets with doors from Ikea.

The likes of Wickes/Ikea/B&Q will be fine for what you want but make sure you can get all the sizes you actually want before you go buying anything

[dazwalsh]

Do not go to IKEA for replacement doors, they swapped over to "METOD" a few years ago which means their doors are 800mm high when a conventional base cupboard is 700mm, plus they dont do 300 & 500 wide doors either.

You will need new carcasses if you go down the ikea route, and new worktops.

And the mrs will pile your yellow bag high with all matter of trinkety shyte just because "that looks nice". The only upside is stuffing your face with cheap hotdogs at the end.

[toon10]

I did exactly this when I sold my previous house. It wasn't a large kitchen but the 90's units were dated. I went to B&Q and used a mates building discount card. It cost about £350 all in including handles. It was a cheap way to refresh the kitchen and it worked (sold the house in under a week to the first viewer.) I did some of the work myself as the draws were easy to do but got the doors fitted by my mate. I did two and I was slightly out and they didn't align perfectly.

[eltawater]

Did the same thing when we sold our last place.

• Measure up all the doors and drawers you need.
• Buy from the IT range at B&Q (even cheaper if you can get an elderly friend to use their 20% discount) or wait for one of their clearance sales, it ends up being ridiculously cheap.
• Fit them and be prepared to move some hinges around.

The only downside is that worktop replacement is a bit more fiddly and not so cost effective unless you can find someone to cut it down and fit for you.

In hindsight, I wouldn't bother again. Every potential buyer who came round declared that the finish (Wood shaker!) wasn't to their particular tastes and they'd just rip it all out and replace anyway.

[RobinOakapple]

Difficulty is going to be the hinges. You can get doors the right size, usually, but they need to be drilled with 35mm holes for the hinges, something you can't do without a jig. So you need to get doors that already are drilled with holes in the right places for your kitchen.

[Esseesse]

Check out the pine shaker style doors that Wickes do. They're made of wood (i.e. not MDF), they're cheap, and they come primed in white. Buy a tin of F&B Estate Eggshell and you ought to be able to make something nice for not a lot.

[CAPP0]

RobinOakapple said:

Difficulty is going to be the hinges. You can get doors the right size, usually, but they need to be drilled with 35mm holes for the hinges, something you can't do without a jig. So you need to get doors that already are drilled with holes in the right places for your kitchen.

But it's only really the door itself that you need a jig for. The carcass mounting points will be 5mm holes and you can easily re-drill those after marking out with a combi square.

FreeLitres said:

I'll check out new doors t Ikea and B&Q.

Not 100% sure but I believe Ikea use their own custom sizes? As long as your existing kitchen is not from the 60s then I think you'll have much more luck finding the sizes you need in B&Q.

[PositronicRay]

I can't remember who I used, it was 12-13yrs ago.

I had some non std sizes so went online, accurate measurement of the doors/cut outs was the key.

I chose unpainted doors, a local chippy fitted them along with a new work top. Looks great for not a lot of money. I'm now considering re-painting the doors, in a different colour, just to freshen things up.

[croakey]

Ill be honest if it's just the kitchen letting the house down id leave it be.

If i was buying I'd feel happier seeing an old but well maintained kitchen than one that has been poorly tarted up- in my mind id wonder what else has been done to sell the house.

Price your house right and I'm confident an old kitchen won't be a deal breaker.

[battered]

eltawater said:

In hindsight, I wouldn't bother again. Every potential buyer who came round declared that the finish (Wood shaker!) wasn't to their particular tastes and they'd just rip it all out and replace anyway.

Well, yes, but that's buying houses. A number of years ago some friends of mine bought a big stone terrace in a nice part of Leeds. It was beautiful, fully kitted out, recent oak kitchen, the works. They had the receipt for the kitchen, £5k, and this was 20 years ago. Within 3 months they had the kitchen out, £8k for what looked like a very similar replacement to me. A year down the line they had moved again. Well, that's £8k you aren't seeing again.

Similarly a mate's neighbour had moved into a posh flat. Had the bathroom out as "I don't like the colour...and, well, it's *used* by someone else, isn't it?" I saw the removed bathroom bits next to the new ones, had they not been side by side I wouldn't have known. In fact I had to be told which was which. Apparently one was beige and the other mushroom, or taupe, or some other flavour of not-quite-white.

There's nowt so queer as folk, especially around houses. There is a lot to be said for leaving it presentable and well maintained, if dated. Blank canvas and all that.

[singlecoil]

In my experience many buyers want to change the kitchen as soon as they move in, but few of them do. Make sure the kitchen looks as nice as possible (without spending much on it) in order that buyers who have stretched their budget simply to get the house will know that changing the kitchen if they buy your house is not urgent.