More help - kitchen!

[Harry Flashman]

Thanks to everyone's help and advice so far. Wall has now come out, making my living room and kitchen open plan.

Which has made me realise how awful my kitchen is. So it will need replacing. I need recommendations.

Really looking for quality budget kitchen (if such a thing exists) in the standard gloss white with a dark wood top. Need stuff like soft touch closing (pretty standard these ways anyway I think) No need for fridge drawers etc - I don't really have the space. I will need new range cooker, cooker hood, fridge etc, but this will come later.

Trouble is, I really need to have the kitchen custom built or at least designed, as have to do things like hide the dishwasher and washing machine (both pretty new, but not pretty to look at from the living room) behind cupboards.

My sister recommended IKEA, saying that their stuff is actually pretty good (light use kitchen to be fair - this is a bachelor home in London, not a family home).

Homebase/B&Q a no-no - have had friends whose kitchens from there have fallen apart. Similarly Moben/Magnet (or whoever are also Dolphin bathrooms) - not cheap and my friend's kitchen was completed late, over budget and subsequently has had problems.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

I know that brilliant high-end stuff exists that hide everything away under hinged work surfaces etc - but spending £20k on a small kitchen in a London flat would not see a corresponding increase in value, so I'm staying away from such ideas...

[Simpo Two]

Harry Flashman said:

Really looking for quality budget kitchen (if such a thing exists) in the standard gloss white with a dark wood top. Need stuff like soft touch closing (pretty standard these ways anyway I think) No need for fridge drawers etc - I don't really have the space.

You're describing exactly what I did last year, though I used 40mm cherry which is a lighter and warmer colour than walnut.

Harry Flashman said:

Trouble is, I really need to have the kitchen custom built or at least designed, as have to do things like hide the dishwasher and washing machine (both pretty new, but not pretty to look at from the living room) behind cupboards.

Simples, just buy integrated appliances! They stand on the floor and you just buy a matching door panel to go on the front. But you can't fit a normal appliance into a cupboard as they're too deep. You'd have to bring the whole side forwards 5-10cm, get a wider worktop and fit them between cupboards.

Harry Flashman said:

My sister recommended IKEA, saying that their stuff is actually pretty good (light use kitchen to be fair - this is a bachelor home in London, not a family home).

I hear that their sizes tend be non-standard, which might give you problems later - not sure.

Harry Flashman said:

Homebase/B&Q a no-no - have had friends whose kitchens from there have fallen apart.

B&Q have a new range called Cooke & Lewis which actually doesn't look too bad, although you'll never figure out the prices without help. And at least it doesn't have that dreadful coffee-bean 'I'm a cheap B&Q kitchen' pattern inside.

I used MFI before they went pop; for a similar thing I'd try Wickes or the Cooke & Lewis range.






£6700 including Siemens appliances, and a great deal of labour. But it was worth it

Edited by Simpo Two on Wednesday 3rd June 13:47

[staceyb]

Try this lot.

http://www.omegaplc.co.uk/index.shtml

Pick the range of kitchen you want. Chippendale and Omega range are standard sizes. Sheraton and Mackintosh are made to measure. Find your local dealer and voila.

IKEA also has a kitchen planner that you can play around with if you can be arsed.

[pikey]

As an idea, you could buy the main kitchen from Wickes / IKEA and finish with a thick wooden surface and trendy taps / sinks / appliances from elsewhere.

There's huge profit on the cupboards themselves and they're all pretty much the same. Put in properly, they won't fall apart.

[Simpo Two]

NB PH seems very sick today - my photos seem to keep appearing and disappearing.

[allegro]

I have fitted loads of kitchens and they key to a top end look is in the detailing!
Most kitchen units are standard sizes so just shop around for the bare units and then source doors, handles etc to suit the look you want.
The key elements you should concentrate on is tops, sink & taps and oven/hob/extractor. If chosen carefully these can make a cheap kitchen look a million dollars.
Regarding the dishwasher and washing machine, if you want to keep them it is possible to "integrate" them by placing them at the end of a run of units and dog legging the run out to accommodate the extra depth. the only problem is that you would need a deeper top for the dog leg but these are available.

[satans worm]

Try imperial Crown kitchens, top quality carcusses etc for reasonable price, although not 'cheapest'.

They do the high gloss units you are looking for.

[V10Mike]

I used IKEA units in our utility, and I am very impressed with the quality -the drawers are particularly good, having robust double runners so they come out full depth. Their wooden worktops are also excellent and way cheaper than anyone elses. The only downside is the instructions are sh*te, particularly for something like a larder unit made up from several different kits.

[Harry Flashman]

Simpo Two said:

useful stuff

That's very nearly what I would like - including the glass splashback, just with slimmer (or preferably no) handles and a darker worktop. £6700 is in budget too if that includes appliances...

My kitchen is small; was a galley, now would just be an L shape.

Shall read rest of thread now, but thanks chap; will look into it!

[Harry Flashman]

V10Mike said:

I used IKEA units in our utility, and I am very impressed with the quality -the drawers are particularly good, having robust double runners so they come out full depth. Their wooden worktops are also excellent and way cheaper than anyone elses. The only downside is the instructions are sh*te, particularly for something like a larder unit made up from several different kits.

Oh hell no...I won't be installing it myself, that's for sure...

Can you get IKEA to install?

I like the tips that detailing is all; this is what I have figured, actually. Plain gloss white cabinets are pretty ubiquitous, so I would like to team these with a thick walnut top, belfast sink, boiling water tap (itself about £600, so a chunk of budget) and decent handles (if I can't go completely smooth), 60cm SMEG range cooker, fridge and decent hood unit. Decent splashback too - polished concrete if possible, frosted glass if not (anyone have any tips for contractors to do this?)

While I would like things like an Island and fridge drawers etc, I sinmply don't have the space - so the kitchen layout itself is actually quite simple and doesn't even include that many units.

[aussiebruce]

ikea is fine at first but falls apart after a while. I had a mate do mine who I can recommend. google stoneworksuk They are in Acton W3.

Did mine with granite and very cheap. Ask for Eddie, top bloke and a PH.

Let me know if you'd like pics

[Harry Flashman]

aussiebruce said:

ikea is fine at first but falls apart after a while. I had a mate do mine who I can recommend. google stoneworksuk They are in Acton W3.

Did mine with granite and very cheap. Ask for Eddie, top bloke and a PH.

Let me know if you'd like pics

Yes please! While cheap, is the quality half decent? Personal recommendations are what I am after, and I shall have a look at his kitchens...


ETA - he looks like a stonemerchant, not a kitchen maker, though - and I'm after a wooden countertop rather than stone...

Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 3rd June 16:43

[Simpo Two]

Harry Flashman said:

That's very nearly what I would like - including the glass splashback, just with slimmer (or preferably no) handles and a darker worktop. £6700 is in budget too if that includes appliances...

It did, but I then I also did 99% of the the labour myself, and I took off the £200-odd I got from selling the old appliances. One thing I didn't photograph in full was the sink side, which has a specially adapted cabinet to conceal the boiler with built-in microwave underneath, and curved cupboard to the right (added this year from Cooke & Lewis, but hey, gloss white is gloss white )

Harry Flashman said:

My kitchen is small; was a galley, now would just be an L shape.

Mine's a galley. When a kitchen is small there's surprisingly little you can alter in terms of basic layout - most of the flashy things you see in showrooms simply don't fit or would look silly.

Edited by Simpo Two on Wednesday 3rd June 16:44

[Harry Flashman]

Simpo Two said:

Mine's a galley. When a kitchen is small there's surprisingly little you can alter in terms of basic layout - most of the flashy things you see in showrooms simply don't fit or would look silly.

Exactly - very little flash stuff for my kitchen as I really cannot alter the layout. So this is about finish and some decent appliances.

Annoyingly I either have to find some way of hiding my standalone dishwasher and washing machine (both less than a year old), or fork out for integrated ones...

[pokethepope]

Harry Flashman said:

Exactly - very little flash stuff for my kitchen as I really cannot alter the layout. So this is about finish and some decent appliances.

Annoyingly I either have to find some way of hiding my standalone dishwasher and washing machine (both less than a year old), or fork out for integrated ones...

Whats the depth of the appliances? While there are one or two manafacturers that have a few freestanding appliances that are narrow enough depth wise to push back to the wall and put a cupboard door on front, virtually all will be too deep.

As Simpo said, you can buy non-standard (ie deeper) carcasses and worktops, which is very expensive, so you'll likely find it cheaper to buy integrated appliances (usually £100 or so more expensive than the freestanding equivalvent model if using decent quality brands).

[Harry Flashman]

pokethepope said:

Harry Flashman said:

Exactly - very little flash stuff for my kitchen as I really cannot alter the layout. So this is about finish and some decent appliances.

Annoyingly I either have to find some way of hiding my standalone dishwasher and washing machine (both less than a year old), or fork out for integrated ones...

Whats the depth of the appliances? While there are one or two manafacturers that have a few freestanding appliances that are narrow enough depth wise to push back to the wall and put a cupboard door on front, virtually all will be too deep.

As Simpo said, you can buy non-standard (ie deeper) carcasses and worktops, which is very expensive, so you'll likely find it cheaper to buy integrated appliances (usually £100 or so more expensive than the freestanding equivalvent model if using decent quality brands).

Absolutely - which is why I'd use the standard carcasses, but mount them further forward with a deeper worktop. Mind you - as you said, it's a cost thing I guess. If that worktop is going to cost me £600 more than a standard one, then I just buy new appliances and try to recoup some cost by selling the old ones...

[Simpo Two]

Harry Flashman said:

Absolutely - which is why I'd use the standard carcasses, but mount them further forward with a deeper worktop. Mind you - as you said, it's a cost thing I guess. If that worktop is going to cost me £600 more than a standard one, then I just buy new appliances and try to recoup some cost by selling the old ones...

See www.withknobson.com/acatalog/Walnut_worktops.html

Wooden worktop, 4mx620x27mm, walnut £396.18 inc VAT
Wooden worktop, 4mx720x27mm, walnut £451.89 inc VAT

For £55 extra the 720mm deep version cover your sticky-out appliances. You also get a deeper worktop but at the price of less floor area. Happy pondering!

[Rollin]

I have kitchen units/drawers installed in two of my dental surgery rooms for storage. One lot is from BandQ and the other Ikea. These cupboards are in constant use all day, five days a week. I would consider it an accelerated durability test. After three years, the Ikea units have faired much better than BandQ, especially the drawer units. Both are gloss white and the finish on the Ikea ones are still like new.

[Mr Fenix]

Harry, I've fitted 12 or so kitchens during my stint as a developer/builder and a few useful tips:

1) Go for 18mm (thickness of the panels on units)units as opposed to 14/15mm which are complete tat.

2) 40mm Worktop, pre-oil or seal the thing prior to it going it, other wise you may find grease, silicone, paint, stains etc. are drawn to it like moths to a flame.

3) Using glass splash back or glass mosaic tile? looks lovely when its in but ask the installer how its done. You will be amazed at how many idiots think 15mm non tempered glass is supposed to be drilled, plugged and screwed to the wall. Its supposed to be mortared in with a suitable adhesive and the installer needs to know to smooth the ridges out so as not to cause a "ribbed" background through the glass.

4) Have an electrician add in a few more sockets to the ring in the kitchen, its amazing how quickly they get used up.

5) Do not install a corner carousel type unit, they waste a lot of space and thicko kitchen designers only put them in cause they have no imagination.

6) Sorry to sound obvious but try to plan out what you want (not sales staff) from your kitchen and give everything a place to go, counter top space is precious and microwaves, T.Vs, mixers, toasters etc. take up a lot of space so bear that in mind.

7) Lastly a great kitchen place I used was called "kitchen george" in Reading and they have everything from basic budget kitchens all the way up to fancy "wooo" stuff at very, very reasonable prices.

Good luck with the great project and post some photos up when you can!

[Simpo Two]

Mr Fenix said:

40mm Worktop, pre-oil or seal the thing prior to it going it, other wise you may find grease, silicone, paint, stains etc. are drawn to it like moths to a flame.

Absolutely, and whether you use oil or something synthetic like Polyx Oil, make sure it has a several coats. I used 3 coats of Polyx Oil applied with a rag for smoothness, but things like red wine and cooking oil will still mark if left too long.

Mr Fenix said:

3) Using glass splash back or glass mosaic tile? looks lovely when its in but ask the installer how its done. You will be amazed at how many idiots think 15mm non tempered glass is supposed to be drilled, plugged and screwed to the wall. Its supposed to be mortared in with a suitable adhesive and the installer needs to know to smooth the ridges out so as not to cause a "ribbed" background through the glass.

My suppliers, ALM Glass, do it quite differently. 6mm toughened glass, cut to any shape you like, edges bevelled/polished, sprayed on the rear with any colour you like, and affixed to the wall with low modulus silicone sealant. This means (1) you can have any colour you like (2) it's very easy to fix (3) the wall behind doesn't have to be perfect because you can't see it.

Mr Fenix said:

counter top space is precious and microwaves, T.Vs, mixers, toasters etc. take up a lot of space so bear that in mind.

Yep, a 500mm built-in microwave saves you a whole chunk of worktop space - but make sure the wall units are deep enough to accommodate it.

Mr Fenix said:

Good luck with the great project and post some photos up when you can!

Yes indeed!

Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 4th June 10:30