Carpenter built kitchen to copy Harvey Jones??

[growingweeble]

I have been trying to choose a kitchen for weeks now and running out of time as the builders will soon be ready to install whatever I have chosen... but I cannot bring myself to put in the order.

I have settled on a white gloss integrated handle kitchen. I think it will probably look nice, and will be very practical. But, if I had the budget, I would chose the Harvey Jones Linear kitchen.

www.harveyjones.com/our-kitchens/linear-kitchens/linear-kitchen-complementary

I haven't asked for an estimate yet, but we know a very skilled carpenter who could make it.

But, before I ask, is it a good idea? In particular I'm worried that it will be difficult to get the hard wearing paint finish that comes with Howdens wood frame kitchens for example. He is a very good carpenter, but is there a risk it will look homemade?

Does anyone have any experience or advice on getting a bespoke kitchen made by a carpenter?

[PigletJohn]

having them made out of timber, and wanting a high-gloss finish, doesn't sit right with me. You will not get a high-gloss with paint. You could have the doors made of ply and fitted with glossy laminate, which will be very hard wearing, or cut from laminated board, but the edges will not be so good.

Or you could buy doors from a door supplier.

[oscarwilde]

Talk to the carpenter about how best to achieve it. If he is sensible he will admit if he can't deliver the finish you want or suggest a compromise like a matt finish (which possibly won't date so quickly - don't get me wrong, I think they look amazing but they are so popular at the moment I can't decide if it's a good idea for my own kitchen) which may be better long term.

A decent carpenter will be able to work around any quirks that your home has and you should get a better result plus possibly more bespoke options that you can't get with a standard off the shelf kitchen, but it's not reasonable to expect them to be able to produce mass manufactured paint finishes.

[betterwhenthesunshines]

Our builders / carpenters made our current kitchen - the drawers are all solid MDF with base supported runners so that when you open them you don't see any metal parts. It was sprayed in the workshop. At the time it was the only way I could get each cupboard made to exact dimensions so it would all fit along one of the walls and I could design the larder cupboard exactly how I wanted it.

It doesn't look homemade at all, everything runs smoothly, no dropped doors etc, and everyone always 'wowed' when they came in. It's now 8 years old and the surface has chipped where I smash pans into the drawers. But I've sanded these little parts and touched them up and now you don't notice, although if you look closely it's not the same completely smooth finish. I could get new drawer fronts sprayed but I can't be bothered :o

[rememberingnothing]

we make bespoke kitchens and we would make the fronts (and all the cabinets) and spray them whatever colour you wanted. My own kitchen is a very bold green which I love but usually customers chose something a little more average. We can match other colours (we once matched to a plate). However, it isn't the cheapest option as it is labour intensive to get the high gloss perfect. As PigletJohn says you can order them foil wrapped online or perhaps your friend could ask a friendly car shop to paint them - we've subbed stuff out to a mate to paint when we've been very busy.

We use Morrells for our paint and they've been very good for us.

It's all about what you want I suppose. We normally use an AC (acid catalyst paint) that is hard wearing.

What facilities does your carpenter have?

[bloodybuilder]

you may not see this now but try unpainted kitchens - showroom in battersea and workshop in northampton.
they will copy any design, and def do a linear look