Aibu to want to replace this kitchen now

[Cantinao]

Hi, DH and I have just moved into our new house- it’s somewhere we plan to stay until the kids have flown the nest, lovely house but a bit dated.

The kitchen is solid and functional but I don’t like it. It must be 20 years old. To replace it would mean that we would have to borrow more which dh is dead set against doing. He thinks that we just live with it for a few years.

i’ve attached a couple of pics. Not showing the whole room in case someone identifies me!!

could you live with this?

Don't rush into it. Most of the fun is in the planning. Spend a year living there, getting used to the house, looking around kitchen showrooms etc. You might be amazed how your requirements change within a year.

No i am not a fan either, id paint the cupboards , something like the attached, and id replace the laminate work tops and the handles.

@Viperoil24 daylight pic for you.

@Alucard55 - we used the same paint (rust oleum) as @Mmmkaay, just a different colour. Also 3 years ago. I recommend! (See pic now and before)

@DancinOnTheCeiling that does look great!

@Viperoil24 thanks! Given how cheap it was we are so pleased.

I’d also consider getting it wrapped and replacing rhe laminate for a good stone surface. I understand the wood effect wrapping isn’t great, but rhe coloured ones basically undetectable and don’t do the work surface, just the cupboards

Link to a company who does wrapping.

https://www.wrapps.co.uk/kitchenwrapping

I probably replaced mine with something older than this off facebook marketplace! I don't think there's anything wrong with it assuming its not rotting or anything. My old one was late 70s/early 80s and literally falling apart. And surely people don't seriously replace kitchens every ten years? That seems so wasteful when it could be redecorated, painted etc if you want a different look. If it was me I would change the look rather than the units if you really don't like it. Obviously your house your choice though

I would love a kitchen like this. Looks really solid and well fitted.

Get it sprayed and, as others have said, change the handles and work top.

Change knobs, paint or wrap units.

I hated my kitchen when we bought our house so I got it professionally sprayed. It cost £400, it was a special offer otherwise it was £800, and comes with a ten year guarantee. It looks like a brand new kitchen and I love it now.

Wow, that's a transformation!! Looks fabulous.

Ugh. It’s ugly alright. Suggest: have doors and carcass edges resprayed or painted (cheaper), change handles, have a stone worktop fitted. Much more eco friendly than dumping it wholesale. Sunglasses until the work is complete!

Don't do anything!! It will still cost time and money and the finish will be nothing like a new kitchen, yet you will feel compelled to keep it 5 years of you do paint it etc so you will still have a kitchen you hate!!

Although will you bit in a better financial position in a few years?

Save like and and do it in two years. Is it quite small? I had a layout similar in my tiny kitchen?

It looks like my kitchen 😂😂 also fitted about 15 years ago.
I wouldn't get into debt to replace it. Save up and do it in a couple of years.

I would hate it too. But I'd save like mad to get a new one in a couple of years. Painting or changing handles wouldn't make enough difference for me. Spend time making a pinterest board for what you would really like

I think that if the kitchen was so bad that you have to change it, you should have included that in your calculations re mortgage.

So I’m with your dh there. I would wait a few years, save the money before changing a functional kitchen.

Having said, there are things you can do that are much cheaper but will change the look of your kitchen a lot.
Like

• changing the handles
• changing the worktop itself
• changing the splashback
• not keen on painting myself (from previous experiences)
• but you can change the doors only
• painting the walls white
• playing with the lighting

I'd repaint the walls and maybe paint the tiles, change the door handles. For now. If I could be bothered.

Looks perfectly serviceable otherwise.

I don't love it OP but I do think it's absolutely liveable and 100 % not worth going into debt.

Spend time planning your next kitchen while saving the money for it. You will appreciate it all the more when you eventually replace it

In the meantime freshen that one up a bit. If it is solid wood rather than veneer you can sand down the doors and paint them which would give it a new lease of life.

I’d like something like this https://kitchens.wickes.co.uk/kitchens/ohio/navy

£1388 for 12 units? I know I’d still need to pay for plasterer, appliances etc but that does seem a decent price

I’m interested in a house with a similar dated kitchen. It was put in during the 90’s. I’ve never lived anywhere with a kitchen I’ve liked 😆

Mine was literally falling to bits when we moved in with all the covering peeling over the cupboard doors, drawer fronts missing and cupboard doors falling off when you opened them. We still lived with it for 2 years until we had saved enough to get it redone. If the only reason is it's "ugly" then no don't replace it until you have saved the money for it.

Or just have it wrapped. And use the money for a new worktop.

Why don't you paint yours navy in the first instance?

Navy seems a bit overdone at the minute