To think a free standing kitchen is a good idea?

[Telaviv]

We are considering ordering a new fitted kitchen but I'm struggling to find a style that really excites me where I feel like the quality and aftercare service live up to the price. I am toying with the idea of just ripping out the existing kitchen, replastering the walls and installing a freestanding/unfitted kitchen. I love the idea of a very French-farmhouse aesthetic with a big wooden table, butcher's block and a gorgeous rustic dresser. It would mean spending more on nice-looking appliances but would still save £ overall.

DH less convinced. Thinks it will get dirty, be difficult to clean etc. Not as "slick" looking.

Has anyone here created something similar by choice rather than inheriting it with their house? Are they easy to live with? Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?

We have a very old house and this style of kitchen. It is lovely. The belfast sink has its own little unit but even that is freestanding.

I am not a fan of fitted kitchens tbh.

I think freestanding kitchens are great - as I have recently been poking about in my fitted kitchen before getting a new one, I’d rather clean a free standing one regularly than discover the amount of dust under my units! However, the finish has to be good, I think the plastering etc. Has to be sharp to give it that habitat look rather than a ‘ I can’t afford a kitchen’ look. Not that I never think the second is bad it’s just probably not what MN would find desirable!

Central part of ours was the plate rack - I have literally no idea how it was fitted to the wall to bear the weight, it’s massive, but it took all the plates and pasta bowls with cups hanging in hooks beneath in an otherwise unusable wall above the end of the big old farmhouse table.

Can't understand the bit about dust and crumbs - I have unreachable stuff falling down the miniscule gap between the oven and its neigbouring cupboards in a rental.

Agree you get more storage in a small space with fitted. And if you have a large family and only medium space. But I love an unfitted kitchen and will have one in my next home .... whatever the size

I've a free standing kitchen and love it.If I was doing it again I'd partition of a walk in larder. I have a large island , small dresser, bookcase, wall hanging glass fronted cupboard,Belfast sink , two large free standing larders and some handmade wall hanging cupboards.
My utility room is very conservative with fitted cupboards and I find it's not as well used. It feels like everything is very close at hand in a free standing kitchen as you have to really use your space.

My mum had this when I was young. It was an old cottage without one straight wall. She had unit with the sink in it, and an aga to cook on but other than that everything else was old free standing cupboards and dressers.

Hate them, look awful and if I was viewing a house with one, straight away I’d be put off at having to install a fitted kitchen.

We have one and love it! It's the room we get the most compliments about. We just couldn't find any fitted units we liked. We came across three of the units and went from there. I really do love our kitchen. There's no issue cleaning it either.

If you're in the North, take a trip to simply Dutch in Leyburn, once everything opens again. They have some lovely freestanding units on display in there and you should be able to ask questions. www.simplydutch.co.uk/kitchen-store/

Had one years ago. Loved it. Would definitely do it again with the right room.

I have one, the old Ikea Varde system, customised to fit an oven etc. It's definitely not for people who are fans of sleek and everything hidden away.

I think they're lovely, and am slightly confused at the difficult to clean thing?

They’re more difficult to clean because you can’t use normal kitchen cleaners on wood, they have spaces underneath which get dusty very quickly. Anyone else using my kitchen who didn’t ‘get it’ seemed to find it problematical to use.
My teenagers spilt things, turmeric, red wine etc, don’t use chopping boards, things went between the cooker and the adjoining units. And so on.

I’m not sure if you can get a mortgage on houses with no kitchen, so I’d check that before I made my house unsaleable. But I do like your style.

That's a teenager problem, not a kitchen problem, @Fanthorpe

I'd have the same problems in my kitchen which is fitted but with freestanding range cooker, fridge etc.

The clips for the kickboards have all snapped, too but it's easy enough to get underneath with a vacuum cleaner.

I think freestanding kitchens can look great - we are halfway there although admittedly don't mind a few crumbs or cobwebs and like to recycle old furniture.

We took out half our damp, mouldy kitchen cabinets/worktops and replaced with a dresser and merchant's chest which are really functional as well as lovely pieces of furniture.

As much as modern kitchens can look great, they are all a bit samey and often not worth the cost for the crappy chipboard cabinets.

Inspiration (on a much higher budget!):
www.scaramangashop.co.uk/Fashion-and-Furniture-Blog/vintage-kitchen-style-free-standing-kitchen-scaramanga/

I’m not sure if you can get a mortgage on houses with no kitchen

Whilst I think this is generally true, all that is required to make a room a kitchen is a sink, running water and somewhere to plug in a microwave.

Yes of course Pickachew, I was responding to the poster who said they didn’t understand why they were harder to clean. As I said lots of people who used my kitchen found it tricky, I think something that requires instructions on how to use it maybe isn’t for a large busy family. Sometimes you need a design that works for everyone.

My fitted kitchen with wipe-down work tops and kickboards took no time to clean and the worktops took whatever was meted out to them. My hand built stand-alone was a different matter, I cared about it a lot more!

Has to be sharp to give it that habitat look rather than a ‘ I can’t afford a kitchen’ look. Not that I never think the second is bad it’s just probably not what MN would find desirable!

Excuse me? What on earth can you mean by 'MN' in this context Aravis??

A fitted kitchen is no barrier to mice. They will find a way. In fact it’s worse imho because you can’t reach them, or check traps etc without taking things apart, so they can find a cosy corner and chew away at your pipes etc without you even realising they are there.

I'm struggling to see any fitted kitchen I like. I find anything permanent and fitted rather naff. Think your ideas sound great.

There is something called an unkitchen I read about it online.

It's not that they are unfitted, it's just not really obviously a kitchen.
There are loads of examples on the Laurel Bern website. She is always raving about them.

Here is one of her unkithen posts here:

laurelberninteriors.com/2018/09/02/unkitchen-kitchen-design-trend/

She is funny and has loads of good advice about colours.

I love the ones from that northern company. Mine is fitted, but that shabby chic blue with solid wood worktops and am open plate rack. Was about 4k from Howden. It is fitted but has that rustic look. I'd go for freestanding if I had loads of space

I had one a few years ago. The units came from M and S. My experience is that they look really great but you need a decent sized kitchen otherwise the various bits of furniture just look cramped and squashed up. I've never had such a big kitchen since otherwise I probably would have done it again as I really liked the look.