To consider a kitchen facelift rather than a new kitchen?

[bringunby]

I'm happy with my kitchen layout but not the cupboard colours, work surface and door handles, so I'm curious about kitchen makeovers. There are companies saying they can re-spray existing cupboards, replace the worksurface etc. They claim to be cheaper than a new kitchen, and presumably there is also less waste in re-using fittings, but are the results worth it? Has anyone had success with a makeover? Are there pitfalls to be aware of?

We live in SW London, so any local recommendations would be welcome too.

Hi, im up in bedfordshire. Ive had quotes from 2 kitchen makeover companies and they have both come back with £11k for new worktops, cupboard and drawer fronts, plinths, cornices and splashback. Thats from granite transformations

We had all doors and handles replaced and some drawers put in for £5500. Love it

If your doors are all standard sizes, could you not replace them yourself? We did that in our last house as the funds didn't stretch to replacing it, the bathroom won the battle lol.
We bought new doors, handles and worktops from IKEA and dh fitted it himself. Also replaced the sink and installed a ceramic induction hob. Changed the wallpaper and flooring and it looked great. It didn't cost much either, definitely lasted a few years.

We've just repainted our doors and put new handles on ourselves. Then £1000 on wooden worktops and £500 for someone to fit them. Plus £200 for a new sink, so under £2k all in.

Way less hassle and mess too.

If you like your layout and the carcasses of kitchen are in good condition, painting or changing doors and worktops can transform a kitchen.

I'd definitely consider replacing doors yourself if the cabinets are standard sizes. I'm not hugely handy but new doors are literally just screwing things, same with handles really - just drilling a hole and screwing it on. The worktop would be more of a pain because things like cutting a sink hole is scarier.

@Haggisfish

We had all doors and handles replaced and some drawers put in for £5500. Love it

5 grand sounds like an awful lot just to change the doors and handles!

We’re considering this too, but with kitchen wraps and new handles. We can’t afford a lump sum but the doors in particular are looking very shabby and the doors aren’t actually that cheap.

Thus far I’ve contacted a couple of companies who have declined to email me back, so not sure where we’re going from here tbh!

I'm intrigued by this op but aghast at 5500 to replace doors and handles!!

That's such a good idea to buy door fronts and screw them in!

I wonder how one would do a work top but without the sink?

I guess one could buy help for that?

If anyone has wood, it's so easy to paint wood yourself, and tiles, there are brilliant tile paints available...

You need Frenchic paint for cupboards, new handles( I got some on Amazon for £20), I’m
stunned at £5500 for a revamp.

@Bulblasagne

I'm intrigued by this op but aghast at 5500 to replace doors and handles!!

That's such a good idea to buy door fronts and screw them in!

I wonder how one would do a work top but without the sink?

I guess one could buy help for that?

I’m ignoring that as a typo, my entire kitchen cost half that!

diy

I’m doing this right now.

Materials - new doors and 7 completely new units and doors from Howdens £1700
New worktop from Ikea - £165
New integrated fridge freezer and sink and taps - approx 700
New tiles £100
New blind £40
Labour - joiner, electrician and tiler - awaiting quote - guess it will be around 2-2.5k

Yes, I'm hoping that's a typo too!
We're thinking of replacing doors and work surfaces . £5500 sounds prohibitively expensive.

@ALLIS0N
Excellent budget but you see regularly on MN that a new kitchen is minimum £20k🙄🙄 I do chuckle at a lot of DIY threads and the money ppl waste.

We got new tiles, new flooring (flooring not laid though) new cupboard doors and handles, new sockets, new sink and tap, new lights for roughly £1700.

You can paint the tiles and cupboards yourself (or spray them - a sprayer is around £50.

Look at Frenchic Alfresco paint. I’ve just done my bathroom tiles with it. Very dubious to start with but it’s fantastic.

If you paint your cupboards, replace handles and paint tiles and walls yourself then you can get a new worktop properly installed and that will massively cut your costs.

Thanks @SBTLove. It’s cheaper because

I’m keeping the flooring, oven and hob, dishwasher and washer drier
No significant layout changes, so minimal work for electrician and plumber
I will decorate
I do strip out
I source many things cheaply myself eg worktop, cabinet handles, tiles , blinds
I don’t have any fancy internal cupboard fittings which are v expensive
I have laminate worktop rather than the granite / Corian that seem standard on MN

@Merryoldgoat - I’m sorry to say that I’ve never seen painted tiles that look nice, although I’m happy to be convinced. Would you be willing to post a photo?

Dream Doors? They do worktops etc too.

I'm planning on redoing our kitchen. DH doesn't see anything wrong with it (especially as he is colour blind) but has agreed I could change the doors as a compromise. Helpfully IKEA changed their cupboards a few years ago so I can't buy anything off the shelf but have found a company online (Homestyle) who do made to measure doors and I'm changing from faded cream shaker style doors to high gloss light grey. I think including kickboards etc it is going to be aroun £1K which seems not too bad compared to prices on this thread.

The other thing I hate is our granite worktop. It is Baltic brown and was fitted by previous owners and I don't like it at all. DH doesn't want to replace it as granite is expensive but I would love to do something to change the colour / cover it or something. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.

I had new tiles, cupboard doors, handles, hob, worktop, integrated dishwasher for just over 5k - it's like a new kitchen and totally worth the money.

£5500 has got to be a typo.

Oh and new sink!