To fit a new kitchen or just keep searching?

[Suzie119999]

In the process of buying a house. Problem is everything we love is way out of our budget as DH wants it in a nice location, modern kitchen with island etc. etc. I’ve found a nice enough home which is in our budget but showing it to him he’s said kitchen looks really old fashioned and there’s no way we will have time or energy to get it modernised. I do see his point as we’ve been looking for someone to paint our current home for 2 years now! It’s so difficult to get reliable work people. Half the time we’ve spent waiting for painters and they don’t turn up and then ignore messages. So his argument is how the hell will we manage to get a whole kitchen fitted from someone when we couldn’t find a painter. What do you all think? What are we missing in terms of not being able to find work people? We tried checkatrade, local Facebook and neighbour apps and word of mouth.

Is getting a kitchen fitted a huge deal? We got really lucky with current home (actually maybe not luck it was just we found what we wanted at a reasonably good price), we did nothing nor even paint the house! My mum jokes that we didn’t even need to buy a washing line as literally everything was done and we simply moved in. All we did was clean the house as everything was immaculate and very stylish. Help please what shall we do?

Buy the house you want in the location you want and pay to have a kitchen fitted? Depends what your budget is, but if you allow sufficient funds for a new kitchen I can't imagine you're going to struggle to get one installed, most suppliers also work with fitters and will price it as one job (wren for example). It's madness to want to find a whole house built around a kitchen you like

Exactly! I totally agree. Have you had experience with wren?

Seriously?! It takes no effort at all to get a kitchen designed and fitted. Go to a kitchen retailer, choose it, they fit it. Job done. I could do the whole design and ordering in an afternoon. I’d probably take longer but it’s not hard.

As for painting, surely you could just do it yourself if you can’t find anyone. Good decorators are usually busy but as long as you book ahead it’s not hard. I always start with recommendations from neighbours and friends for trades. Never found it difficult to get anyone but have sometimes had to wait a long time for availability. It is odd to have no shows, I’ve never experienced that.

I can’t imagine buying a house without intending to do work on it at some point though. Current house we had built from scratch so chose everything. New house is very old and needs an extension, new kitchen, new bathroom, new roof, new windows, stairs making safe, garden office and a load of garden landscaping (eventually). But we will do it gradually as we don’t have the money.

Thanks @Thursday37 what about if structural work needs to be done possibly?

@Suzie119999

Thanks *@Thursday37* what about if structural work needs to be done possibly?

Then you'll need to find a builder which admittedly are in high demand but you just have to preserve & get building regs sign off for whatever you do.

We had a quote from wren but we ended up moving instead but they are a bit of a one stop shop in that they can price in fitting with their kitchen supply. They're expensive but it sounds pretty hassle process.

You sound very young? It's very normal to adapt a house to suit you, surely you want to make it your own?

We just had our kitchen done. Took 3 weeks, went with local kitchen business, he supplied and fitted the kitchen and organised all the trades. It was super easy and no stress at all. It was also cheaper than one of the big brand kitchen places.

Choose the house and location. The kitchen can be changed .

Getting a new kitchen fitted is actually easier than trying to deal with workmen yourself, if you go for a reliable supplier. Read the reviews online. You should be fine with somewhere like John Lewis or Ikea or a respected local company. There is one major national chain who are very very slow, maybe have a google and ask around.

Most kitchen suppliers will be able to assist with installation as well s other necessary works needed.

I'm a qualified electrician who ended up fitting kitchens many years ago.Only things I didn't do were gas and plastering. Fitted several kitchens in the houses we've owned as well as for friends and family.

We wanted a new kitchen a couple of years ago. Looked around and went for a Wren kitchen. As getting older wanted an easy life so asked Wren to supply and install even though fitting was quite expensive. (Wren said any issue would be dealt with quickly as using their install team).
Big mistake. Nothing wrong with the quality of the kitchen itself., still very happy with it.The bloody delivery and installation was a nightmare from the beginning. Delivered on day they said but several doors missing/damaged. Took five different deliveries to get sorted and only on designated days. And they don't take the damaged stuff away unless you complain.

Also, Wren use third-party sub-contractors. You're paying for a two-man team but only one was ever there at any one time so fitting took longer. A estimated five day fitting became 16 days with several re-visits. There were a couple of bodges that we're still arguing with Wren about now. I really wish I had fitted it myself or sourced a fitter who was being paid by me not Wren.

View local kitchen companies and speak to them about fitters etc.

It’s really exciting looking at kitchen designs! Anyone want to share their photos of kitchens they have?

I'd buy that house and go through howdens for a kitchen. I found them to be the cheapest than all the others for a kitchen. Find a fitter in your area that works with howdens and use them.

I wanted house didn’t need much doing to it. But everything we viewed needed something doing. The house we bought needs a new kitchen putting in hopefully later in the year. Just need to plan it. Each room needs new carpets and decorating. But made sure no wallpaper to strip. Slowly we going through the house and making it our own.

Howdens aren't the best nor the cheapest.

Wren are a living nightmare.

Try DIY KITCHENS.

Ask thursday37 for some of her good luck!!

If you look in the property section you'll see a lot of kitchen threads & photos.

We’ve gone for an ikea kitchen which we are (for various reasons) installing ourself but could have chosen for ikea to fit it for us. That has been the least stressful part of everything.

We chose an independent kitchen studio which did all the fitting as well. No trying to find a fitter, electrician, plumber, plasterer etc as ours was a full job, everything brought back to the bare walls and start again.

Took 4 weeks, one guy as the project manager we dealt with and all went smoothly.

The same with a bathroom a couple of years later.

Yes, it may be more expensive but the peace of mind with both people working and children is so much better.

Finding good workmen nowadays is a real challenge I agree. When it comes to kitchens though, most of them will fit the kitchen for you which takes that stress away!

My family and I recently had our kitchens done by this company - the process was so simple and the cabinets were better than most we have seen in other showrooms. They do modern styles as well and their fitter was very reliable too.

I hope you find something soon though and good luck!!

Buy a new build. You sound a touch out of your depth, a dodgy builder might see through that and take you for a ride. If you do need a new kitchen just go to a big chain and use their fitting service too so you don't need to think too much about it.