Should we spend £50k on our kitchen or consider moving?

[Doximama2]

In a bit of a quandary and any advice welcome. I’m 58, husband nearly 65. We have lived in our detached 3 bed house 34 years, brought the children up here. The only problem with the house is the kitchen; it’s a small galley style narrow one and I would love a wide open kitchen with an island. We have a big conservatory off the kitchen and have had some people in to look at knocking the kitchen wall down and making one big kitchen with dining table and sofa, tv etc. We think this will come in at around £50k as having new boiler and a decent kitchen with all appliances, quooker tap, inbuilt everything, new doors etc. Our quandary is is this reasonable or should we move? I am reluctant to do this as we like where we are, garden not overlooked, near town centre and beach, all 5 mins walk away. It’s a 30’s house so rooms bigger than new build apart from kitchen. Having looked at what’s around on sale it’s either no character new build or houses like ours that need everything doing, kitchen, bathroom, decor. We also have 35 years of stuff to sort if move and hubby is a bit of a hoarder in certain hobbies! Just putting feelers out for thoughts? We haven’t moved in 34 years so it’s all scary to me!!!

I do, I hate my galley kitchen, me and the hubby bump into each other if we both in there and I want a nice entertaining/ relaxing space for family and friends to enjoy as well. It’s only now we can afford to get it done hence why took so long.

I think we have, it’s our forever home until we need to be in a retirement place if we ever do: both fit and healthy

I wouldn’t move unless there was a compelling reason. You know you like your house and the area you live in - even choosing carefully you can get it wrong. The costs of moving and then sorting the new house to your taste will far exceed £50k. Your plans sound good and would come in around £50k where I am so if you’re sure of the quote and the contractors that’s what I’d do but have some money tucked away for contingencies.

Surely doing the work and making your lovely
house perfect is easier then moving? Is there any other reason to move?

Assuming your house is like many other thirties houses could you knock through into the dining room? Would that be cheaper?

thank you for that idea, will do that!

Thank you, you have helped me decide what I think I wanted already 😊

Unfortunately the dining room is not near the kitchen, the lounge is and the lounge is bigger than the dining room so we don’t want to swap them over

No there isn’t, we are in a good central position and the kitchen is the main issue

Thank you!!

If you absolutely love the area, I'd stay and do the work only if it helped future proof the home for aging, because I would probably have very little intention of doing any big work again after this, in any property.

Is there scope to add a lift/stair lift if needed or to change a room downstairs to a bedroom if it becomes necessary? Is there an accessible shower room or wet room downstairs? Step free access to garden etc?

Also - does the quote include the kitchen and appliances or is that on top and the 50k is just paying the contractors and building works? Have you had the actual quote and drawing design spec for the kitchen, as well as the builders quote? I ask because a quooker tap by itself can cost around 2k!

I’d get the two jobs done separately , have the building works done but plan and fit the kitchen separately as you can get a lot of kitchen for £15k including appliances etc

If you like your house then do the work and stay put.

we have a similar dilemma as to whether to get a new kitchen cos ours is very dated - we’ve done up the rest of the house up but the kitchen will be SO expensive to redo as it’s huge.

we’re going to leave it as is - we want to downsize and move a bit further afield once the kids have finished their education. We’ll make sure the crap kitchen is reflected in the house price and let the new owners sort it out!

Selling and buying houses is pretty awful these days, so if you do the work you’ll be much more in control of things

Sounds like you like where you live - I’d do the work.

Get plenty of quotes and do your due diligence on your contractors before you start x

Sounds doable for 50k to me.

I’d do the work. You love your house, it ticks the boxes, it would be heart wrenching to move, it’ll be expensive and stressful, if you’ve got the £50k just do what you need to do to make your house perfect.

If you haven't got a downstairs loo put one in now. I'm sixty, DH 63 . I've been very ill and couldn't make the stairs. Luckily we had a big loo. It would take a shower if need be. I note you have a dining room. That could be a bedroom if it's separate. We're moving shortly £40k plus to move!

Do the kitchen. The £50k will get swallowed up in stamp duty and fixing inherited problems with a new house and then it’s unlikely it would have your dream kitchen anyway.

Do the work. We have done something similar a few years ago and love our kitchen/ family room. That's where we spent 80% of our time! We also had quotes that didn't quite reflect the rapid increase in price for materials and having top quality appliances. So please be careful and have a healthy contingency budget.

I would gwt the work done. Moving may bring unexpected expenses as the new place may have things that need doing.

From my experience the survey can miss a lot.

We live near Cambridge too, so not a cheap area.

Definitely do the work. I think you'd be significantly more likely to regret moving from an almost perfect beloved family home in a great neighbourhood than regret getting a bigger kitchen. At the risk of tempting a horrible fate, what's the wors- ok, I won't say that! But unless you're making massive sacrifices to be able to afford it, probably the biggest potential downside would be you not liking it quite as much as you thought you would. Which might be annoying, but definitely pales in comparison to the possibility of sitting in a lovely kitchen in a house you hate in a strange neighbourhood miles from anywhere, crying all day every day about your old home!

Yes and yes: we are both very fit and healthy but we do have a downstairs shower / bathroom and yes the quote is for all of the appliances etc

We do have one thank you and a shower

that is what our kitchen is costing with all the appliances