Can you tell me where to start with planning a new kitchen! I'm overwhelmed!

[Squirrelfruitandnutkin]

I have no idea where to start!

All I know is I want light and practical (north facing room).
I want a big cooker/ oven.

We have lots of cupboards and workspace at the minute. BUT the fridge freezer is freestanding and currently in the dining area of the kitchen diner.
Ideally I'd like to have it in the kitchen area, but to do this I'll have to lose work top/ cupboard space.

Aaaargh! This is making my head hurt!

Where do I start?

Maybe start with making an appointment to go to a kitchen place (Magnet, Wickes etc) with all your measurements and get a plan done there? It's really daunting but if you do this a couple of times you'll have a much better idea of what you want. It doesn't really matter where you go as you're not making a commitment to buying anything. We're getting a kitchen from Ikea. We had an appointment in store and they came to the house (£20 with a family card) for planning and we found them really good.

It is infinitely easier when you hand it over to people who spend all day every day planning kitchens!

Get some kitchen providers to come and help you. They will measure, design, make suggestions and give quotes. This will help you get a feel for what is possible and what will work best for you. Best to get a few people to do this as prices and vary a lot and try local independents too. Once you know what you want Haggle

How do you use the current kitchen? You might have lots of work surface, but do you use it all for food prep or does a large amount of it have things permanently on it? What don't you like about the kitchen or find annoying? What would you like to have that would make a difference for you?

Agree with wowfudge. Look at how you use your current space, what annoys you about it,etc? Would it be worth sacrificing some worktop space if you don't use it all to have the fridge in the kitchen area?

Went to wickes today and got them to plan something out. I've got to see where the stuff would go to make sure I've got enough cupboards.

Seemed like a lot of money, but then I've no real idea of how much kitchens cost.

You can spend a few hours with IKEA online planner and compare prices for the same layout

Have a look on DIY kitchens. Much cheaper and more choice. Prices are all there just add things from the list wickes give you and you will see the price, I think if send them the wickes quote they may even do it for you.

I'd get a kitchen fitter you have local recommendations for, then they get a deal through Howdens. I'd do ikea if you have a nearby one that you can pop to to get extras, take stuff back, get a missing screw etc. Can you draw a diagram and then we could help?

Can't remember the name of it infortunately but one of the main German kitchen brands has great information about 'flow' and planning; things like having an island in front of the dishwasher so you only have to turn around to unload, rather than walking across the kitchen. Maybe someone else will remember the name!
but you do have to plan and plan and really think theough what you might need. There's the famous 'do's and don't's' thread on here somewhere.

You don't need an island to put away stuff from the dishwasher, the cupboards just need to be close by. Most UK kitchens aren't big enough for an island.
OP I would think about your family's main tasks in the kitchen and most obvious things to be nearby, so for making a cup of tea, have kettle near sink, cups and teabags etc. Near hob you want pans, utensils and space for chopping Board nearby etc. If you want inspiration for colours and materials and not just layout I'd recommend making a pinterest board. This is especially for detail, like if you're asked about tiles you can go back to the pictures you liked and pick out what tiles would go with the look you want. Picking materials in isolation out of the context of an overall look or design is risky.

Oh I agree MrsJamin, I used the above as an example; in fact I don't have space for an island so we've just designed our kitchen based on the principles you describe.

I'd suggest, as a starting point, deciding whether anything needs to be 'fixed' and going from there. For us, the stove needed to be under the fireplace and the sink under the window.

Yeah the utilities are going to be difficult /expensive to move e.g. Gas and water so don't move them unless you absolutely have to. Also put in more plug points than you think you'll need right now. We have three double sockets in quite a small kitchen.

I agree, draw up a rough plan with dimensions.

Think what works for you currently (position of sink, hob/oven/cooker, making a cup of tea, preparing and serving food).

If you don't have to move gas and water supply, that makes things easier, but I would suggest reviewing your plug sockets, you'll probably want more.

Pinterest is great, but you will lose hours on it!

Can anyone tell me how to use the Ikea planner. I can only use their pre-done layouts - L shape, U or with island.

I can't work out how to change what their automatic layout comes up with. I can't click on Modify Modules which I assume is what I need to do?

I think you're on the simplified version of the IKEA planner, the 3d one is the one you want, you'll need to be on a proper computer for it though!

I used a website called Opun Planner. It was quite useful as a starting point, but nothing beats graph paper and a scale rule. Also, when we weren't sure about certain things, like the size of the sink, we'd physically mark it out using packing tape, or even cardboard boxes!

Ikea I found really expensive compared to local folk-how much did Wickes quote? We do t have them in NI but have Homebase & B&Q

Wickes was £14k (2.5k was fitting)
That was with the expensive quartz worktop - which is probably too £. But it's still feels like a lot.

I would start with a Pinterest board so you can decide exactly the look you are going for. You can decide materials, fittings, colours, style, everything.

Then go to a local kitchen fitters, tell them what you want and get them to make a plan. Try and keep the plan clean and simple. Wickes, B&Q etc are always going to cost more than a local company. You don't have to go with all their suggestions, you can tweak it as much as you like.

Our entire kitchen cost £4,000 including all labour and parts. Labour only cost £800 of that budget. We have solid wood doors and worktops. However it didn't include top cupboards, as I opted for open shelving in the upper half of the kitchen.

Our kitchen took 3 months from the start of planning to completion. I would allow at least this much time for it.

watching

We're also going to have a new kitchen, our fridge and freezer also in the dining room part of the kitchen/diner but it feels like two rooms not one. We're going to put separate fridge and freezer under the counter in kitchen, losing valuable cupboard space. But we're going to put some cupboards in the diner area and put things in there we don't use much like tins, extra pans and tupperware etc and hope this works.

Namechanger, we started with a local kitchen fitters and the price came out at £25k. Got another one out who started measuring up whilst chatting pleasantly, then when the topic of my budget came up, said that most people around here spend about 10% of the cost of the house - so well over £50k in our case. Saying which, he packed up his stuff and swiftly left!
I'm envious of your reasonably-priced fitters.

Handmade Kitchens Direct are reasonable, but you either need your own design or to get an independent designer to make one for you. They give 'bespoke' look without the associated price tag.

Maybe I got really lucky with mine, because not only was it cheap but the fitter was a perfectionist and I've ended up a stunning kitchen. I think it was cheaper also because I only bought the bottom half of the kitchen. The top half is shelving which only cost me the price of the wooden brackets (Oxford Shelving Company) and the wood for the shelves, plus paint. I don't like top cupboards.

Probably the trick is to shop around as much as possible, get quotes and compare their work.