A weird kitchen one!

[Iambloodystarving]

We are building an extension. I have read so much about kitchens, been to see kitchens, done the sums on kitchens. There seems to be a bit of tyranny about kitchens! The bloody cost is JAW DROPPING and yet they are all variations of each other in terms of design. I am thinking of not buying one but getting a carpenter to make floor to ceiling cupboards - just 2 of them. Or maybe set them into the new walls? One will be a "pantry" and one for all dishes. A few drawers under the cooker for pots etc. Would it be weird? Is it a mistake? Madness? Fever dream?

bump...

still hoping....

Your kitchen, so do what works for you. I had kitchen done a few years ago to add more storage and it turns out that there is no such thing as enough. I just accumulated more to fill the space. Just be mindful that if you plan on moving in the next few years, something unusual might put people off.

You need a quote from the carpenter. Could be quite high.

So no worktop? Where will your kettle, toaster etc go? Where would you prepare food? I would keep that in mind. If cost is one of the main factors, we just extended our house and kept immediate costs down by buying an ikea kitchen which we are paying for 0% interest over 2 years. We bought a nice granite worktop separately which makes it all look nice.

Also Dennis is right, sounds off putting for prospective owners if you’re planning on moving in next ten years.

We did something similar to that. We built a pantry - it is effectively a tiny room rather than a cupboard. Bigger t It has u-shaped shelves all the way round floor to ceiling. Big enough to stand inside it. I bloody love it.

All the food goes in it, also the stock pots, lesser used kitchen equipment and spare kitchen rolls up on the v high shelves.

In the rest of the kitchen I have no wall cabinets only large wide drawers.

Do it!

One of the things I love about mine is how you can see all the food at once. So easy to see exactly what is there. The shelves are of twin lock shelving so the heights can be adjusted easily. The shelves along the back are deepest - same depth as a box of cornflakes stored sideways. On the side walls the shelves are narrow - one large tin depth.

I have painted the walls and shelves inside and it looks brilliant. The same amount of kitchen cabinet would have been way more expensive to build and would have been less convenient to live with.

What space is it going in?

How many people?
What do you want from it?

Personally we really use the loads of worktop space in our new kitchen. Oak worktops are not expensive and look fab.

Our tall pantry cupboards are great.

You can save a lot by sourcing the kitchen online and getting it fitted separately. Our kitchen (no appliances) was 16-20k from every shop we looked at but just 4.5k, from DIY kitchens and worktops from elsewhere. You can easily get a basic one for under 2k.

I think your plan is perfectly feasible but may not save you much compared to sourcing carefully online.

Not mad at all. In our last kitchen, we just had a large kitchen island, with a sink, cupboards, dishwasher and oven built it (we had a separate Rayburn too) and then a freestanding fridge/freezer and a large wooden freestanding pantry. I loved it.

Shmithecat2 That is kind of what I am after. I would have worktop space, drawers underneath and the cooker. But the wall cabinets would go.
I will contact a carpenter - I suppose it could be very expensive.

Mine was a hell of a lot cheaper than the cabinets.

Those big fancy wardrobe style larders cost an arm and a leg.

I got the builder to make a tiny room in the corner of the kitchen, like the size of a compact downstairs loo or a largish coat cupboard. Made of stud wall with a standard room door on it.

A bit like this but not as big:
lifebylee.com/pantry-organization-tips/

More like this but I made it a lot nicer than this

lots of people put in a new kitchen when they move so if you are thinking about staying put for a while I wouldn't worry.

My house is quite eclectic and I have free standing furniture which I bought off ebay. Those that are painted are painted the same dark grey colour. I think it looks really good. If you want large cupboards you could consider having sliding (bifold type) doors and have a work top behind the doors?

Good luck and don't be afraid to do something different

Thanks all. Spent the day looking and thinking and costing. The cost difference is big as in it will cost less to build two cupboards than buy a kitchen. I have decided that I want an" invisible kitchen' that will have excellent function and that will not cost too much. Easy peasy{grin}.

Go for it op. I think in the uk we have very specific "rules" for how some things must be. But other places do things differently, and so can we.