New kitchens. What did you have/ do? What did it cost?

[Judyandherdreamofhorses]

We're just about to finally get round to planning our new kitchen, having moved into the house three years ago and putting up with a horrible, no storage, no workspace, nasty floored kitchen.

It's a reasonably large l-shape, once a small wall is removed (builder doesn't think it's a supporting wall).

We have a four year old, one year old and muddy dog. The back door from the kitchen opens into the garden so flooring needs to be practical.

Any inspiration or tips? We are clueless.

Ikea do great kitchens! We fit ours ourselves

It is not just the cost of the kitchen units, it is the cost of moving pipes, electrics, fitting, tiling, tiles, new applicance etc that bump the cost up.

You need to get an expert to check whether your wall is just a stud wall. Not just a builder who "doesn't think it's structural".

Other than that, I recommend buying a few of those Kitchen magazines (wh smith). That will give you ideas for layout, appliances (lots of reviews in those), flooring, type of kitchen (gloss or shaker style wood or painted).

It will also show costs of some examples.

Think about having a "working triangle" between your main work surface, fridge and hob (oven or range cooker).

And do think very carefully about colour scheme and type of worktop.

And your budget?

Flooring really comes down to what you like. Don't be put off wood. I am on my 3rd kitchen with wood floors. It works really well. No problems at all. And unlike tiled floors, mugs don't break when they are dropped.

If you post here with budget and a few of the ideas you have or what you like then we'll help you

No advice, but just to say MN people have given me fantastic advice about kitchens. Keep posting!

We had ours done a few years ago and are moving house soomn and will be getting the kitchen done in the new house so we're looking for ideas etc again.
I would go and look at ikea kitchens, even if you don't want ikea stuff. and look at lots of kitchen companys to get ideas etc some will design and make your kitchen others do factory made kitchen units and doors in standard sizes. Some are mdf with a laminate surface, theres stained pine and oak etc ours is Tulip wood - very good at withstanding knocks
Most companies come out and help you design your new kitchen on computer etc and will work with you to identify what you want and need.

Work tops: granite is nice but is hard and unyielding (and expensive) - if you drop a cup on it the cup will break. Corian is a composite stuff - it marks and burns - you get a cleaning kit and a sanding kit to get marks and knocks out. Laminates can be cheap looking but you get better quality ones which have a thicker layer of laminate and are very hard wearing and functional. Wood is looks nice but can get stained and damp.
floors: ceramic tiles - cold and hard and if things drop then they break - unyielding for children - if the fall they hurt. Lino, cheap and tears although more expensive ones are better quality, Karndean or amtico is softer more yielding - we have 2 labradors and amtico - i swear it doesn't show the dirt. its warm under your feet in winter.
think about what your needs are - wine rack :), broom storage, office area (?) play area, visibility/ nearness to the kids, do you want to sit in it/ where's your dining area

I could go on.....but i'm too hot.....

We've got a 1&3 year old and went for oiled wood floor. Cleans a treat although does dent.

We've got white gloss doors - water spray and an e-cloth cleans them up easily with no smears.

Wooden work tops - oiled several times in the first year. They need regular maintenance. But it's the nicest we could get on our budget (granite too hard, corian too expensive, don't like laminate).

We used the ikea planner to decide on layout - worth trying it for ideas? It's free and easy to use. We also went for an ikea kitchen as much better for our budget. The kitchen fitters were impressed with the quality and no issues with delievery etc.