I know nothing about getting a new kitchen, where do we start please?

[breatheslowly]

We really don't like our current kitchen. It is cottage style with feature tiles, dark wooden doors. Our house is a modern one, so we need something in keeping with that, but the rest of the house is not styled in an ultra modern way. Our kitchen is 17'8 by 11'4 with 4 doors coming off it in various places. This is our forever home, so we are willing to spend to get something long lasting, but we are not rich by any means, so aren't going to be able to afford a seriously high end kitchen. My internet investigations so far have suggested that we want a German made kitchen.

My main questions are:
Where do we go to plan/buy a kitchen?
Who should we get to fit it?
How would we know whether we were being ripped off or not?
What other questions should I be asking that I haven't thought of?

I'm currently doing my kitchen and bathroom in my forever home. I've found the kitchen easy and the bathroom a complete nightmare. We've decided how much we wanted to spend. Next we listed any new appliances we wanted/needed and deducted them from the budget. Then I started taking an interest in friends kitchens, looking in magazines in the hairdresser dentist etc, on line and I've looked in a whole variety of shops from cheap to expensive, opened cupboards and drawers, fiddled with taps, ran my hand over work tops, unless you never cook just bung ready meals in the oven a kitchen has got to be a practical work space first and foremost so taps etc I think must be right and work for you. I also decided what I really liked about my current kitchen, (we've just bought the house) and what I hated, I also decided what makes a good kitchen for me; lots of work top (I cook a lot) and saucepans utensils hanging up not in drawers/cupboards, don't be influenced by things that other people like or what's currently in fashion, don't make definite decisions too quickly look at lots of options and styles,my current kitchen has a butler sink I was going to take it out and put a stainless steal under mounted sink in but having used it for a few weeks I'm a convert, I never liked those wall mounted wooden plate rack/draining things now I'm using one I think it's fab you can put loads of plates etc in it. Don't think about colours etc in the beginning concentrate on what works for you what makes a kitchen successful for you and your family. I personally believe you can mix styles taking the best from different designs/styles I also think that you don't want something that in a few years you will wish you never bought. I was in JL the other day and they had bright orange glass work top I loved it but will I feel like this is a few years time? Also look at your lifestyle are you someone who's always wiping? Do you family clean up their mess? Mine don't so I wouldn't don't choose high maintenance work tops! Do you have pets? I do mine are always shaking themselves in the kitchen when they come in for a walk therefore as I'm not desperately house proud I would not want glossy white cupboard doors, (sort of mud brown would be my ideal choice).
Gradually over time I'm coming up with the layout I want, what I must have and what I don't need or want (plate rack/draining board thing and a new butler sink are top of my list of wants, no orange work top sadly) and now I'm deciding on the actual style and finally will think about colour etc.
I'm not sure a kitchen has to be in keeping with the age of the property, my house is 500 years old so it's no even possible to put in the correct kitchen for its age, install one that reflects your lifestyle and want works for and it will look and feel right for you.

I'm not sure who you get to fit it etc luckily I don't have to worry about this but I believe many companies like B and Q can organise this for you or ask a friend with a kitchen you like who fitted theirs. Or alternatively if you happen to be using another tradesman ask them if they can recommend someone our plumber recommended a tiler and plasterer.
How do you know if your being ripped off? A good question. I'm looking at a CP Hart bathroom, am paying over the odds? This is after all a company who are charging £500+ for a bog brush!! I wondered if I was just paying over the odds for the name and that their usual customers must have money to burn and be stark raving mad to spend that kind of money on a loo brush so wouldn't know if they were being ripped off. I do have the money but it just seems so much for a few bits for the bathroom. I'm not buying the loo brush by the way, but a sink and loo and loo seat and basin taps none are cheap and I'm uncomfortable with the showing off my expensive bathroom concept. So yesterday and today I went out to find something else I liked that was cheaper, I've looked at every cheaper bathroom in the county, nothing for me even comes close to the CP Hart bathroom, I might as well keep the current one (there's nothing actually wrong with it) than buy any of the cheaper one, so on Monday I take the plunge and order the CP Hart one, you might think I'm being ripped off and maybe I am but I love it, nothing is comparable and that is really what matters.
Hope this helps.

We went into MFI who did a design and installation service and were told we couldn't do x, y & z, so had three kitchen installers out to quote (ie local people running their own business) who could see exactly what they had to work with and were happy to do what we wanted. Two actually sourced their units from the same place and were happy to buy tiles, flooring and do for us if we wanted. We were given a brochure and told which units were cheaper/more expensive and where we could view in showroom locally. Our kitchen ended up being re-wired as we moved the electric cooker, wanted sockets in different places but he sorted all that out with an electrician he knew.

If you get a few quotes, you will get an idea of what's a realistic price. We asked friends and my husband put a note on the board at work asking for recommendations, so that's how we chose the ones to approach.

breatheslowly - since you have expressed an interest in German kitchens, I would say your starting point has to be independents. Some of the larger chains also do German kitchens but they are specialist products and I have heard of too many horror stories with installation continuing for 5-6 months with sheds.

Ask for recommendations (or PM me; depending on your location in the UK I may be able to recommend someone) from neighbours and friends. Locate and visit local independent kitchen studios and strike up conversations with designers in these studios. You are making a significant investment and it is very important that you get along well with your designer and they understand what it is that you are trying to achieve. A good designer will help you make your money go that extra bit and advise you on appliances and worktops.

Your local studios will care about their reputation and should be able to provide references and even arrange for you to visit their past installations (this is something we offer as a kitchen studio and regularly get taken up on).

Dont worry too much about the brand of kitchen at this stage. Even the most basic German kitchens are decent quality and for the most part, the price differences are down to the detailing and features offered rather than substantial differences in quality.

Thanks for your responses. Is the first decision to make "what goes where?" rather than who to get to fit your kitchen and which make/style you want?

We used a local builder to do ours in the summer. He contracted in a kitchen fitter and we have a Blum kitchen. It's lovely. We also had some building work done.

All together we had four quotes: three from local, recommended builders and one very highly-recommended kitchen specialist. We ended up going with the cheapest quote - which isn't what I'd usually do - as I checked out jobs he'd done for other people.

So, I'd say ask around locally to get recommendations and avoid the big High St places.

Contact Karen at Oneplan if you need help planning. She is fab and will help you design something that works for you.

Hi ! If you do a rough sketch with full measurements of your room and post your question on Houzz ('design dilemma' section - or 'other' section - there's a UK chat thread there ) it's easier to answer with sketches that way !

Oh, I did thank Littleredsquirrel on a different thread /site by the way ! ( just incase anyone thought I was being rude ! )

flowers for you !

I have just read through a few kitchen threads as we've decided to replace our kitchen.
I seem to be in a minority as I have no real interest in design. My kitchen is a very well loved and lived in room and I place function way above appearance.
For example I love my ancient hanging racks. I just reach up and pick the pan I want. It seems many people are more bothered what the kitchen looks like than how it is to use?
I also hate choosing. My thought is to go to the two most reputable local family firms, kitchen specialists and see what they come up with. I have vague preferences on colour but that's all.
Am I wildly wrong?

The best kitchen I ever had was the one we had in our last house. It was made and installed by a local builder, using hardwood- tulipwood, which isn't lovely to look at but paints very well. We had a big island in the middle. We kept the original terracotta tile floor. We had granite tops, sourced locally.

We got the taps and a Belfast sink new from ebay.

The whole kitchen was £7000, plus a cooker. And that included the painting.

So I think getting a carpenter is a much better idea, and they will design you what you want. And unlike a flat pack kitchen, which I have now, it will last.