Would you spend 30-40k plus on a kitchen?

[crystalgall]

We are in the process of buying a house. The needs to be completely rnovated which I am excited about including a new kitchen.

I really love the grey/blue shaker kitchen look but my god some companies are so expensive. However it doesn't seem like you can get the same look with IKEA/howdens etc. Also we are utterly inexperienced in building works/DIY so want someone to come and do all the measurements/design etc and just have it fitted. Minimal faff on our part.

I want to know if it's worth it? It's our forever house pretty much and I cook everyday. The kitchen will be part of a big open plan space too. These are some of the companies I've looked at. Bloody gorgeous kitchens.

Sola
Devol
Tom howley
Harvey jones
John Lewis of Hungerford
Second nature kitchens

So would you spend that much on a kitchen? Have you?

In short, no. Went to look at Devol this week; the kitchens are gorgeous, but I quickly concluded that the look can be recreated at a much lower cost. If money is no object, it is certainly convenient to have a single contractor deal with the whole project, but I reckon you can acquire that style of kitchen much more cheaply if you piece it together yourself.

We're going with DIY Kitchens or Units on Line and having this kitchen. Base units only, U shape, coming in at about 3K max.

OP, I am not sure I understand your questions. Do YOU want to spend 40k on a kitchen? Do you want recommendations for expensive kitchens or would you like to have recommendations for a cheaper alternative? Have you really looked at Howden's because they do two or three models in light blue or grey colours (they call it sky!). www.howdens.com/kitchen-collection/kitchen-families/tewkesbury/tewkesbury-blue

I've just had a kitchen done by Howden's and although our house is worth 750k plus, there is no chance that I would have spent 40k on a kitchen. We did ours for under 10k and it's really nice, but also understated and unpretentious. If you want to spend 100k on a kitchen it's up to you.

Have a look at Murdoch Troon kitchens, similar styles, beautiful but cost far less than 30k.

I haven't used these guys for in frame, but I've fitted 2 kitchens and a utility in their units and they've been really good quality.

www.diy-kitchens.com/inframe-kitchens/

My brother has just bought a house requiring complete renovation and has bought a second hand kitchen. It's not something I'd ever have thought of doing, but it would seem there are websites dedicated to selling high end used and ex display kitchens as well as a fair few on ebay.

The one my brother now has is a stunning Bulthaup kitchen that came with the full complement of Gaggenau appliances and solid granite worktops. It cost him just over £2k and a days van hire to go and collect it with a couple of friends and he's getting a local kitchen fitter to install it for him. Ok so it needs a good clean before being installed, but it is otherwise as good as new. I'll definitely be looking somewhere like this website next time I need a kitchen!

What makes you think you can't get the same look? Every single kitchen range does shaker and nearly all do blues and greys, most do in-frame if you really want it.

Don't get confused with the actual units or how they are styled in the photos. Cheaper ranges tend to be shown very matchy and packed with cabinets where the expensive ones (actual units hardly any different) look more spacious with classier handles and accessories.

Someone recently posted in P&DIY a kitchen they wanted to update, it was someone's pride and joy from 20 years ago, must have cost an arm and a leg, but was cringe-worthy now, all medium oak and terracotta laminate and tiles with fruit on them.

If you are doing knocking through and are a keen cook then getting the right design, layout, storage and circulation space is going to be really important, more than blue grey paint, I would find a decent designer and see how they can make mid range units look brilliant whilst saving you probably £15K. If you start collecting pictures of kitchens you like the look of you will have something to aim for.

My friend spent about £70k on a kitchen from Plain English

The house is worth several million though

I am about to...but would prefer to spend less!

I have had visits to Tom Howley, Tom Ford (Ripley), Turner and Foye (Esher) and Stephen Anthony (Hampshire).

I've had two quotes in. I think the Tom Howley will require at least half a bottle of wine to cope with but I have high hopes for the Stephen Anthony one. Where are you OP?

We used a company called 'unfitted kitchens' based down in Dorset I think. Family run and the guy comes out and shows you samples of the cupboards. As the name implies you will need your local builder/carpenter to fit it, but some of it us freestanding so doesnt need fitting, they do fab butcher block type islands. Although they do wood you will find that most companies doing painted kitchens use mdf for the doors and ends with tulip wood for the frames. This is because real wood moves too much and quickly leaves cracks in the pain but mdf does not. They can design the layout fir you if you ask. They were a lot cheaper than most other in- frame kitchens I looked at. Units arrive already painted. I would use them again.

One of the reasons we didn't go completely crazy on our kitchen is that the kitchen we were taking out was a very expensive poggenphol one. It was 15-20 years old though and looked very dated.

I toyed with the idea of keeping all the poggenpohl badges and sticking them onto the inside of my ikea doors

Everything dates and so unless you'll sell within the new few years then you are largely spending the money for your own enjoyment rather than increasing the value of your home.

I think it's worth going bespoke if you live in a very small expensive house....where space is a premium.
It's worth putting in lots of drawers too, they really make use of space but they are really quite expensive when compared to cupboards.

We spent a lot (but short of 40K) on our John Lewis of Hungerford kitchen 6-7 years ago. I am sad to report that it looks like absolute shite right now, and just to shame them I might post pictures the bubbling paint at the edges.

I would probably get a carpenter to do a custom kitchen again if I were to stay in my price range (which I think was about 25K) but I'd rather push the boat out and go for Plain English!

No I wouldn't. I think you can get a really good kitchen for a lot less.

IMO a good chippy is worth their weight in gold and it's the fitting, appliances and extra touches that make a kitchen look "expensive" rather than the units.

We spent £23K redoing our kitchen, but that included building work (knocking 2 rooms into one), steel for the RSJ, lighting, appliances, flooring, glass splashbacks, electrics, plumbing, decorating, sinks, taps, water softener etc. It looks amazing and I think it's the things like the lighting (we set LED lights into the kickboards) and glass splashbacks that really finish it off. The units are simple white gloss minimalist units so no point spending silly money on those as long as they are well fitted.

Hi OP, you could go to Howdens and buy their Tewkesbury range (framed or unframed) range and paint it? They currently do a Skye (blue grey colour) or stone colour that might be of interest or get the antique white or light oak and paint it? I know they are good quality doors and units so you would be getting good value for money too. Hope that helps.

No, unless renovating a very expensive house to sell.

After I'd posted I remembered when I got my hand painted shaker kitchen in my last house, one of my lovely friends/neighbours got a carpenter to put a kitchen in hers. I have terrible eyesight and from a distance it looks great. But it's MDF and I can see the wood chippy type grain with my glasses on. Her previous kitchen was Mark Wilkinson and I think she perhaps might have spent a bit more when you consider the value of the house....

I honestly think that it would be disproportionate to the value of your house. I wouldnt spend more than £10-25k in your shoes

Yes, I would spend that amount....it's an investment.
Look at Neptune although I am a huge Plain English fan despite the price tag!

All you need is a cooker, a fridge and a sink. The rest you could spend on doing fun stuff!

Perhaps you should take inspiration from Julie and Martin Bishop of Peterborough

I live in central london (1.5 bed flat). My budget for a new kitchen is about 25k.... if that helps. That is (just) less than 5% of the flats value.

I'm not sure who I"m going to use yet. Miele appliances are on the shopping list, as is a glass splash back and "posh" vinyl floor.

I am desperate to get rid of the dirty, cracked limestone tiles which are mega cold and the bloody cooker hood that I keep bashing my head on. The previous owner must have been a midget if it suited her as I"m only 5'7"!

Just signed today for an £85,000 Poggenpol kitchen, 2014, unused, all appliances are Gaggenau including 99 bottle wine fridge, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, induction hob,four ovens including steam and two sinks.
Going in our new build.
Paid £25,000 which is about the cost of the appliances making the actual kitchen almost free.
Have you looked at ex display/ second hand?

Was very tempted by this one.

www.kitchenexchange.co.uk/buy-a-kitchen/bespoke/ex-display-designer-modern-clean-filled-solid-oak-kitchen/

Older, used but huge island and Smallbone are fab plus your DH would love the price!
www.theusedkitchencompany.com/shop/approx-8yr-old-smallbone-kitchen-island-worktops-and-wolf-appliances