Can you help me find my new kitchen??

[raininmay]

I've been going round in circles and driving myself crazy trying to plan a new kitchen.

I don't know what budget I have (we're going to extend, and until I have builders quotes I don't know what will be left over to spend on the kitchen) - but I know already that it won't stretch to a high end kitchen.

I was hoping that Ikea would come up trumps, but I didn't really like any of the cabinet doors.

I would really like a navy blue kitchen (or perhaps a bottle green) in a matt finish. I saw that Wren kitchens offer lots of colour options - but reviews of Wren on here are not good!!

I also heard of DIY Kitchens here, and while we could get any colour we wanted, I don't think I have the skill/knowledge to be able to design/plan the kitchen all on my own.

So huge long post, sorry!!! But if you are wiser in the way of kitchens than me I would really love some suggestions of where to go look/how to get the kitchen of my dreams.

Thanks!!

Get an Ikea kitchen and have the doors/plinths/end panels spray painted to a colour of your choice.

Bespokea might be able to help?

Schuller kitchens do a dark blue option, they do an indigo and a petrol blue in "satin" by the look of it.

techfail = raininmay ... tried getting password reminder and actually deleted MN account so had to rejoin with new name!

lala - sounds intriguing, is this something you've done/had done yourself. Do all the ikea doors take colour well, or do you need solid wood for this? Would love to go with Ikea for all the interior fittings (and the price!)

Ktay - Bespokea looks interesting, but when I contacted Ikea they said that you can't buy their cabinets without doors, and it seems a bit wasteful to get doors and then not use them

RSteam - lovely, but imagine this is out of my budget. Thanks though, they certainly have a good colour range!!

Go to lots of kitchen companies and they will suggest designs. Then you can tweak to your satisfaction and order the bits from DIY kitchens.

It might be worth you getting an independent kitchen designer to work you up a design and shopping list for DIY kitchens or similar. Even with his/her fee it could be less than going to a showroom if you are really tight on budget but not confident to do it yourself.

I think dark green/blue are due a come back (I can remember the 1990s when everything was "racing green") - I hope you get your dream .

I think Bespokea would spray IKEA doors to your preferred colour.

Go and look around a few showrooms, get a feel for what you like and do some pricing up and compare each company against one another to make sure that you are not being ripped off! Then, if your budget permits, start adding in some fancy/functional units that will make your life easier. These will up the cost of the kitchen quite a bit though but the kitchen is the room most people spend hours in a day so you'll want it to be a room where you love to be. Planning a kitchen is not that hard and as JasperDamerel said, some companies will also give you a free design and some links to a 3d version of the kitchen that you can look around with your mouse (i think that was homebase). That's how I started my planning :-)

Thanks everyone, guess I'm hitting the showrooms this weekend :) but also really love the idea of getting someone knowledgeable to design a kitchen for me and then go and source it all from diy kitchens. Feeling a lot more positive that I'll get what I'm after, so thanks again for your help!!

I'm getting a dark navy blue DIYKitchens kitchen delivered tomorrow!

I'll come back and update with pictures once it's in (whenever that may be - long story). We went for Norton in F&B Black Blue and are adding some brass handles. We measured everything ourselves and it was quite daunting but straightforward. Time will tell if we've nailed it....

If you do decide to design a kitchen yourself, please get it safety checked by a credible pro before you order anything !

(Most of us will happily do a quick safety check for free ! )

Sandra - How did delivery go??!! I can't wait to see pictures :) Brass handles are a genius move, will add some lovely warmth and contrast against the darker kitchen colour. I'm sure it's going to look amazing!

OnePlan - Forgive me for sounding completely clueless, but 'safety checked' isn't something I'd even considered - what needs checking?? I definitely won't be fitting the kitchen myself, so would a credible pro to check with be a kitchen fitter, or kitchen designer??

With respect to the IKEA question, you can order whatever you want. Not sure why someone told you that IKEA make you order doors! You can definitely just order carcasses if you want.

Hi Techfail - in general a good fitter will advise if you have planned anything dangerous- ie gas hob under window or next to a flammable surface or DW as trip hazzard between Sink and hob or other possible problems - you need electrics to adhere to part P and Gas safe certified installer if you have gas appliances and there may be other ventilation and health and safety concerns on some projects to think about.

It's great that people can 'design themselves' with apps and online software but doesn't instantly mean it's going to be safe .

To save expensive mistakes you'd want to be sure before you place an order ( rather than when the fitter arrives to install it ) so I'd always suggest check with a credible kitchen designer ( there are a few independent ones about like me or go to a good studio for advice, most will do this for free or for a small charity donation ) hope that clarifies it ?!

Sorry - don't mean to keep not responding, just pants at managing my time at the moment so house stuff is being pushed to the bottom of a very long to do list!!

dynevoran - Ikea told me they only sell carcasses with doors. So that's what I was basing that on. Would be really happy if that wasn't the case - perhaps I need to check in store as I only asked online.

oneplan - thank you for clarifying, that does make much more sense to me now. thanks!