Help with kitchen cabinets. Looking to immitate deVOL.

[HomeExtender]

I'm looking to imitate a deVOL kitchen but can't afford one
I've looked at DIY kitchens Norton range but the lay-on frame is 10cm, a lot chunkier than deVOL. Has anyone seen any kitchens with a slimmer onlay frame above no V groove (so the frame is flush with no gaps)? I dint want in-frame. Thanks so much!

Your kitchen is looking better than the devil one with marble splashback. I like the latches on cabinets. You have eye for detail. Wouldn't have noticed if I had only seen devol Picture. And since it is IKEA internally you can get so many cool organisers too.

DeVol not devil

Great update. Would you recommend a polished concrete floor now then? No issues with staining or anything now it has enough sealant?

Ha, Mum! I have the same autocorrect too. I think I've got a good eye for detail as I've had 4 years to plan everything. Oh, and I love the IKEA organisers too (am such a geek)!

Tentative, yes I think I would as it looks beautiful and nothing comes close (e.g. concrete effect porcelain tiles that we have in our bathroom). And never having to clean grout is a huge bonus. That said, it does require a vigilant eye - you would get grease stains if you left bits of pastry or cheese crumbs on the floor for a few days (we have some very small ones) although they might fade with time). Also, if you spill anything acidic (wine etc.) then it need to be mopped up pretty sharpish. One positive though is that the floor has lots to natural colour variation and imperfections so marks won't really show.

crumberlina it's beautiful!!!! I love your sink? I really don't want an undermounted one, this looks perfect! Where's it from do you mind me asking????

@lolalotta thank you! It's a Shaws Butler 800. A bit expensive (should be around £400 with the Shaws waste strainer) but it's handmade and absolutely beautiful! The lead time is around 4-6 weeks, I think and it weighs around 65kg! You can have it under mounted but the height of our sink unit meant that we could have it over mounted (which I definitely prefer).

shawsofdarwen.com/products/contemporary/butler

If your sink unit isn't high enough then you could always go for this sink as it's a few cms higher ...

shawsofdarwen.com/products/contemporary/shaker

The build is going well. Fingers crossed we're in for Xmas. Kitchen is booked for fitting at the end of November so keeping the builders on track is a struggle.
I'm so excited now for this to be over, after so much research into every single item with a tight budget I hope it all looks ok!

Hello ladies! I don’t know why I haven’t received notifications for new comments, I’m feeling sad and left out. Maybe my husband turned off my notifications, step 1 of helping a wife with kitchenitis!

Crumbelina... oh my goodness 😍😍😍 I knew it was going to look amazing but wow your kitchen is an absolute dream. Do you go in there multiple times a day still just to stare at it?? Is it finished now and is building on the house pretty much wrapped up?

We’ve found a little house by Richmond Hill which we love and will be putting in an offer soon. It’s small but a fixer upper!

How about the rest of you ladies, by updages??

@BarbieV2 - good to hear from you! So glad you've managed to find a house and good luck with the offer. I'm still reading about how the market is very slow in London so hopefully you won't have any competition and a reasonable seller.

So glad you like the kitchen! I thought I tagged you upthread but my copy/pasting probably went a bit wrong. We're almost finished on the kitchen - just need under counter lights, extractor hood and the cornicing/plinths etc. on the units. We've just managed to put up the pendants (will post a pic soon) and installed 33 spot lights which was a huge faff!

Next comes the children's bedroom, hallway, back garden (with shed/summer house), ground floor bathroom and front garden. DH holds down a full time job so he'll only get one weekend day a week to do this (and we'll take annual leave to work on it together when the kids are in nursery) so erm ... another two years needed to take the overall total to a six year renovation!

The one upside is that we're pretty much out of money now (the nursery fee is £92 a day for my one year old!) so a loft conversion is a distant dream.

Good luck with your builder, @Georgia502! Really hope it can all be done by Xmas.

Pendants are up! And 33 spotlights which we installed ourselves and took forever. Many an evening spent sticking my hand through small holes trying to locate and fish out wires (the joys of a self-renovation project).

Well done Crumbelina, that is some task! We opted for the electrician option but couldn't believe the cost. I can't believe the amount of money that goes into a new kitchen project, despite researching the most cost effective option for each and every component!
Well done you - looks great!

Crumbelina looks amazing

Is this ikea method with custome shaker doors.

Where did you buy worktop and handles from.please

Thanks both! @Georgia502 I know exactly what you mean! Electricians are £££. A close friend of my husband is coming to install a new consumer unit and it's going to cost something like £450 for maybe half a day of work? Usual rate would be £600 and something.

We've been absolutely hammered by the London mark up as well. I think our double storey extension (kitchen and first floor bedroom) would have cost around £200k if we hadn't project managed it, acted as the builder and completed lots of the work ourselves. In the end I think we've saved around £80-100k by doing lots ourselves, but the stress levels have been insane at times!

@3asAbird yep, IKEA units and Foxtow Shaker Doors (solid oak and Farrow/Ball colour matched). The quartz worktop and marble splashback is from Diapol (amazing company - really can't recommend them enough). The handles are the Cotswold Collection from Armac Martin.

@Crumbelina,

Those lights are beautiful. When I see such pictures on Houzz I think who would be able to actually have it all so perfect in real life.. but your photos show that it can be achieved in reality.

Our extension plans are on hold. Builder is taking forever to quote and not free till April anyway to start. So we have found a house that we like and got offer accepted. It needs refurbishment. We are happy to get new electric, plumbing, plastering etc etc as long as there are no major structural issues. Survey due next week. Fingers crossed.

Hi ladies! It looks like I am finally ready to put my kitchen plans together as we had an offer accepted on a little house. I wonder if anyone looked into doing diy kitchen carcasses with foxstow fronts? If it doesn’t add a lot more to the overall price I think it may be worth it to not have to deal with building the Ikea units. With two babies I just don’t know when we would find the time (and stay sane!).

BarbieV7,
Congrats! Wishing you good luck with purchase.

Thank you! I’ve just seen you had an offer excepted as well, congratulations it looks like we will be embarking on the same journey at the same time then :):) are you in London? If you use any builders that you like please let me now!

That came out aggressive... know, not now!

I am in Kingston but not North Kingston. I haven't used any builders for work and the one I had from architect's recommendation is no longer responding to my call/email.

It’s all so daunting isn’t it and it seems the builders are generally quite unreliable - if I find a team I like I will make sure to send you their details. I am meeting 3 next week which have come highly recommended but even then who knows how good/reliable they will be. I am in Richmond too, how funny! Kingston is lovely :):)

Do you know which kitchen you will be getting?

Yes, it isn't easy to get hold of builders and actually get a quote and date. The house I have offer accepted is old and I am afraid survey might show lots of issues which we couldnt see on viewing, so fingers crossed.

For kitchen, I am thinking IKEA with custom doors, or may be with one of the cheaper range door for now and wait to save up for updating with custom doors. I like diy-kitchen Linwood too.

Good luck with it @Mum2015! To be honest, a builder not being able start until April is probably a good sign! Really hope it all works out for you.

And thank you re. the lights! I'm sure the people on Houzz have a variety of trades doing it all instead of DH and I balancing on step ladders with spirit levels, pulling out wires and swearing at each other. 😄

Congratulations on offer being accepted!

I completely understand the pain of builders. That being said, despite their unplanned nature and unknown timings ours have actually been quite good as builders go! We've had some unexpected costs and hiccups but I don't think thats avoidable. Can't wait for it all to be over!

Our kitchen is being fitted next Thursday and can't wait to see it! Although the worktop will be a few weeks later. We went with the Shaker Kitchen Co in the end. It was a bit painful at the start and planning took a long time but ended up being quite reasonably priced in the end. But I'll do a proper review and summary once it's in as still yet to get it fitted and see it in the flesh!

Crumbelina thats a huge saving well done im sure it will be worth the stress.

We now looking at a pre xmas move.

Cant get a fitter free until feb
Also budget is spiralling the extension dining room needs more work than i thourght and need to find a decent builder
before can even start on kitchen.

Still cant decide on worktop love the acyrilic look but quartz would look more classic.

I wish i had enough space for run on tall units but hubbys concerned about lack of worktop space.

Your hardware is stunning.
Did you find similar but cheaper handles from anywhere else please.

Mum2015 we sound in similar position budget wise our survey came back with some surprises.

Georgia good luck with your kitchen fit.

Can any of you lovely ladies recommend a design tool I can use please?