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!

It's not great and has its flaws but I struggled to find one better than the Ikea Kitchen planner.

Agree, we used the IKEA planner too.

@3asAbird, sadly I didn't, although I was pretty to determined to get Armac Martin as they were such high quality and I figured I'd saved loads on the IKEA/Foxtow combination. They really do 'make' the units. SDS London might do some others that are slightly cheaper so worth looking at their website?

Hi @3asAbird - I loved @Crumbelina hardware but could't afford them so ended up after lots of research going with some aged brass handles and catches from Yesterhome. They weren't cheap but weren't Armac Martin or DeVol prices and they look lovely and are heavy! Although yet to see what they look like on the units

https://www.yesterhome.com/products/aged-brass-cabinet-knobs-drawer-pull-handles

Hopefully that may be some help.

Hi ladies! Do any of you know what the rail width for the DeVOL shaker kitchen is? I’m debating between diy Helmsley and handmade kitchens of Christchurch. Anyone have opinions on the latter? I asked what the rail size was on their shaker kitchen and they’ve said 40mm but surely that’s too thin? It’s crunch time now and I need to get things ordered ASAP!

Hey @BarbieV7, I'm pretty sure it's around 70mm. 40mm seems pretty thin!

Randomly remembered to check this thread and wow @Crumbelina - it looks amazing! Has it survived Christmas? 😁

@BarbieV7 have you tried calling Devol? I called a few times with questions as a prospective buyer (I wanted to find out some paint colours from their website). They were very helpful.

Hope you all had a great Xmas! We're nearly there with kitchen, had lots of things to correct after first installation but nearly there!

Ahhhh, thank you @Gardenworm Yes, it's just about survived Christmas, although the units and island have had a few bashes from the girls' new ice cream trolley toy. I'm still not entirely convinced about the sealant on my polished concrete floor (and its ability to prevent oil/grease stains) so that's on my to-do list to look into.

Great news on the kitchen @Georgia502! Really hope the rest of it goes well.

We still haven't fitted the cornicing and plinth etc. as DH has been doing lots of electrical work with an electrician friend. Hopefully we'll get around to it this month ...

Hi OP if you are still around ... or anyone else who went down this route.

How are you finding your kitchen? I’m considering it. Does anyone wish they’d gone for handmade cabinets as well as the doors? Anyone who got the ikea dishwasher, is it ok?

Thanks

Fascinating thread. Just getting round to pricing up kitchen, and all the options. Love your kitchen Crumbelina, and thanks for all the information you've posted. How are you finding the concrete floors? I really love the look but need to think carefully if they're worth the price tag.

One of our builders has said he can make a bespoke kitchen for around £15k, so need to decide whether to go for this option or IKEA carcasses & bespoke doors. Yours do look fab.

Hi @Stokey. £15k sounds fairly reasonable but really depends on the size kitchen you get for that.

There are other options than Ikea carcasses. We did so much research and in the end went with a in-frame bespoke kitchen from Shaker Kitchen Co which was reasonably priced for £10k for all units (ours is a large kitchen) and we supplied all worktops, appliances etc. I'm still waiting to post images though as we've not had our installation completed to the right standard and have had numerous issues with them through the process. I will write a full review once everything is sorted.
After I had ordered my kitchen I came across Olive & Barr who have replicated the SKCo model (one of the directors moved to set up a new company) and although new they did seem a little bit more on their game with customer service. May be worth a look.

Happy Kitchen planning!

Has anyone got a recent recommendation for replacing a kitchen island with a slightly bigger one and in a different colour? I don't want to do the whole kitchen as it still looks great, just the island layout and size isn't working for me.

Kitchen people that come and look all want to replace everything but I'm not up for that cost.

Hi all 👋 I don’t know if this helps anyone but I recently got in touch with foxstow as I had decided I wanted diy carcasses and foxstow fronts and foxstow prices have increased by 30% in the last year. In the end we have decided to probably go for devol because for the price difference it just didn’t seem worth it to do the diy/foxstow combo any more :/ we are having a side extension and a loft done so we won’t be finalising the kitchen just yet. If anyone finds another alternative please let me know!

Thanks Georgia, I'll have a look at those companies too.

Barbie I haven't seen them in the RL but know my neighbour who's an interior designer rates the Super Front doors. Also I think someone earlier on the thread mentioned Naked Doors? And one of my friends used Plykea which looks good .

These are all for IKEA carcasses.

Thanks Stokey! I was hoping to avoid Ikea carcasses because with two kids under theee it’ll be really hard to find the time plus we want some glazed fronts and open storage and I’m not sure the interior would be so nice on display. But I haven’t seen anyone do this, it could be lovely and I am just not visualising it well.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday
Any decent cabinet maker should take on an island for you.

I wouldn't be happy giving business to any company who wanted to upsell you when you've told them what you want doing and that the whole kitchen doesn't need it.

@Ootscoot, I'm absolutely loving my kitchen and I'm so glad we went down the IKEA unit, Foxtow route. It's not an exact match for DeVOL by any stretch but it's pretty close (from the outside). The IKEA units are very sturdy and the internal organisers are fabulous.

Oh, and we have the IKEA dishwasher too (Hygienisk) and it's great. Works really well and comes with a 5 year guarantee.

@Stokey, I have to admit that we've had a bit of a problem with the floor - I'm not really convinced they're ideal for children given that even when properly sealed they can be susceptible to staining from oil/grease and our shiny finish gets scratched easily. Maybe it would be fine for a childless couple who eat out a lot. We now have a decent stain remover and the floor does look beautiful (with no grout to clean!) so I'm pretty ok with it. But would I have it again if I had the choice? The jury is out, I think as it's definitely not as "low maintenance" as advertised.

I can really recommend New York Brooklyn Porcelain Tiles From Mandarin Stone (have a Google) in large format if you wanted a concrete look without the maintenance?

Actually, here's the link. www.mandarinstone.com/product/new-york-brooklyn-porcelain/

And our kitchen is finally finished! 18 months from demolition to finishing touches. Life is crazy at the moment (juggling two young children and now back to work) but I'll snap some photos when I next have a moment and the sun is shining.

@BarbieV7, I don't blame you for going for DeVOL! I'd love to know how much we've saved by not going for them but it's really hard to construct everything yourself from IKEA. And takes SO much time.

Aww fantastic! Thanks so much for replying. One more tiny question ... where are your dimmer switches from? I’m struggling to find some I like. Thanks again and glad you’re happy with your kitchen. All the hard work paid off

Hey crumbelina :) well if I could have got the doors for the price you paid then yes I would have done it but the 30% increase just didn’t justify the hassle for me any more. Also we are not very patient or handy so we would have gone for diy carcasses and the cost just didn’t make sense. I have to say devol have been lovely so far and we found some ways to bring the costs down quite a bit so all in all I don’t think it will be too extortionate. I think was going to end up being £12,000 vs £7,000 had I done foxstow and Now we are significantly increasing the size of our kitchen so I’m a bit scared how much it’ll all be!

@Ootscoot, the dimmer is from Buster and Punch - the 4G in smoked bronze, somewhere in this link: www.busterandpunch.com/electricity/dimmer-switches. We got 10% off from signing up to the newsletter but was SO expensive. .

Ah, that does sounds reasonable @BarbieV7. I wonder why Foxtow out their prices up so much? Popularity?

Then again, I'm so fussy about the finishing touches and all the other I looked at didn't look as good or compliment the copper kitchen door furniture very well. And I've always wanted to own something from Buster and Punch. Dowsing and Reynolds also do some nice ones which are worth a Google.

Oh, that's weird! My second and third paragraph have switched around - sorry! Not sure if that's me or a Mumsnet glitch?

Thanks again :)

Interesting Crumbelina, we are far away from a childless couple that eat out a lot! Really like the tiles you linked.

A friend got aggregate concrete so it would show less dirt but I think I prefer the look of a wide expanse.

If anyone likes the buster and punch light switches they do a huge trade discount so worth enquiring about if you have any link to the trade or if a kitchen fitted can sort it out.

I'm talking £10 instead of £35 etc so quite a big saving

@Wintermonster

Fab to know! Thanks so much. Would any electrician be able to get this? I’m not sure how it work