First time kitchen buyer - am pretty clueless and could do with some help

[cansu]

Have finally managed to get money together to re-do old, falling apart kitchen that was in the house when we moved in. It is a small u shaped room so there isn't room for huge amount of units. I would like a fairly traditional wood kitchen possibly grey, pale blue or cream. Things I can't get my head round:

1. Will I be able to get something nice, fitted for around 7k?
2. Lots of threads about crap designs and curved units etc. Think I just want a nice kitchen with plenty of space to store stuff - am I missing something??
3. Don't think I want integrated appliances as they are probably more expensive to replace. Am I better off buying appliances separately myself from AO.com or something?
4. Oven and hob we have is actually only a couple of years old. Does everyone get new everything or is this just part of the sales patter?
5. Was thinking of getting local building and property maintenance company to fit kitchen as they are v good and can then do all decoration and any plastering etc that needs doing. Have looked at Howdens kitchens - who would do measuring up and design - Howdens or building company??
6. B and Q etc all slated everywhere so am v wary of these but also wary of all the independent bespoke places as look scarily expensive. Any other suggestions welcome. Should I get a couple of quotes from this kind of place so I can see difference in price and quality?
7. Last one! Walls desperately need decorating. Do people usually wait until new kitchen is installed before doing any decorating?

Many Thanks

We installed a kitchen a few years ago and are just planning some alterations to another one.
This is a nice guide from Blum (who make a lot of the interior fittings) on layouts and accessible storage.

I should think you would get a painted wooden kitchen and good laminate worktops on that budget. Things can be re-used if carefully taken out and stored with all the fixings. Is your oven/hob a freestanding cooker or fitted into the kitchen?

If your fitter has a Howdens account they are worth looking at. I think they do a design service but it helps if you have some ideas of basic layout that they can turn into specific units.

There are independent kitchen shops that do "normal" chipboard kitchens, they might be the slightly less fancy showrooms or hidden away on an industrial estate but they would be an alternative and probably have a bigger choice and more personal service which might be helpful if you are starting from scratch. If you go to 2 or 3 suppliers you soon will get a feel for who is on your wavelength.

I work for a builders merchants that does kitchens. Curved units cost a hell of a lot more than standard ones. Plus, the corresponding work tops are more expensive to fit too. I wouldn't bother. If you are short on space I would recommend the talker units that go right up to the ceiling. More storage space and less places for grease and dust to accumulate!

You are right about integrated appliances being moe expensive. I reused my existing fridge-freezer, washing machine and dishwasher when I redid my kitchen last year. They were fairly new and they look fine in the new kitchen.

We repainted the walls after the kitchen was fitted.

Try a independent builders merchants. We often have sales on and you can get a good deal. Let me know if you are anywhere near Cardiff!

Taller units, not talker units obviously!

I agree with you on integrated appliances and we've never replaced our freestanding ones when we change the kitchen. It depends how much you're willing to spend. I am cheap and happy with laminate worktops etc.

We did buy from B&Q. Quality was fine but they were a few weeks late. I'm working up to my next kitchen and I'll be looking at Ikea and Wickes to start with.

Large parts of the cost are appliances and whizzy fittings in the cupboards/drawers. You can get a much cheaper kitchen by not having pullout larder units or special contraptions for the corner cupboards. It's a bit of a juggling act though - I think we maximise storage in our corner cupboards by having just normal shelves, but it is of course awkward to get to the items round the corner. And I would love pullout larder drawers.

If you are anywhere near Leeds, go to the DIY-Kitchens showroom, it's great. I liked their kitchens & a lovely MNer let me go to her house to see hers installed 😊 Unfortunately due to the shape & size of my kitchen I need a drawer size they don't make. Typical.

I loved the Wr/en kitchens, but after reading the customer sevice reviews & then the thread they participated on here, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Ikea doesn't work for me because all our pipes go along the main wall and Ikea units don't have a 'service area' (space behind the back of the cupboard) and the u shape of the kitchen is too tight to just put the units in front of the pipes) & it would be to much work to make cut outs for all the pipes & I don't want them in the cupboards anyway.

I think Howdens & Benchmark are much of a much, each doing the odd thing better than the other.

Look at Wicks showroom, buy from Benchmark.

One of the builders I spoke to said he thinks Cook & Lewis from B&Q is a good option, just not their budget range.

I've had NO luck with 'local kitchen companies' but lots of others on here have, I suppose it depends where you live.

Budget - how long is a bit of string? I think Benchmark are quite good value & whichever one you go with, it's the 'bits' that cost the money, do think carefully about what you need v want - then, think about how much benefit or pleasure you'll get out of your kitchen if it's nice to use. For example I wouldn't compromise on GOOD self closing hinges or a GOOD tap, but I'm considering a laminate worktop because they're inexpensive and pretty hard wearing - whereas the the worktop I'd reality like would be £3,000 & I can't justify it in this house when we will probably rent it out.

Appliances - mine all need replacing anyway, but if they didn't I wouldn't replace them if they fitted where I wanted them to go, but I would if it was restricting my layout. For example I'm taking out an undercounter fridge & putting in a full size frudge freezer and I'd do that even if the fridge didn't need replacing. The only thing I'm dithering about is the washing machine, but there's no 'unit' for that, so I'm going to order an extra door & decide later.