Kitchen help please- what is the best?

[Goodmum1234]

Thinking of fitting a brand new kitchen. Large space, very old house, needs to be hard wearing. Everything will need replacing as it's so old and dated. I Don't want it to be mega money but want it it to last. Please can you tell me your best products- flooring, cabinets, top, electric appliances (no gas), taps, sinks, tiles etc things you wouldn't be without.
We might fit it ourselves and have a joiner and electrician to finish off.
Make of items and approx cost would be great, thank you x

IME avoid Neff (we had 7 of their products incl integrated coffee machine) and without exception they all broke within 9 months of installation. Platewarming tray never gets used here.

If your priorities are hard wearing you'll need a good quality worktop. A laminate will wear out quicker than a hard stone.

Franke taps are always good & we moved into a house that has ones that pull out like a little hose which I'd never experienced before. They're fab!

Deep drawers I'd never be without, just like a cutlery draw that is about a metre wide. Boiling water tap gets used a lot & IME is safer around the toddler. Just make sure if you look into this that you get one with a latger cylinder to hold more.

Next time I'd push the boat out & get Miele products as they'll hopefully last a very long time with little issue.

Sounds like you may need an induction hob so make sure you get the right pans for this.

I am excited for you!!

DIY Kitchens are cheaper than everyone apart from Ikea on a like for like basis. Their kitchens are very good quality. Cost depends on style and what units you have. Drawers rather than base cupboards are brilliant for ample, easy-to-access storage. Get the design right and pick a classic look and it will last you a long time - a painted finish can be painted a different colour when you tire of it and give the place a facelift.

We have oak worktops but you do need to be careful with them. Worktop Express are excellent and not expensive for solid wood. I have lived with lots of laminate worktops and all have lasted well - if you chop and cut things directly on them they will mark and not last well. The same goes for most materials.

Franke or Bristan taps. Franke sinks are excellent. Shop around - I bought our sink and tap from eBay sellers.

We have a Stoves Sterling induction range - we have an older house too and it just works better imo. I got ours from an online independent retailer and saved £400 on the typical cost.

Flooring is Polyflor expona beveline - independent fitter charged us trade price for it. We had four quotes and saved £1000 as one company charged more for fitting and another wanted to charge £45 psm for flooring that we paid £18 for.

I got tiles from Walls and Floors online and have previously bought direct from Johnson's Tiles for a bathroom. Topps are very expensive by comparison.

The choices for everything are almost overwhelming these days, but once you decide what to get you can shop around for the best price. Worth subscribing to Which? to access their reviews of appliances too.

Quartz for worktop - have had wood and laminate previously & wouldn't have anything else now.

Franke for sink and taps, Neff for ovens and induction hob.

Engineered oak flooring.

Wow! Great advice here. Thank you so much. I'm goi g to subscribe to which? And get researching all the stuff you've all mentioned x

I'm not sure what the budget is but if it's a but lower than some of gage above suggestions then I think Bosch appliances are great quality on a mid-price budget. Laminate worktops are very good and hard-wearing too although they don't look fancy.

Ikea kitchens are also very good value for money. DIY kitchens direct are more solid with thicker carcasses but cost more too.

Miaow can I ask which oven has the bigger main part? I'm looking at entry level range master and have noticed it's smaller than I'd like

Following this thread with interest

Great advice here again, thank you all. It's a big space with a limited budget but I'm researching hard as won't be doing it til next year x