Kitchen - waste of time?

[HandbagFan]

We’ve lived in our house 6.5yrs and have hated our kitchen every day. I’d really like to replace it, but would we be wasting our time given we’d probably end up with new units but the exact same layout as we have now?

The room isn’t big - probably 9x9 at most - and because we have the doors outside, to the conservatory and to the hallway coming off it, we only have one wall that runs the length of the room. We currently only have space for a compact dishwasher and an under counter fridge (full size one in the utility) and we don’t think this would change without reducing the number of cabinets (and currently all cupboards are full!)

We’re planning to be here another three years at least but will probably have outgrown the house by then. All other rooms are good sizes and more flexible. We’re happy here, just hate the outdated kitchen!

What do you think? Is it worth spending £££ when we’d end up with the same kitchen without the terracotta?

If it’s the layout that you don’t like then it seems pointless. Could you post a diagram - people on here are generally pretty good at coming up with alternative layouts.

I would. It doesn't need to be expensive for a kitchen that size (look at DIY Kitchens). I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen - it would drive me insane to have to spend time in a room that I absolutely hated for the best part of a decade!

Agree to getting the wisdom of MN to comment on the layout though

I’ll try to put a diagram together once the toddler crashes. The layout is just boring and lacks space/innovation, and the cupboards are ugly (and go with the ugly floor, tiles and worktops).

It seems crazy on one hand that we’ve lived with it so long, but also we know it’s going to be something people comment on if/when we sell...

Can you price up a standard size kitchen at Ikea? Might be less than you think.

If you want a pretty standard layout and you are replacing like for like (and you are not redoing electrics, plumbing, etc.) then that will keep the costs down.

Are the carcasses in good condition? If so, you could maybe just swap out the cabinet doors? Or even paint the existing ones?

Have a look on ebay for second-hand kitchens. This kind of thing.

Could you enlarge the kitchen and make the utility room smaller?

I think it's at least worth seeing what you can do with it - you'd be surprised at the difference a few small changes can make to a kitchen!

My old flat had a tiny, dated kitchen when we first moved in and I really wasn't sure we could do anything with it. The size of the kitchen and our budget meant we couldn't really move anything and I thought there wasn't a lot that could be done to change the layout. I spent loads of time looking at house tours (there's a website called 'apartment therapy' which has great examples of small space living) and specifically looking at what other people had done with small kitchens. We ended up making a few small changes (Going from a galley to a 'u' shape, changing cupboards to pull out drawers, getting rid of the wall cupboards on one wall) but it made such a huge difference to the space that it felt like an entirely different (and bigger!) kitchen. I was really glad we did it, even though we moved 2 years later - I still miss my little kitchen .

So yes, no harm in seeing what you can do with the space - even if you can't make massive changes to the layout, I bet a few small changes would make a big difference and would make it a much nicer space to cook in!

Are the units good quality? If so I'd have them painted or sprayed. Tiles can be sprayed too and worktop easily replaced. a fraction of the cost of a new kitchen. Let me know if you'd like a recommendation.