Changing layout of kitchen using existing cabinets

[givemesteel]

We moved to our "forever home" a year ago, with the only major issue being the kitchen.

The kitchen itself is very high spec (Mark Wilkinson) but we are not keen on the layout and want to knock down a wall to end up with a more open plan kitchen / dining / living space.

Because the original kitchen would have been v expensive to install we want to explore using the existing cabinets we have and then adding what we need (eg an island).

Does anyone have any experience of doing this? Are you happy with the end result? We're you able to do it with worktops, sinks etc?

Other option is to sell the existing kitchen to put towards a brand new one but there's no way that that will be at MW level spec as we can't afford that (plus in my opinion that is a ridiculous amount to spend on a kitchen).

This article on Houzz might inspire you, it can be done.
www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/3923064/kitchen-makeover

Great article humpty thank you!

Yes we have exactly the same issue, the layout is quite old fashioned, it's just a kitchen, not a living space.

I would think since it is a bespoke kitchen you could contact Mark Wilkinson abut remodelling it, they could at least supply extra matching trims etc. I've moved kitchen units around, they are just boxes but you might need extra worktops.

@givemesteel

That link to Houzz mentions Karen at Oneplan, she is brilliant and not very expensive. I would definitely recommend her if you need to remodel your kitchen

When I renovated we took out the entire kitchen and put it back again and had all the panels resprayed a different colour while they were out. I also added an entire new section which blends in perfectly. The hard part was colour-matching the (new) granite top but even that proved possible after visiting a couple of stone yards. While putting the units in/out we also installed LED lights in the glass fronted units and some that come on in the bigger darker cupboards, which works nicely. We used our general builder, not a specialist "kitchen person" and it worked just fine.

We took out our kitchen and went open plan, and reused the existing cupboard carcasses and changed the door fronts. Had to buy a couple more as the kitchen size doubled, but we built a breakfast bar with double sided cupboards and used base units and wall units on legs, with new worktops.

I’m delighted with the results, we got exactly what we wanted and we did it ourselves which I love (now that it’s finished!).

We did this in our previous house, even went as far as knocking a wall down and turning what were the wall cabinets on that wall upside down and using them to make an island. Also bought a couple extra cabinets as the range was still available and colour matched an end panel from an entirely different kitchen as we liked the style of that more. Had all new worktops and handles fitted and it completely transformed the kitchen on a budget.