Expensive or budget kitchen units?

[Falcon1]

Please help, I need to make a decision this weekend about kitchen units as our builder is due to start very soon.

I have fallen for the 1909 in frame slab door kitchen. Units online have quoted us for this at £10k. Much cheaper than it would be through a kitchen shop but still much more expensive than we had planned to spend. I'd like this kitchen with a quartz worktop, which again would be really expensive!

DH wants us to get the DIY Kitchens Carrera bespoke painted in F&B Downpipe - this would be around £3k. He reckons we can make it look expensive with 1909 handles. He also thinks we should get a wooden worktop as it's so much cheaper. All in, this would be a considerably cheaper way to go.

Our house was expensive and is in an expensive area. I'm worried that a cheap (er) kitchen will look out of place. Plus, this is our forever home - we need to be happy with the kitchen.

However, the option I want would mean no money left over to do anything else to the house for quite a while. And DH is of the opinion that the extra expensive is unnecessary. I'm really unsure as to whether he's right.

What to do?! Can a cheaper kitchen be dressed up? Would I not notice the units anyway once in? I'm usually the one that hates spending money but just love the look of the 1909 kitchen.

Hi Rhica - good luck with your quote!

We've decided to compromise on a Burbidge pretend in-frame slab. Cheaper than the 1909 but will (hopefully) look very similar when in situ. And that leaves money in the budget for a quartz worktop.

Thanks for all your thoughts, it's been really helpful.

Falcon1, what did you decide in the end? I'm having the same dilemma! We have what seems to be a quite reasonable quote for 1909 kitchen from a local kitchen supplier, but without all the really fancy touches such as dovetailed drawers, etc. However I'm wondering whether to just get a non in frame kitchen and save us a bit of money!

Sorry I've just seen you already answered, don't worry!

As long as you don't go "too cheap" for the units, i.e. Wickes cheapest range, you should be fine with a decent worktop and good handles etc. We had a kitchen from MFI that lasted 20 years and still looked as good - no chips, no scratches, no discolouring, no broken hinges nor drawer runners, etc, but it was probably towards the top of the range in MFI and that was with their chipboard/laminate worktop too! We spent the money on a top installer instead and it paid dividends for us.