Please help with my kitchen disaster!

[NickMyLipple]

I have (on a whim, admittedly) got a decorator in to our house before we move back in (we have been living away for work and have had tenants in the house and it is really in need of modernisation now!).

I wanted to replace the worktops in the kitchen, paint the doors and put some nice new tiles in to freshen it up. We thought the cupboard carcasses would be fine but turns out that they are probably not fine (they are a bit saggy, having bowing shelves and are just a bit bleugh.) The probably will just about be okay with a new worktop but the doors are a bit swollen due to moisture. It is at least 30 years old!

So now I am stuck - my old worktops are off, the old tiles are gone and I simply don't have £5000+ for a new kitchen. In addition, anything I do have done needs to be in the next 18 days before we have to move back in!

I have no idea what the lead times are on a new kitchen (I could finance if required) and I feel like I have really buggered it all up.

Is there anything I can do??!

Try Ikea kitchens. You can get a decent kitchen pretty quickly and for a fab price. They may also still do finance as well

If you order a 'ready to fit' one from Wickes or B and q, some can be delivered the next day.

Good luck.

Thanks @iggly - I tried to use their configuration thing but it doesn't work on a phone! I will have to make a trip there I think. I'm just terrified of the cost...

I’d use a computer for their website. Doesn’t work on a phone

An alternative is DIY kitchens but they only have one show room.

I’ve used both and have had nice kitchens. Wasn’t too bad cost wise - depends how big your kitchen is obviously. You can save money by having more cupboards than drawers. Also worktops - we got nice wooden ones which lasted well.

I have just got a new Ikea kitchen. Cost £3k all in for quite a large-ish kitchen but I didn't use any of their appliances as they are more expensive than buying separate through somewhere like AO.

@WillingSpringTime did you pay someone to fit it or did you do it yourselves?

Howdens have them at some of the depots where you can collect. They will design it quite quickly and you get a 3D image and copies to take away. They sometimes have a list of local joiners that will fit them. On the other hand we did without a kitchen for five weeks last year while our bespoke kitchen was being done. We decided not to go with Howdens but know several people who were pleased with them.

If you have a kettle, a camping gas stove, a microwave and a fridge you can manage. M&S make good meals😀

@bowerbird5 the slight issue is I haven't told DP that any of this was happening- he knows I was arranging new carpets but I wanted to suprise him with basically a new house which has gone a bit pear shaped. He will not be best pleased at living off a camping stove as a result of my incompetence 😂🙈

Oh well - too bloody bad, he’ll have to get over himself. You had good intentions!

As others have said Howdens/Wicks etc will have kitchens you can ‘take away’ but personally I’d get one from DIY kitchens - some if theirs can be delivered really quickly.

Kitchen fitter can do it (in theory anyway) in a week

Loads of online options for worktops etc.

But honestly, I’d live with it how it is for a little while & plan it properly.

@NickMyLipple we will be putting it it ourselves (it is currently sat on our shed as we missed our Christmas deadline to get it fitted!) as IKEA wanted a fortune to fit it themselves. I think we will pay someone to fit the worktops but imagine that will only cost about £100 as it is nothing overly complicated.

No need to panic, there are a few places where you can get a cheap kitchen in the time-frame you need.

Howdens are the masters of availability and can supply rigid units off-the-shelf. They're not the cheapest, and they (theoretically) require someone with a trade account but they're a good bet to solve your problem.

Wickes and Magnet have reasonably priced trade ranges that are available on a short lead-time, and most independent kitchen showrooms will have a supplier that can deliver as quickly as you need them to.

B&Q's cabinetry is flatpack and the new stuff is of pretty poor quality. It's cheap and it's off-the-shelf, but that's the best that can really be said about it.

Worktops are quick and easy to buy/fit but if it's for your own home it's definitely worth paying a qualified joiner to scribe to the wall and masons-mitre any corner joints.

I'd get DIY kitchens to deliver something from their 'express' range - they come rigid and with doors on, you just need to level and stick in where the existing units are then attach to the wall. Then pay someone to fit your kickboards, cornice and worktop, and plumb in your sink etc. Shouldn't be too bad if there's no major work to be done.

Have a look on Gumtree for second hand kitchens.