How much to spend on a kitchen?

[BurningTheToast]

We've recently bought what will hopefully be our dream 'forever house'. Seriously, it's amazing with the sea lapping beneath the windows and a folly in the garden. With covid and the amount of work that needs to be done, we got for a pretty good price, comparatively. We're very lucky.

However, it is possible, though not likely, that we may sell it in a couple of years, depending on family needs, caring responsibilities and so on, and move back to the city, so we're renovating with a bit more of an eye on resale that we would otherwise.

Without getting into prices, is there a ballpark percentage of house value that we should expect to spend on the kitchen? On the one hand, I could install Ikea jazzed up with good sink/taps and worktop or should I venture into seriously fancy bespoke territory? If we're looking at the middle - most likely - the only thing I've decided is that I won't be letting Magnet fitters through the door after the last time!

Any thoughts? Thanks

Who said a £10,000 price reduction? More than that! It’s interesting that in all pictures of super houses, the kitchens are featured. If they are not, you assume they will need replacing.

So how much of a reduction on a £2m home then? 100k? The point is, if the kitchen bothered the buyers that much, they could easily replace it.

Yes, John Lewis outsource fitters. So does everyone else at that price point. DD also had to chase them up to finish and she’s a barrister. However the product is good and it’s a brand that isn’t greatly over priced and indicates something about the owner. I am sure there will be howls of derision but consumers have views about companies. They are also a Which Best Buy. Some people prefer the one stop shop idea because they are busy. The DIY model simply doesn’t suit everyone so I was giving the op ideas. They don’t have to be followed up!

Ikea is a Which Best Buy too. In fact, they've practically scored the same as JL, but much higher on customer score.

[quote BurningTheToast]@nancybotwinbloom

Interesting re Wren - I like their kitchens but have heard such horror stories. DH normally installs our kitchens and I have fab plumber so maybe we could just buy the units from them.... Do post a pic though - love seeing other people's kitchens![/quote]
The horror stories are probably from people who have used their fitters. Apparently they are independent, and that could be where the issue lies. They quote separately for the fitting etc.

We recently had a Wren kitchen put in by our own local fitters. Can't fault the quality of the units, and their delivery service was great. Even when we found that we'd inadvertently ordered the boiler cupboard in the wrong height (misunderstanding between us and the gas man), they sent out a replacement quickly, and didn't charge us even though it was our mistake.

References to John Lewis. Do people mean John Lewis the Department store or John Lewis of Hungerford?

It depends on the space. If the space is "as is" I'd say shop around but if part of a major renovation, extension then more dependent on architect drawings, recommendations and advice.

£800k I'd say £35 -£50k.

I think it depends on the shape of kitchen and complexity of cabinetry. If you like nice straight lines then lower cost companies are great. I genuinely hate a lot of the expensive hand made stuff because it is so fussy.

We sold a house for a million with an IKEA kitchen with nice appliances and granite worktops. I loved that kitchen.

Department store. In my post anyway. You don’t have to source everything from them but you can if you want. We found some appliances were amazing value in their price reductions after Christmas but taps, sink etc were over priced.

Sadly the Which scores don’t include installation. As that’s the bit that causes the most problems it’s a gross oversight.

@PresentingPercy

Sadly the Which scores don’t include installation. As that’s the bit that causes the most problems it’s a gross oversight.

My guessing is that the "customer score" does include ease of installation. But installation is a separate matter to kitchen quality. You can't really blame the supplier if the builders doing the installing are useless.

A friend had a kitchen from this company in Glasgow and was very happy with it. They are expensive though
cameroninteriors.co.uk/

We’ve just had a Wren kitchen installed and they’ve been great. We had a couple of issues and they sorted them with minimal fuss and didn’t charge us any extra.
The fitter was an independent guy but he was lovely and came when he said he would and tidied up after himself.

Our new kitchen is about to be installed. We went to the high end and also handmade kitchens of Christchurch. The later quality felt clunky and unfinished and that was in their showroom. It is however great value for an inframe kitchen. Tom Howley hard sales approach put me off. We went in the end for a small family bespoke kitchen company and are very impressed. Their original quote was similar to the top end but we bought only the cabinetry and organised everything else ourselves saving 1/3 of the costs.

Wow, folly sounds great. Is it a listed building or scheduled monument? (Sorry off topic!)

@NeilBuchananisBanksy

Wow, folly sounds great. Is it a listed building or scheduled monument? (Sorry off topic!)

The castle/folly/outbuilding is a listed building and dates back to the early 1600s, probably longer.

The centuries haven't been kind - it was abandoned for a bit, used by smugglers, then incorporated into a long-demolished tenement building, and it's lost a storey off the top since about 1920. DH refers to it (in tribute to Morcambe and Wise's Andre Previn sketch) as Castle Eric - all the right stones, not necessarily in quite the right order!

What is now the house dates back to 1700 at least, and has been a net-drying yard, a stable, a sail loft and who knows what else over the years before being converted to a house in the 1970s.

We love it and renovating it is really exciting. I've even set up a little Instagram account to keep a record of it and because people seem really interested in the history. Mostly I'm just trying to get rid of some of the 1970s horrors at the moment. And to find a roofer! And day-dreaming about the perfect kitchen!

@mumdone

That's what puts me off Handmade Kitchens - it's not feasible to go to their showroom and a lot of money to risk if I'm not happy with the quality. I've found a local bespoke place that is well thought of so I'm going to talk to them and Neptune. John Lewis too, although last time I looked at their kitchens, they were a bit generic in style. Classic doesn't go out of fashion though, I suppose!

Wow it sounds exciting! Hope the Councils conservation officer is helpful too- can be challenging!

[quote BurningTheToast]@mumdone

That's what puts me off Handmade Kitchens - it's not feasible to go to their showroom and a lot of money to risk if I'm not happy with the quality. I've found a local bespoke place that is well thought of so I'm going to talk to them and Neptune. John Lewis too, although last time I looked at their kitchens, they were a bit generic in style. Classic doesn't go out of fashion though, I suppose![/quote]
I was at the Claygate HMKC showroom and definitely saw nothing felt clunky and unfinished in the least. We also went to Neptune, Harvey Jones and kitchens by Holloway’s and we honestly saw nothing inferior. The finish etc was equally good but of course with HMKC you need to have it fitted and painted on-site. I follow a company who appear to mainly paint HMKC kitchens and the finish looks fabulous www.instagram.com/p/B_XdmQ-jgwY/?igshid=1tadugxy7pl3v

One of the things I liked about HMKC is they don’t charge extra for large units - all our units are least 1m wide.

@SollaSollew

We're in a similarish boat, we could stay here long term but on the other hand may move in 4 years at the end of youngest dd's primary years.

My HMK is being fitted as we speak. It's not painted yet but if you want to see any pictures of the unit quality then I can add some. Mine came to about 7k for the units (no appliances or worktops etc.).

How are you getting on with your HMKC SollaSollew - is the quality as good as you thought? Any updated photos?

Sorry @Qc16 we will have to disagree. We also went there. We are fairly local and I thought the opening and closing mechanism was inferior to the higher end of the market. We bought from an independent in Esher in the end. It was more expensive but the finish much better. The service outstanding. Much more personalised

Ours also has to be painted onsite, the interior and exterior was exceptional. We visited HMKOC 4x as we loved the look but there was nagging that the quality just didn’t meet our standards. So we bite the bullet and paid more. I’m pleased we did.

I didn’t get the memo about how much to spend. We put an IKEA kitchen in our old house, we sold it last year for £1.25m

@Waterdropsdown

I didn’t get the memo about how much to spend. We put an IKEA kitchen in our old house, we sold it last year for £1.25m

I'd ignore the snobbery with Ikea kitchens. I think their designs are great. The only thing they're lacking are different doors styles/colours.

@Waterdropsdown

I didn’t get the memo about how much to spend. We put an IKEA kitchen in our old house, we sold it last year for £1.25m

Good to hear! We've put a good number of them in other properties and they've always looked good. I am considering Ikea carcasses (because nothing is a tricky shape or width) and having doors from elsewhere that can be painted. Plus shopping around for worktop, taps etc.

I'm a great believer that in many things you get what you pay for, but I'm not sure kitchens is an area where that necessarily holds true. What matters is that I love it, enjoy cooking in it and that it is a place to eat and drink with family and friends.

I think what I'm going to do is get quotes from a whole range of companies and then see how we feel. And see what's left in the pot after the windows and roof have been replaced!

Thanks for everyone's thoughts - it's been illuminating! x

My kitchen was bespoke and is absolutely beautiful (if a little underused) and cost me just under 50k
The house if it sold now would be around 1 million, possibly more before lockdown. (house prices in my area have fallen lately due to covid)

Bought current house for £1.25m almost 7 years ago and it had a 10 year old IKEA kitchen in it. Nice, modern, but nothing at all special or high quality. Wouldn’t have put us off buying the house: location, location, location, house size and big, quiet plot sold it.

Precisely my point. If you're willing to shell out £1.25m for a home, setting aside a fraction of that amount for a new kitchen is not a big deal. In London, whilst kitchens may sell, it's all about the postcode and size above everything else imo (*I know you're not in London).