Need a new kitchen- any advice as never done it before..?

[AddictedtoCrunchies]

I need to get my kitchen done. Have been looking at Wickes and IKEA...are there any others I should consider? Sadly I'm the lower end of the budget and going for something quite straightforward and my kitchen is quite small. Never done it before though - any words of advice?

Diy kitchens. They have a planner too. They have a showroom in Yorkshire. The quality is brilliant. We're waiting for our kitchen to arrive next month. Best if all they are exceptional value. We got our kitchen and utility (not inc worktops or appliances) for £9k. Magnet wanted £24k for the same layout in their cheapest range.

DIY kitchens an online company but they have a showroom in yorkshire you can go to see the kitchens mocked up, very good quality and a lot cheaper than wickes

start your planning with working out what type of kitchen you want, shaker, matt gloss, what colour light or dark which worktops laminate, wood stone etc

then work out the floor plan and which cupboards will be going where and once you have more or less got your kitchen in your head start looking round for qoutes from different companies

then start looking for your tradesmen once you have the kitchen sorted
then tie in timings when we took our 1980s kitchen out half the walls came with them so had to get a plasterer as well as an electrician and co-ordinate them doing their stuff in time for the kitchen arriving

it was like a military operation but well worth being organised to the nth degree

then start getting qoutes from the

excuse the bottom line that shouldnt be there lol

Benchmarx (same kitchens as Wickes but direct)
DIY kitchens

My main advice : plan your own layout, don’t rely on the kitchen company to get it right.

Draw the room out to scale (squared paper is useful) and then draw in a proposed layout. Or you can do this online with ikea or DIY kitchen planner tool. Then imagine yourself doing some daily tasks eg

• make cup of tea
• make a dish you cook often
• lay table
• clear table and load dishwasher
• unload dishwasher
• prep and cook veg

Think through every single step of these tasks and it will soon become clear if there is a major layout issue eg if sink is miles from hob it will cause issues draining pasta/veg, if sink is miles from bin it’s a pain when prepping veg, if crockery is miles from dishwasher then unloading is a pain, is fridge door in the way if you take veg to sink. Etc. If there is a major problem then start again!

There’s always a compromise or two, it’s just a question of which you can live with.

Get quotes after you have planned your layout, that way you are comparing like with like.

Other tips:

• have mostly drawers rather than cabinets, you can fit so much more in
• avoid open shelves except maybe one or two for decorative bits
• use any spare budget for handles and worktop, these are the bits that make a kitchen look expensive (along with a really good fitter, ask locals for recommendations)
• plain doors collect less dust and dirt
• plenty of sockets!
• undercabinet lighting

Work out your budget and then think in terms of half to two thirds, because all sorts of hidden and extra costs will stack up.

Are you the type of person who likes to have everything out and be able to see your stuff? Get lots of open shelves and prioritise counter space. If you prefer to be neat and tidy with the clutter hidden away, get doors all the way to the ceiling. Obviously there’s a lot of room to manoeuvre between the two extremes but it’s important to figure out your inclinations or you could drive yourself demented!

As you are working on a smaller budget, it will help if you keep the plumbing (sink, washing machine, dishwasher) and the cooker in the same places.

Don’t try using the IKEA website on a phone or tablet unless you’re feeling particularly masochistic. It’s pretty useful on a pc or decent laptop though once you get the hang of it (click the drop down commands as the key board shortcuts don’t work and only add/remove in plan view)

That's great advice, thanks so much. Will buy myself some squared paper and start measuring! Thank you all.

Bear in mind the cost of the units is only about half the overall cost. We thought we'd got a 'half price kitchen' in a sale from Wickes but once we'd paid for appliances, installation, flooring, lighting, tiling... well, it mounts up!

wise advice from @minipie on working out what you need, and not trusting kitchen designers!

there are a lot of stupid things sold with kitchens. Avoid the following:

• closed cupboards with rails for teatowels, they won't dry
• aerators on taps; buy Screwfix cheapies, they work better. Rip out any aerators as they just scatter water about (they are sold on the basis of water saving for people too dumb to turn off taps)
• handles that catch clothing or are too small for hands
• fancy internal storage systems that waste loads of space
• over-complex bin systems that mean you have to take lots of containers outside
• excess filler panels; £50 each just to fill spaces. Check the final design to make sure the kitchen seller hasn't sneaked them in.
• worktops that need maintenance (unless you have a wife) or scratch if keys are put down on them

chipboard is chipboard - try to get the installer to seal edges. He probably won't. Guarantees are worthless for kitchen units.

I like some open shelves as it avoids endless use of cupboard doors for things that are frequently needed. You may not of course.

integrated appliances cost more, offer less space, have heavier doors and don't last as long. Go free standing unless you really find the appearance of a fridge offensive, but make sure the design allows enough clearance to get the thing in. A 600mm appliance will not fit in a 600mm space.

ideally you should be able to open any cupboard without closing another first, but in a small kitchen that may not be possible. Think about which cupboards/appliances you will want open at the same time.

drawers are good but they cost more.

Sometimes you don't know what you're missing in a kitchen if you've not had one before! I'd have a look at friends or family members kitchens too to see if there's any ideas you can copy from them - after seeing my friend with one, we got a spice rack pull out cupboard - only 4 inches wide but means they're not collecting dust on the worktop or in the back of a cupboard.

Cupboard handles
Look at the position of the handles - We have them horizontal and centred even on cupboard doors where you might expect to see them vertical and on one side.
This is so that they appear in line with the handles on the drawers and so do not look higgledy-piggledly.

My friend has just ordered a lovely kitchen from b&q and she had a great deal and money off worktops etc xx

It is always worth trying to negotiate the price if you are buying a whole kitchen but the price will double for fitting.

Try and keep plumbing and electrics where they are to save money.

Buy cupboards that go all the way to the ceiling so you dont have dust and grease on the tops.

I personally will never have drawers again as they get bashed about.

Do not have any fancy internal fittings or a towel rail or a wine rack thing or end things.

Integrated appliances cost a lot more than free standing. It’s worthwhile if you’re putting in an expensive kitchen/don’t intend to change the kitchen because you can easily replace appliances when they break down. Free standing appliances vary in size and you can end up having to cut or move things about for the sake of a few mms. Pros and cons to both.

Group things together by function - eg bin, sink, dishwasher, dishes press. If your bin is too far from the sink you’ll always be cleaning your floor!

Place marking for future ref!

Also placemarking.

Just done this. Learned:

1. Wait. So hard right now because you can't see anything (lockdown) and there are odd, sudden delays on things (Brexit).

1. IKEA are currently horrific to deal with. Disorganised, full of people contradicting each other, zero customer support - like you literally cannot call them - incompetent hand-off between store and fitters, and bad delays on many kitchens. Surprised, thought they were model of efficiency.

Found the whole experience kind of grimly commercial and dispiriting. Reminded me of wedding industry. In fact disliked it to the extent that we didn't buy "a kitchen". Bought some units and some worktop and taking it from there.

I've had 2 new kitchens (having previously done a basic upgrade myself with IKEA units). The first was B&Q, and was rubbish compared to IKEA. The second was a small local independent firm which I thought would be extortionate but ended up cheaper than the big store offerings, and far better quality. So do check out small local firms.

Also, to add, it's worth living with an existing kitchen for a while, even if it's crap, just to how get a feel for the space and what works for you. You can also save money by having a core set of units and then adding freestanding extra storage later.

Some useful things

• get more sockets than you think you will need and get some of them as USB sockets as your teenagers will always be charging something!

• IKEA do some clever drawers in the plinths - wish I had some of them!

• love the pan drawers

• went for glass splash backs rather than times as they are really quick to clean

• try out any extractor before you buy it - ours looks great but is very noisy and not very good at extracting!! Wouldn't buy it again.

• think about handles and whether they will catch on other things when you open doors - I have one that pisses me off - it should have been placed horizontally so it would clear the work surface but it was put on vertically instead as the fitter asked me what I wanted and I said "whatever you think works best". Clearly being able to open the cupboard fully was not in his criteria.