Beautiful brand new kitchen...but not to our taste...

[OUB1974]

We are buying a house that is slightly more "done" than we would have hoped for. The majority of it is fairly neutral, but the kitchen is very trendy and dark grey, but not my cup of tea at all! It's nice quality and looks lovely and new and it seems quite wasteful to change it, as well as an unnecessary expense.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to make it more ours without spending a fortune? The doors are all dark grey, and floor pale grey and the splash back black and white patterned. I suppose my taste would be lighter and fresher, whites and pastel blue or turquoise. Possibly a light wood floor.

We did consider replacing just the top doors with lighter ones, would this look ok? I think to replace all of them would be too much.

We saw another house just before this one that had my dream kitchen! But this house is so much more perfect in every other way. I'm worried it's going to feel dark.

Replace all the doors I carcasses are ok?

Difficult to say without a picture. Could you have the doors sprayed/wrapped? Change the flooring and splash back?
What kind of worktops?

Changing the doors would be the quickest and cheapest thing to do.

You can also add a 'feature' colour that would inject a bit more you into it.

You can also change worktops quite easily and cheaply.

Replacing the top unit doors will make a big difference. We are putting in a graphite and white kitchen at the moment. The white units on the wall sort of ‘disappear’ into the back ground. We are coupling the kitchen with wood effect parquet.

I agree kitchen is very much personal taste. The kitchen we moved into was only 2 years old and I just disliked the dark granite worktop and purple splash back

I would move in and live with it for a while and then see how you feel. As you get settled you'll be able to form a clearer picture of what you want and best how to achieve it.

I’d just get the doors painted/sprayed in a colour you like. My friends just did this and the cost was so low compared to replacing the kitchen. It’s easy to change the back splash to something you’d prefer. We immediately ripped out the awful orange splash back and replaced it with tiles we liked. And flooring is usually simple to change, we did it ourselves.

It might seem a waste but don’t keep something you don’t like when it’s low cost and easy to change. Just be pleased it’s a good quality kitchen. And all changes are cosmetic.

You could replace the doors or paint the doors. Do you know where the kitchen came from? Are the doors wood or glossy?

Would changing the colour of the ceiling and walls make a difference?

Change the door handles, ceiling lights, introduce colour via accessories, maybe a mirror or shiny glassware plus some plants?

I’d go for the easiest and cheapest changes to make first and then see how it looks and how you feel about it.

Changing door colours isn’t as simple as it sounds. If the carcasses are the same colour as the doors, it’ll look very odd! An easier solution is to retile the splash backs, perhaps while with a pale grey grout, or patterned.
www.loveproperty.com/gallerylist/70382/kitchen-wall-tiles-ideas-for-every-style-and-budget

I echo the suggestion of living with it for a while. It also helps if the layout doesn't work for you to realise this before you spend money on new doors etc.

If you have the budget for a new kitchen, change it anyway in a year or so. Its ok to do that if you can afford it, even if it is "wasteful".

We bought this house with a new kitchen that wasn't to my taste. 11 years on and we keep having other things to spend money on, but hopefully next year we'll finally change it! (It still looks in good nick though, so it was obviously a good kitchen.)

Get the doors professionally painted or change the tiles and floor?

Don't forget that sometimes added/changing the lighting can make a massive difference.

Tbh I might repaint and change light fittings, and maybe go to the extent of changing the splashback but I wouldn't think any more on it than that.

Is it possible to take it out and sell it second-hand then put in something you'd really like? If you have to put on new doors or wrap them but it's still not right, that's probably a less good use of your money.

I would get rid of the black and white splash back (tiles?) and replace it with a modern glass one - you could have it in one of the fresher light turquoise/blue colurs that you like

There are companies such as this one which do kitchen resprays.

kaleidacoat.co.uk/residential/kitchen-respraying/

Have a look at Onestop refinishers kitchen resprays on facebook

What’s the splash back made of?
Black and white patterned sounds a bit odd with grey. So I’d look to change that for something plainer / more neutral.
You don’t mention the worktop. What’s that currently?

Thank you for the replies. I think we will have to live with it for a while, but I do like the idea of replacing the top doors only if we can, and then maybe some more colourful tiles. I'm sure most people would love it, it just isnt us! Very sleek and trendy. I've tried attaching a photo of something similar, plus one of what the tiles are like (I suppose you'd describe them as Moroccan style but black and white). The walls and worktop are white, which is good, and there is currently no blind, so maybe we can add a bit of colour through that. There is also a breakfast bar, which scares me with our clumsy 4 year old! So we will probably look into everything and cost it up then choose the most change for the least money.

I'm not really sure what my taste is! I like light pastels and pretty colours, but not too much clutter or pattern. I've never really decorated before, but now we've found somewhere we want to stay I'm really keen to have it looking nice. It's such a shame they've put such a lot of effort into it then had to leave (like us they've ended up moving due to the pandemic I think). It has amazing storage though!

If you like pastels and pretty colours, you could send the doors and drawers wrapped in a pale pink colour. This should not cost too much and would leave you with pale grey and pink.

I think this is quite a pretty palate and is mindful of your pocket and the environment.

Could you add handles to the cupboard doors? That could change the look a lot. Plus agree with PP who suggested changing lighting.

Tiles are sort of similar to this...

I think it looks nice. Have you moved in yet?

I’d live with it for a little while. See how the light is, how you use it etc. Then look at changing things as others have said, or selling it on second hand. Better it goes to a person that really loves it and you get what you love too.

If you haven't moved in yet, you may find that once you add your colourful tea towels and accessories, it looks more to your taste.

www.kitchenfaceliftcompany.co.uk/kitchen-cabinet-re-spray.html

This company will wrap or paint to colour match. Farrow and Ball Calamine, would look lovely with the remaining pale grey.