New kitchen - so many questions

[lettie9]

We're going to get a brand new kitchen in our new house, and I've been looking at options. Aesthetically, I would like a simple shaker kitchen with marble-style worktop.

Some questions:

1. Solid wood vs. composite units - I've only had composite and they seem fine, but is it worthwhile investing in solid wood?

1. Is Magnet's 'Minerva' acrylic worktop any good? It feels and looks like marble. I think. Or go for quartz? I'd like something stain-resistant and low maintenance. I've always had oak and all that treating with oil and worrying about heat and water stains was very tedious.

1. What's a good mid-range kitchen supplier? Magnet? Howden? And is IKEA really so bad?

Thank you!

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba

There was a thread about visualisation a while back.

Some people can see in their mind what you are talking about. Some people can't do it.

So if you said imagine a green apple. Some people can see the green apple in their head. Some people can only imagine the idea but not see it. It was fascinating.

@namcybotwinbloom

I saw something like that on FB last year, with different pictures.
it was fascinating how many people said they are never able to see the red apple with the black background with their minds' eyes. and of course there was the other half who couldn't do anything but!

I wonder if in the first group are all the people who can talk about blood and poo and wee and stuff while eating - because there's no immediate visualisation so there's no clashing of what' they actually see on the plate and what they can see internally.

I may have just invited a new diet.
I'm not squeamish as such, but if anyone starts talking about that sort of stuff I have to stop eating immediately.
So maybe I need someone to gauge when I've eaten enough then talk about nasty things so I stop eating.
I could call it "I want to lose weight so start talking shit"🤣

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba

It's fascinating isn't it. I've just started a new thread about it because I just find it so interesting

That's such a good point though what you have said! I've never thought about that before.

Who knows? I wonder if anyone had ever studied that it would be great to read what they had found.

But for me. I can usually block it from my mind. I mean if someone starts talking about it when eating I just block them out and o block out what I can see in my mind.

I had an appointment with magnet but then never heard from them again. I went with Wren in the end and have been very impressed so far. My friend has a lovely wren kitchen. I cancelled my appointment with Howdens as nothing in the brochure had a price on.

ooh tag me please!

I've got my own fitter and he said wren were good.

If you can afford it I would definitely go for wood over composite. We had painted composite in our last house and whilst I loved the look of it it did start to chip and the quality of the insides wasn’t anywhere near as good. A few years ago we moved house and inherited a solid wood kitchen which we have just had painted and it looks absolutely fantastic. Especially if you’re planning on staying in the house for a while you can change the look of wood. I also love a shared kitchen and in a period house I don’t think anything looks nicer. Paragraph I have heard that the IKEA kitchen planning service is very good but some mixed feed about the actual kitchens so you could get them to plan it and then perhaps go somewhere else. Other things which I would definitely choose if I was designing my own kitchen would be ovens in a sort of pillar formation so you don’t have to scrabble around on the floor to look inside them, a boiling water tap, two dishwashers and a cupboard where you can shut the breakfast stuff (toaster, coffee machine et cetera) away. Also no cupboards underneath the units just pan drawers.

Oh and I would go for a wooden worktop for an island, with marble or something else around the sink/ dishwasher areas.

Can I now ask about cost please. I've just had a discussion over cost with a friend and was shocked at the price they mentioned vs. what I had in mind.

So say a 12 unit kitchen, plus appliances (range cooker, fridge, dishwasher). Solid wood units. Quartz top. Wren (or similar mid range). Plus installation. London.

Go on, tell me how terrifyingly much, I'm braced.