Kitchen ideas

[Malbab]

Hello
We juts moved six months ago, and the house needs some TLC decorating etc, the kitchen is the one which was put in 20 years ago when the house was built, see pics
It is not high end but still in good shape and having used for six months I find it works okay so far except I miss my old induction hob but I ma getting used to gas now. The inbuilt appliances are also 20 years old but seem to be working, I have a big double door fridge in utility room just in case the inbuilt gives up! We changed the microwave only.
The cupboards are plain wood but pleasant enough, the granite worktop is also fine.
My husband keeps dropping hints that we should change the kitchen I am not keen but have been reading the kitchen renovation threads on this forum and come to realise that already I have what I need
For example, my worktop is not white (will stain, show dirt) or black (show dust etc) but inbetwen brown speckled
My cabinets are easy to wipe, not painted that could chip or scratch
My hob, dishwasher are where they should be and working fine
There is plenty of storage, yes I don't have pan drawers but I can still bend and get what I need from lower cupboards thankfully.
The tiles on floor have some cracks but still floor is stable an sit is more cosmetic
The oven is placed in. A handy place with surface next to it to put dishes
Apparently wood is coming back in trend!!
The splashback is stainless steel and easy to clean
There are enough plug points, under cabinet lighting etc
So I am thinking of I change the kitchen I might end up getting one that resembles exactly the one I got!
We can afford to change it if we pool in the savings but I am thinking it may be better spent toward repaying mortgage, my husband thinks if changing kitchen will add value to the house and we can enjoy it for a while but I am not sure
We have painted the walls white and that has massively improved the looks, it is a very light kitchen with plenty of light.
I ma planning to get a standalone ikea kitchen island thing with breakfast bar which is the only thing I feel missing
So what do people think, is this kitchen okay, should we change it or anything else I can do to improve it appearance wise...

When we moved into our previous house we thought we’d change the 15 year old kitchen, we moved out after 12 years and hadn’t touched it. It fitted the space, was in good nick. No reason to. Our buyers replaced it in their first year.

There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to change it if it the layout/ storage works well. You could paint the cabinets and change the handles and that can make a massive difference and make it feel like a new kitchen.

Thanks I seriously considered painting but really scared if the outcome turns out worse than it is... An dyes I have researched about all types or primer and high end furniture paint etc... My friend got theirs painted few years ago professionally and very soon it got peeling, scratching etc they hav enow totally replaced everything, so I am not sure about painting...
I will add a window dressing pelmet like thing and ordered fabric in teal blue, also we painted one wall in deep blue to inject some colour and will add some colourful rug along with the ikea kitchen island...

There's no point ripping out all the units if the layout works and they're in good nick.

I would consider having the doors painted. I know your friend had problems, but someone I know had theirs sprayed and they looked great.

If you're sure you don't want to try painting them, perhaps you could refresh the look by replacing the doors (and end panels, plinths, cornice, pelmet etc. - basically all the stuff you see).

Either way, you could also look into getting new worktops, floor and replacing the tiles - either for new tiles or some other splashbacks.

There's nothing wrong with it - fashions change - in 5-10 years the style will be back in
I'd save your money for now

If you can find an induction hob that fits, it is possible to switch the gas hob for an induction without changing everything else. we did that in our current kitchen.

You make very good points about the kitchen being in good condition and the layout being good. From looking at the photos I totally agree (and it's a million times better than my 20yr old kitchen!).

The only things I think I would change would be the flooring and, if you preferred cooking on it , replacing the gas hob with an induction hob.

The flooring is like our old kitchen flooring - something about the small squares gives a dated look, I think it's all the grouting lines making the space fussy. Bigger floor tiles or LVT or whatever would freshen it up for a lot less cost than a whole new kitchen.

I think your kitchen is lovely 😍 and would love to have a kitchen like that. I think add in the extra bits of colour you mentioned and then see what you think.

Thanks all, I needed to hear it is not all that bad 😂 very useful suggestions, will try to cover the floor with some nice rug and wait for few more years and then decide if want to change

i wish our 1980s kitchen had looked that good when we moved in here it cost a bomb and was hard work to get it to the kitchen i have now

Our kitchen looked very similar (although plus disgusting terracotta tiles) and I painted the cupboard doors with navy frenchic paint, tiles with white tile paint and it’s totally modernised it!

That looks like a pretty good kitchen!

My kitchen was put in by the previous owners - it is now around 15 years old. I replaced the oven around 5 years ago and also the worktop (didn’t have much money, so it’s just laminate). I also covered the floor tiles with laminate as it was all I could afford.

Around 1.5 years ago, I decided to paint the cabinets. Had never attempted anything like that before. It was really easy. The hardest part was choosing the colour. I used Little Greene’s Tom’s Oil paint (and their ASP - All Surface Primer). Their stuff isn’t cheap, but it goes a long way. It definitely doesn’t chip, it’s bombproof - it’s really one of their “outdoor” paint finishes, but I use it inside on doors, frames, skirting etc as it’s so hard-wearing. I did all the painting myself.

Excuse the “before” photos! I haven’t got many on my iPad.

Honestly, if you get the floor and worktop right, then you can change the paint colour whenever you want to give it a whole new look. I may not have a huge kitchen, but I like the change and I’d definitely do it again in the future - would rather use my money on other things than installing a new kitchen.

If you want to cost up re Little Greene paint, I would say you’d need 2.5 litres each of the ASP and the Tom’s Oil.

Thanks Furries th at is pretty amazing transformation 😀

That looks like solid wood in frame, mine may not be so robust...