New kitchen - would it be stupid not to?

[whatevernext]

We have renovated an old house over the past few years and it is almost finished. The only thing left is the kitchen, really. The trouble is, it looks like next year we are going to have to sell up - or perhaps rent out - for work reasons.

We have been desperate to get the kitchen done since the rest of the house is looking lovely. Should we bite the bullet and do it? Or should we leave it and save the cost? I'm thinking buyers would prefer it to be done - it is pretty shabby as it stands but we had to leave it until last for various reasons.

Would it be enough to put new doors onto the cupboards? Unless the layout is currently very bad that would be the cheapest way to make a big difference to the look of the kitchen. You could re-tile the bit between the top and bottom cupboards if it's currently tiled as tile seem to be very specific to a particular date/decade and so date very badly.

It's very dated all round, brown tiles with patterns on. I did buy tile paint and kitchen door paint and it's still an option, but the lay out is pretty poor and there's very little storage. We were going to go for an Ikea kitchen, but professionally fitted, so not a hugely expensive one, but still a lot to spend if the market is going sour, esp after everything we've spent so far!

I think in a rising market it would add value to the house. But in a falling market, while it might not add much/anything to the value, it might make the difference between it selling quite quickly or languishing on the market for months.

Totally agree with bran. My advice would be to do it, but not expensively. I find that once you pay for installation, Ikea kitchens are not necessarily terribly cheap. It may be worth pricing out some other options.

Anyway, what's the chance you won't move!

Sofia - any specific recommendations? We liked the style of the Ikea one and it seemed quite cheap - but open to suggestions. We don't need to replace appliances, only cabinets etc.

Ikea units are very cheap, hardwearing and look good and have some amazing internal storage (my sister has a beautiful Ikea kitchn )and you could get an independent fitter but you would be responsible for any damaged units, returning them etc.

I have done it both ways - had an MFI kitchen and had it fitted by them to the tune of £1200 just for fitting, then refurbished a kitchen, kept the carcasses and replaced the doors ourselves but got a joiner in to do the worktops, sink, tap, hob etc.

If I was having a new kitchen fitted I would get an independent fitter but only because I live 3 mile from Ikea so could get things changed easily if there was a problem

I would say do the kitchen, it can sell a house.

I do like the Ikea cabinets. You just have be careful that you get the fitting costed and included in the price in your mind. It can often be as much as the cabinets themselves. Their countertops are not very nice however. I wouldn't use them. Look for sales on countertops in the paper. Or look on gumtree. I have friends who were desperately trying to figure out how to get a nice countertop onto their ikea kitchen. I was looking on gumtree for interesting building supplies and found someone giving away a granite countertop to anyone who would come and haul it away. It was the perfect size for them and all they needed to do was pay someone a few hundred pounds to cut out for the sink!