Fitted kitchens

[Jux]

I hate them with a passion. Am I the only person who does?

We shall be downsizing sometime in the next 5 years, and I really really want a kitchen with a cooker, sink, maybe a store cupboard/pantry, but that's it.

I have beautiful kitchen furniture, picked up for virtually nothing from marketplace, markets, boot sales etc. I want to be able to arrange (and sometimes re-arrange) my kitchen. I hate thehorrible (and no, I've never seen a nice example) kitchen cupboards etc you get with the fitted stuff. And you can never change your mind about e.g. having a cupboard over there and putting the table here, then the dresser can go there, and the tall ctore cupboard with the meat slab could go in there, and that will be more interesting and work better... blah blahblah.

It's cheaper than moving house, cheaper than putting a new kitchen in, and you have these lovely old freestanding cupboards which are being recycled again and again, and were made really well, and are all on casters so easy to change around, move, easy to repaint; just move them and you can repaint or paper the walls, easy to get at the pipes, electrics etc.

Can I find a smallish house without a fitted kitchen? No. We'd have to break one out before we did anything else. PITA

I totally read that as you hate kitchen fitters and I was a bit confused why whilst I was reading your post.

Ok so you hate them 🤷🏻‍♀️ you're in the minority so most houses will have them but you could sell it to someone else, specially if it's a good one and then have the blank
Space you crave

The reason is that many mortgage lenders view a house without a kitchen as being uninhabitable, so won't lend on it.

It’s not that big a deal to remove the bits of a kitchen you don’t want, surely?

I agree with you. But you do need a couple of fixed points for water/sink and an oven. I am planning to take out the majority of the fitted kitchen in the house we are buying to go free-standing. As someone upthread pointed out you can't get a mortgage on a house without a kitchen as it is not 'habitable'. Just accept you will need to do a strip out.

I think the reason most people like fitted kitchens is pretty obvious. British homes are generally undersized, and (in principle - sometimes the execution is lacking!) building in runs of cupboards maximises storage, minimises wasted space and hides clutter away.

If you don't like it, just buy a house and rip out the kitchen. It's easier and cheaper than putting a new one in, as you say. As long as you avoid paying a premium for a recently done one, you won't pay extra - a fitted kitchen is standard, not something people charge a premium for.

No you are on your own there I'm afraid. I don't like freestanding kitchens.
Try Germany - people take their kitchens with them there.
You won't find houses here that are empty of kitchen for mortgage reasons.

Look for a probate or elderly person moving into care home property - the one next door to us had never had a fitted kitchen in, it was still the same as it was when built in 40s.

Just be aware that they're often small spaces and fitted kitchens do help you maximise the storage you can use. They're also easier to clean as you don't get crumbs falling between units and behind them as it's all sealed.

You'll need to have a couple of fixed points for plumbing for sink, washing machine etc and the same for a cooker. That will limit where you can put cupboards and in a small space there won't be a lot of other options for where to put stuff.

Nearly all houses have fitted kitchens. I've always taken them out when I've bought to put in a new one, sometimes fitted or sometimes unfitted. It's not a big deal. It would be rare to find a kitchen already laid out exactly how you want it.

Depends on the room size and shape! I like kitchen furniture and it should last way better than a fitted kitchen. But....you need enough space to avoid ridiculous-looking sized gaps, enough space that less efficient cupboard & worktop layout doesnt matter, etc.

Considered it for new house, realised unworkable. In old house we had a run of units & worktop, with assorted antiquey dresser, cupboard, etc wherever theyd fit, because it was a wierd shaped room it worked well.

They only need to see a room with a sink and some sort of worktop to sign it off as a kitchen. The requirements are very minimal .

I’ve never seen a freestanding kitchen I like. Usually too bitty, bohemian and quirky for me. I strongly prefer streamlined and easy to clean kitchens. I like familiarity of where things live. I never feel the need to have freestanding bits and bobs of storage. I like my 3.5m granite topped island. I like several ovens and built in equipment. Mostly people seem to have built in.

I like a mix of both. I think you need a couple of solid wood base cabinets to hold the sink and built-in oven but I don't like matching uppers. Then I add a couple of antique dressers and larders for storage, maybe with an old island.

I don't mind fitted cupboards but I want my own white goods. Looking at houses and the phrase "integrated appliances" is the knell of death !

OK, I knew I'd be in the minority, but I have seen I'm not actually alone (waves at IamwhoIsayIam).

Yes, not hard to rip out a fitted kitchen unless you happen to old, frail and disabled like my dh and I. Moving will be hard enough on us without ripping out a kitchen ourselves and disposing of the detritus (also v wasteful). But hey, I expect we can just pay someone to do it for us because we do own a magical money tree, of course, and live in almost-poverty right now - onze reason why we want/have to downsize - and so when we sell and buy smaller we can use up the profit on tasks like that instead of pitting into whatever financial packages we may have to get through until we die. Goody.

Well if you can't afford to do it...?

I guess you need to keep looking then. Good luck

I mean... moving into a house with a kitchen that's not your dream kitchen and waiting to save up for what you want is pretty much how all of us live if it's any consolation

I was going to suggest taking out just a few units and swapping for a freestanding dresser type thing. As someone up thread pointed out you can sell the units and someone might collect them

I like a mixture of both. Fixed sink, space for integrated dishwasher/microwave/fridge etc, stone worktop. But I prefer adding freestanding range cooker, larder, dresser and prep table to having everything built in. I'm not sure I would like to log all that stuff regularly around though and rearrange it, as it ways a tonne and in reality is as much 'fixed' and made to fit a particular space than the built in items.

What an unpleasant reply to those who showed an interest in your question. What did you expect people to say? Give you the exact address of a house with no fitted kitchen that will come up for sale in the next 5 years?

Good Grief!

Well sell your kitchen and get them to dismantle it and take it away?? You see second hand kitchens for sale on local Facebook pages quite regularly around her.

(I’m sure you’ll find something grumpy to reply to this suggestion too!)

Very few people get exactly what they want! It’s not wasteful to remove a 30 year old kitchen that has seen a good life. It is wasteful to rip out a nearly new one. So find a house with an old kitchen. If you cannot afford this, and expect an empty kitchen, that’s a bit of a fantasy!

Oh I'd love to see your kitchen furniture! I love the way you are describing it but haven't seen it in real life. Usually it would be just one display cabinet or a pantry.
Like the sound of it!

This is how I feel. Can't stand freestanding kitchens. They look pieced together with odds and ends and cheap looking, like the owner couldn't afford a 'real' kitchen so are making do with what they can find. Just my opinion, I know others differ. I much prefer a clean, streamlined kitchen without odd gaps. I also despise open shelves as they look messy, cluttered and catch dust.

We’re going to be more freestanding in the next house. The kitchen is going to be moved to a different room and I am hoping to work it around a fireplace.Washing machine will be in a cupboard off it under stairs. I have bought 2 kitchen off marketplace and a cooker so have a selection of units such as larder, breakfast pantry also an island if there is space plus Belfast sink and integrated dishwasher.

The sink will obviously be fixed, the rest played by ear. As said above you can advertise a kitchen and people will come and take it away and there are a couple of companies who specialise in this so any kitchen in a place you buy could be taken away and reused and then you put what you have in.