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Original poster

Help me oh wise ones with kitchen choice!

45 replies

navyeyelasH · 11/04/2009 18:55

I'm feeling extremely fed up with kitchen shopping and I never thought I'd say that! We have visited all the usual suspects and also some local independents.

The problem is that I can't decide to go for a contemporary kitchen or a traditional kitchen. Money is tight so we will be doing the trick of buying cheap units, but ££ taps and £££££ work surfaces. We are first time buyers so will not be staying in this house forever but at least 6 years and we wouldn't want to have to re-do the kitchen IYSWIM.

So, do we go for a shaker style for eg something like this but with wood work surface all over and more contemporary handles or do we go with much more contemporary like for eg this, or this.

I'm worried that the more contemporary ones will alienate potential buyers, but as that is so far in the future should I just say to hell with it it's our kitchen for the next 6 or more years!

We will be having american oak Karndean on the floor and the kitchen is quite narrow so it must be quite bright to make it feel bigger. We will be knocking through into the dining room to have it more open plan with breakfast bar.

If we go for a shaker solid wood work surfaces seem to be cheaper than concrete etc. Also wooden work surafces would be easy for DP to fit as he knows what he is doing with wood. And also I don't really like the flecky-ness of granite/marbles/quartz etc so need to find a work surface without flecks if such a thing exists!?

This is driving me mad now any help v v v much appreciated! I wish I could do the contemporary thing with wooden work surfaces but I just can't see it working?

OP posts:
mrsmaidamess · 11/04/2009 19:01

Well... I like traditional styling, with a modern twist. So I don't like those very modern kitchens you linked to. My kitchen is based on this range

Long House but I have funky tea towels, a zinc topped side unit from a different shop, a more ecclectic mix. Our cheap units were from MFI (R.I.P).

The fabrics you use in any blinds or curtains can modernise a plain kitchen.

cece · 11/04/2009 19:08

If you are going to live with it for 6 years then I would go for something you like.

We are redoing our kitchen once the extension is finished. I am looking at [[http://www.supplyonlykitchen.co.uk/cabinet%20pages/avantivory.html this] one. I think contemporary so much nicer than shaker personally.

TBH whatever you choose some potential buyers will like and some won't IMO. So go for what you like!

cece · 11/04/2009 19:08

whoops

janeite · 11/04/2009 19:08

I'd say go for traditional then funk it up with accessories and furniture.

mrsmaidamess · 11/04/2009 19:09

Those glossy units are a mare to keep clean aren't they?

cece · 11/04/2009 19:11

I would think they are easier to clean as the doors are flat. No little nooks and crannies to collect dirt...

brimfull · 11/04/2009 19:12

If you were moving out in a few yrs I would say go traditional to please more buyers but 6 yrs,I think you should get the one uyou love.
Wood is lovely if you are fastidoius enough to keep it dry and looking good.

mrsmaidamess · 11/04/2009 19:12

It's the greasy fingerprint smudges I was thinking of. My kids can't walk past a flat surface without rubbing their mitts all over it.

cece · 11/04/2009 19:15

I agree I have read wooden worktops require quite a lot of maintenance. I think we are going for granite or corian or quartzstone of some sort (if we have the budget for it!)

Original poster
navyeyelasH · 11/04/2009 19:22

Gah! I like both of those links!

Is there a way to get colour on a wall but still use white units and and wood surafces do you think?

The problem is, although white gloss units and wooden surfaces are probably the best mix of traditional and contemporary - white gloss is twice the price!

For eg, ikea kitchens which at the mo we are thinking of going for, a basic 30cm base unit costs:

Applad - plain white no detailing = £21.53
Adel - plain white with some rectangle detailing = £31.23
Abstrakt - white with high gloss finish = £41.11

My fear is if we go with the cheapest, applad, the units seem more suited to granite etc work surfaces and have more of a contemporary feel. Then the Adel seems more traditional and like it would only work with wooden work surfaces!? Then the abstrakt costs twice as much as the Adel.

Am I over complicating this do you think? Could we go with the applad, get a wooden work surface and somehow have a coloured splash back, although what bloody colour would go!? The wooden work surface I like is this one, in oak (scroll down a little)

OP posts:
Original poster
navyeyelasH · 11/04/2009 19:28

DP is a joiner so the wood would be kept in good condition. Plus we don't intend to use the sink often (dishwasher!) and wont be having a normal draining board, I really dislike them after 7 years living in shared housing... they are always really dirty no matter how often you rinse [boak]!

We have no children (I work as nanny hence me being here, not some crazy mummy stalker/jurno/troll etc) yet but will be thinking of them at some point in the future. So at the mo, finger marks are not an issue - but we were worried about scratches with high gloss and the cost.

We are 25 and 27 and I would say we are quite contemporary with our tastes although the contemporary kitchen I linked to in OP are a bit more "sterile" than our tastes if that makes any sense?

OP posts:
Original poster
navyeyelasH · 11/04/2009 19:29

Thanks for the help by the way ladies, MN is a godsend!

OP posts:
cece · 11/04/2009 19:31

The oak is nice and if you click on it they have a picture of it with high gloss black units. Looks very nice.

I think wood with high gloss would look good.

The gloss one looks more expensive (perhaps because it is! LOL)

cece · 11/04/2009 19:33

I would go with upstands with the worktop and then paint the walls a lovely colour. Or maybe have plainish walls with coloured accessories...

sazzerbear · 11/04/2009 19:34

Personally, I would be wary of say a high gloss kitchen - may date quite quickly and not take wear and tear v well?

mrsmaidamess · 11/04/2009 19:34

I have no draining board either! I love it, altho most folk think I'm nuts. I bought flat sheets cut to size of stainless steel as splashbacks behind my sink and cooker. My oak work top has a tiny 'upstand' that runs the length of the work top (apart from the bit where th chippy cut it too short and thats hidden behind the bread bin!

B&Q do really funky splashbacks in acrylic which would add colour.

cece · 11/04/2009 19:42

But my point is whatever style you go for will date. So go for what you like.

Original poster
navyeyelasH · 11/04/2009 19:46

sazzerbear, that is also my worry with high gloss they do seem to be all the rage.... at the minute, who knows in 5/6 years time? Also they are mostly curved, which mreninds me of a submarine (!) and getting them with squared corners is a bit of a mission.

cece, the black high gloss is stunning I really love it, but the kitchen is quite small and only has one window so I think that dark colours are out of the question. Also I think black would show finger smudges more easily than white and if it were to get scratched it looks much much worse in black. A magnet display kitchen in black gloss had a really big scratch in it, I'm quite clumsy so if anyone was going to scratch it, I would!

I just googled upstands, didn't know they existed! Do you not think they would look too much with the wood worktop? I'm the sort of person that needs to see these things in the flesh as am not very creative.

What sort of colour could you add to a kitchen with white units and oak worktops? In my head shaker style kitchen = cream/beige/white walls and I just can't get past that, As I said not very visual at all. I love that green, but with oak?!

Mrsmaidamess, thanks for the B&Q tip will have a look there for inspiration - we will be having stainless steel appliances so in theory a stainless steel splash back should work. What do you have instead of a draining board? We are thinking either a double sink (one big one small, put a utensil holder in the small sink for cutlery we may have rinsed off etc) or those indentation thingys in the wood IYKWIM?

OP posts:
noddyholder · 11/04/2009 20:14

I have some ikea units mixed with freestabding.All white with oak tops and chilli red big brick tiles.I have a huge indian mirror covering half of one wall and it really opens it up.Don't worry about resale anymore!Its your home esp for 6 yrs.We have a dark grey ceramic floor and there are floor to ceiling units in the dining bit so don't have any in the kitchen only open shelves and a plate rack.integrated appliances help it feel spacious too.Good luck I love doing kitchens.We had the chimneys swept and its lovely esp at xmas I would say get the storage sorted and then treat it like a room

noddyholder · 11/04/2009 20:15

def no high gloss fashion but won't last

mrsmaidamess · 11/04/2009 20:18

I have nothing in lieu of a draining board! We have a dishwasher right next to the sink, so any odd bits of washing up can be dried straight away.

blithedance · 11/04/2009 20:25

We had a lovely kitchen installed in our previous house in 2000, handpainted,etc. By 2004 it was in the skip as the buyer ripped it out to replace to her own taste. So I would definitely go for what you like best! You may be the only ones who enjoy it.

muffle · 11/04/2009 20:30

I think real wood is better, it lasts and looks good even if it gets knocked or marked, and if it's really badly stained you can just sand and re-oil. We considered high-gloss cream stuff for the doors, but we saw that even in showrooms it eventually starts to fade and peel - plus it shows up a lot of fingerprints and dust.

Now we have ikea wood worktop, real wood cupboard doors and drawer fronts - pale wood so it feels bright, and contemporary very plain steel handles. I really love it and although all wood it does look modern, because it's a very plain and clean style.

lalalonglegs · 11/04/2009 20:44

noddy - I absolutely agree with integrated appliances and open shelves but I have to take issue with your high gloss prejudices. I've had gloss kitchens since my first flat 11 years ago and they look great (especially in small spaces) and show no signs of going out of fashion. To be honest I don't think it's a particular unit material that dates a kitchen but colours, handles and worktops etc (I would never suggest someone got a black granite counter or a Smeg fridge because, to me, those are very 2005 now).

navy - my kitchen is ridiculously small with one window but I have dark red, high gloss units with integrated appliances and it looks great (my friend is sitting next to me nodding obediently). If you like something, don't worry about resale or fashion, just buy it because you like it. We also have a double sink and no draining board and a plate rack over the sink for odds and ends plus a d/w opposite - our kitchen really is miniscule - to stick 99% of the stuff that needs doing.

cece · 11/04/2009 21:07

I agree. My current kitchen, that was in the house when we moved in, has high gloss white wall units and high gloss white shaker style base units. (don't ask!) They look fine but it is falling apart due to old age - think it is about 20 years old.

TBH if I moved into a house with a more 'tradtional' kitchen then I would probably change it anyway to what I like. So don't give it another thought. Go for what you like!

If I were to go for wood I would probably go for something like this or this is nice too

Have you looked in Wickes. I like Inverness on page 7 of the brochure.