Redecorating the kitchen in our property (to let)

[2010aQuintessentialOdyssey]

We have to redecorate the kitchen in the property we are currently letting.

Can you please help me find fab kitchens? (on a budget)

I was thinking about just sanding the doors and having them painted in a shaker style colour, as the units lend them selves well to this.

I was thinking slate tiles on the floor. Cream coloured units, and pale yellow painted walls. Does that sound ok?

I want a kitchen with a bit of a "wow factor" but cheap.

Have you looked at Ikea kitchens? Friend has just had hers re-done (for letting out) and it was about £1500 (no new appliances) !

get a local kitchen fitter and choose a decent kitchen, Ikea, Wickes or Howdens are all good prices. The only problem with Ikea kitchens is because they are not UK design they dont have the cavity at the back for plumbing etc and fitters find it a PITA but that is minor in the scheme of things.

Thanks, I just designed a kitchen in the kitchen planner, and in nexus birch, it comes out at 1200 (without appliances) and I guess that is not so bad....

Painted cupboards are lovely but probably won't last well in a rental property - and it's a real pain sanding, priming, painting and sealing them (and costs a fortune in paint!). If you're looking for a shaker style, B&Q do one called 'Ivory Classic' and you can buy the doors and drawer fronts on their own. A standard 60cm base unit door is only 14.50 (MN won't let me do pound signs today for some reason!), and if you don't need to change the cabinets, it'll cut down on a lot of the cost and hassle. If you do decide to change the cabinets, the Ikea Adel kitchen is the same style, but works out cheaper (and there's a bigger range of units to choose from). Regardless of where you get the doors, Ikea is the cheapest for handles and they have a wide range.

The good thing about the shaker style doors is that they can be traditional or modern - you can team them with stainless steel handles, a black glossy worktop and a slate/black floor for a more modern look, or wooden handles, a wooden worktop and terracotta floor tiles for a traditional country style kitchen - or a mix of both. I saw some lovely terracotta effect floor tiles in Wickes a while ago (think they were about 15 pounds a meter) and they looked like the real thing because they had a matt finish and were different tones - unless you got down on your knees to examine them you wouldn't realise they were actually ceramic (which is better IMO as they're easier to clean). I think they'd look lovely with the shaker style units and yellow walls you have in mind. They also do some slate effect ones for about 20 pounds a meter which look quite realistic (I'm presuming you'll go for ceramic over real slate because it can be very expensive to lay - we did it in one of our old houses and the adhesive and sealant cost more than the tiles!). For your paint, Farrow & Ball do a gorgeous colour called Lancaster Yellow which my friend used in her kitchen, it's a lovely buttery yellow. Bit pricey though if you've got a large area to cover.

Actually I disagree - painted units can be durable providing you use a good quality paint (and the doors are solid wood) When we moved in here we inherited some newish but orangey pine units. I painted them with F&B oil based eggshell after a very perfunctionary light sanding and they were still almost perfect 8 years later.

If the units are good quality to start with they will probably be more robust than new cheap ones. I have the Ikea Adel ones now and they are showing signs of wear & tear after only a couple of years...