New Kitchen Phobia

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Hi all. First Tegan2 I concur about Wren - no experience of their kitchens but a colleague and I both bought free-standing bedroom furniture from them, a series of problems with every aspect of the purchase for both of us!

Back to kitchens; I live in a v small maisonette; galley kitchen is next to living room, which is very dark. Kitchen hasn't been updated since it was built in 1960 so v shabby and all fre--standing and wasting space. What I would really like is to knock a hole/serving hatch between the 2 rooms, to let some of the natural light from the kitchen into the lving room. All units and appliances would need replacing.

My main concern after reading this thread is the cost! I was thinking more along the lines of 5K than 35K! (that's more than my total savings!) Do you think replacing the kitchen, even without doing anything to the wall, would be feasible for that amount?

humptydumpty had my small galley type kitchen redone for only the second time after 35years in the house last year. We went to Ikea and first used their planning tool to decide where to put things. It advised us to only cupboard and unit on one side. Made so much difference. Youngest son fitted it and it came in at less than 1K including the smallest ever dishwasher. Advise anyone to have a look at Ikea and experiment with their planner.

That's great news, trisher - I'm going to look at the Ikea website straight away!

From the sound of it your DH is not renowned for the time he spends in the kitchen cooking. You are the family chief cook and bottle washer.

In that case, you have the kitchen you want, not what your DH wants. If you want drawers, have drawers and so on with every other features.

Over the years we have fitted 5 kitchens and worked closely with DD on a kitchen she fitted. These kitchens have come variously from a local builders merchant, Wickes, B&Q(x2) Magnet, and John Lewis of Hungerford, and there was very little to choose between them for durability and wear.

We are now in the market for a new kitchen again and we are looking at a company called DIY Kitchens www.diy-kitchens.comwho have a huge showroom on the outskirts of Doncaster. There prices compare with Howdens and similar companies. Well worth a visit if you can manage it

We have been there three times, but our new kitchen is dependent on planning consent for an extension, and as our house is listed and we are on our third attempt to find one, that satisfies the Conservation Officer and is within budget. So, I have chosen kitchens three times for three different extentions and hope I will get it one day.

OK
My thinking is have the kitchen you want and to hell with what the builder thinks. Why does he have any say in it anyway.
Obviously you need to consider hubby thoughts but hey who spends most time in the kitchen anyway?
One of the main things is the layout, you need to get that right and only the person who uses the kitchen knows what they need.
Most people now go for the white high gloss drawers (instead of cupboards) DIL and friend have just had this type fitted.
I on the other hand have cream painted doors, all the appliances where I wanted them installed (not what the kitchen designer planned).
I love my kitchen it's the last I'll have, everything is where I wanted it and it works for me.
Best of luck and dig your feet in and get what you want.
If you have the money what is the problem, life can be short enjoy while you're here.

Iluvcruz: Have come to this thread rather late and assume you may have had your kitchen done by now. However, for anyone interested, Burnhill Kitchens in Tonbridge are excellent. Used them 2 years ago and was very impressed with them. They are a well-established family business. Have pmd you.

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I've found many builders will only work with the company they have an agreement with so if your builder likes Howdens you may have to find another builder. I found my Howdens kitchen good quality but did not like their system of giving the prices and design only to the builder and disliked their salesmen who did the design so would not recommend them.
Now I have moved there are several small kitchen design shops in the area so plan to use one of those when redoing my kitchen. They will provide the builder as my experience is that finding a good builder is a nightmare.