Is anyone else’s kitchen older than ours?

You might be pleasantly surprised with a new lay out Witzend as often these kitchen planners can come up with good ideas that you hadn’t considered. I know what I would do if I could have a new kitchen (impossible but nice to dream) and mines tiny . I do have the saving grace of a large walk in larder that many of my neighbours have knocked out but I love mine . If I were you and I could afford it I’d say go for it , the upheaval will only be temporary and the shiny new kitchen will bring you so much joy

So keep the unit carcasses and change just the doors? And how's the flooring looking?

My answer is the same as Alishka`s.
It`s what we are thinking of doing too as this kitchen is over 30 years old,but in reasonable condition.

Mine was installed in 1990 when house built. It's small but fully functional but definitely battered around the edges. Two years ago I had a choice. I could do up the kitchen or go on the holiday I've always dreamed of Canada, New England in the Fall and five days in New York. I dont think there has been a day since when I havent had a wonderful memory from that holiday! I certainly wouldn't have the same experience now or in the near future. The kitchen? Still rather sad looking but from the experience of friends even if I decided to sell my house most people replace kitchen any way?

I'm not sure when, but it was well before 1983, because that was the year my my father-in-law died. He had been there a few years earlier, helping us with a spot of decorating, and had cleaned paintbrushes in the sparkling new stainless steel sink - leaving spots and smears of paint on it!

My DH had installed the new kitchen, removing old tiles, replastering, rewiring, changing plumbing so that the sink could go in a different place, fixing new tiles, decorating - the whole job. I was in my normal status as chief sidekick, tool finder and cleaner-upper. It took a while to complete. At the time we had two children in primary school and one at secondary, with all the cooking and washing that entails.

We had planned the positioning of everything ourselves and ended up with exactly what we wanted, where we wanted it. It is still pretty good and will last me out. Sometime I shall revarnish the solid wood doors as the edges are a bit worn, but the rest is fine. We chose simple pale maple units and doors which weren't the then popular dark oak with heavy figuring, so it hasn't gone out of fashion.

I was very impressed with the resprayed kitchen that one of my friends had done just before lockdown. Her kitchen was in basic good condition but it looked dark and dated. So she had the whole thing vinyl sprayed in a light creamy white, new sink and taps and new door and drawer handles and it looks brand new, modern and stylish. With no faffing about emptying cupboards and drawers.

I have a kitchen installed over 30 years ago. It is a traditional country style kitchen with oak doors and worktops. The great thing about this type of kitchen is it is ageless. You can still see identical kitchens for sale in showrooms. Modern kitchen styles become dated within a few years but the traditional style continues to look good in perpetuity.

Mine was here when we moved in 22 yrs ago it was well used probably 10+ yrs old, it still perfectly functional we did paint the beige doors cream and I have thought about renewing it but there really isn’t much scope to move things around as it has french doors and a door to the living room so things would have to go back pretty much the same so I didn’t see the point. I intend on moving in the next few years so I’m not wasting money on it, I’ll leave that to new owners.

Six months ago we got new off white doors and drawer fronts together with top and bottom trimmings. We kept the almost new door handles and the sink and worktops which were still in excellent condition. It was completed by one man in one morning. No hassle at all.
Like a new kitchen and highly recommended. I used a local company that specialised in this.

We had a new kitchen installed 21 years ago and I’m still happy with it, even though I know if we put the house in the market, it would be described as ‘some updating required’.
There’s room for a table but not a sofa, TV and all the other stuff people seem to want in their kitchen these days. I’ve thought about possibly having the units repainted but that’s all.

What’s important to me in a kitchen is that it works, and mine does. Things are to hand and I don’t have to make annoying trips to get something, or contort myself to get anything which I use frequently out of an inconvenient cupboard.

I do sometimes wonder how my mum managed, with just a cooker, a sink, a draining board, a kitchen cabinet and no fridge. Everything perishable was kept in the pantry under the stairs.

Early 70s Schreiber and not a thing wrong with it

We moved into our house 21 years ago and had planned to have a new kitchen ‘sometime’. It looks like it was installed in 1970s and still not much wrong with it. Would love an extractor fan and a dishwasher though! May get around to it ‘sometime....

Mine was installed in 1973 and served us well until 2007. Still used the original Tricity Double oven built in cooker even though the thermostat died years earlier.
We had it all replaced in 2007 by a posh local company and had problems from the start...too many to list here.
I plan to have the cupboard doors and drawer fronts replaced soon but that's all. I couldn't face the upheaval of starting from scratch.

My fathers kitchen was updated in 1955, when they put mains water and drainage in the house, a sink unit, a solid fuel Rayburn to heat the water, along with a free standing fridge and electric cooker which were replaced when they broke, other storage was in the pantry.

The house was rented, the landlord wouldn’t improve it and dad wasn’t going to spend money on the landlords property, even though he could well afford it. I know a few others like that too, one or two worse, LOL.

We visited a local museum where they had a post war prefab on display that was much nicer

We bought our house as a new build in 2005. I got Kitchen Magic to quite for new doors, drawer fronts, pelmets, points etc. £5,311
You could get a new kitchen for that!

In the end a few of tins of specialist cupboard paint, a couple of new doors, bit of work by the wonderful Ian (mentioned in other threads) and my kitchen had a brilliant facelift for less than £2k.

Yes, lol - absolutely- I don't care. It's huge and cosy and light with direct access to garden with big wood burner. Rest is not important.

Witzend ditto your post apart from the fact that my cupboards are older still. Everything else was changed some years ago.
I should never have compromised.

Yes, we all would like an Ian

even if I decided to sell my house most people replace kitchen any way
Yes, that's the advice I've been given.

However, I would still change it all if I could go out one morning and find it magically transformed when I came home again.

Our house was part of a small estate of 20 houses built in the 1960s it had many “modern” Features - built in fridge, American double oven in the wall, angular kitchen units in ply with blue fronts, some with glass doors, and finger holes for handles, high shelving, grey Formica worktops. The last kitchen which was original was taken out a couple of years ago and sold to another resident who has restored it- it looks sleek and retro. Many of us are now choosing to go back to the original colours and style.

My friend is on the brink of taking out her late 1960s kitchen.... Her daughter is distraught!

When we moved into our previous home in 1981 the kitchen had been there since the house was built in 1933. We did some painting of doors and lining of cupboards and lived with it for another 9 years before putting in a new one.

I'd love a new kitchen and bathroom. Both were here when we move in 2000. The bathroom we are talking about, but sadly not the kitchen.
The whole thing could do with a makeover, its cream coloured and the doors and drawer fronts are sort of panelled and fidly to clean.
I'd love smooth straight lines, but we can't do both, so I'll just have to live with it a bit longer.