how often to you renew your kitchen?

A fitted kitchen is never really that, so sometimes free-standing would be better. There are areas behind the fitted units, not to mention under them, which are quite awful and make you wonder why you bother to wipe the fronts and tops at all - all those germs and spiders lurking out of sight!

Then there is the problem of the fridge drip tray which was recently discussed - inaccessible in a fitted kitchen.

Dylis that has always been my ambition - a 'non fitted' kitchen, with a table in the centre to work on, a huge dresser - they seem to hold everything - and some open shelves for saucepans. I envisage wood panelling on the lower walls, in a shade of sage, with lots of bright splashes of colour, and flowers in jugs. Will I ever do this? The house we moved into some years ago had a brand new kitchen which is easy on the eye and well designed - so probably not.

Moved a few months ago, Kitchen is 20+ years. Since had a drawer front and door drop off successfully glued/screwed back on. No intention of changing them.

Had my kitchen in my old house 30 years wasn't what I wanted but what we could afford. When I moved to my bungalow 2019 finally had my dream kitchen and it's bliss.

Chewbacca

^Granite Transformations' where they put the new recycled granite on top of the existing^ surface.

mumski my next door neighbours have just had this done this week and it looks fab. Their original worktop was a rather ugly pinky/brown speckled laminate and they've had a white sparkly granite overlay put on; new taps, new cupboard and drawer handles and it looks like a completely different kitchen. The work was done in less than a day and they're delighted with it.

*Chewbacca*. Thank you for the reassurance that it looks good. I have cream base units so (after much faffing) have gone black with twinkly bits. Hopefully going to be much better than the worn out ones at present,

Callistemon21

Mine's ancient but solid wood. We changed the tiles, sink, oven, worktops and floor about 12 years ago

I'd really like some of those large drawers instead of having to scrabble around at the back of cupboards and need new worktops but I don't know if I can face the upheaval of a new kitchen.

When our kitchen was at the planning stage (back in the dark ages!) I was told by the (male) designer that I would ‘rue the day’ if I didn’t have any ordinary base cupboards. I had specified deep drawers and a pull out larder wherever possible in a not-very-big kitchen - (sole exceptions were a corner cupboard, no other option then, and one specifically for a swing-out waste bin.)

To my extreme annoyance, dh sided with the designer! Needless to say I told them both to get stuffed (metaphorically speaking) and have never ‘rued’ my decisions at all.

We have been in our home for 34 years, in that time we have had two new kitchens. Ripping everything out both times, last time was 12 years ago and cost a flipping fortune.

We are now waiting to hear from our structural engineer and builders as to whether or not the kitchen will have to go when the much needed structural work commences. I will be upset if it has to be replaced as it is still like new and I really really like it.

I would love a new kitchen.
I need one, in fact.
My cupboards are awful, all leaning on eachother to stay upright.
I have to shut them in a particular order to get them in place.
All horrible pipes on show, and holes gouged out around them.
I did think about painting the pipes copper - industrial look.

Mine's ancient but solid wood. We changed the tiles, sink, oven, worktops and floor about 12 years ago

I'd really like some of those large drawers instead of having to scrabble around at the back of cupboards and need new worktops but I don't know if I can face the upheaval of a new kitchen.

There are companies now who paint kitchen cupboards.
I think my doors have been ruined by my thorough sticking job, though.
They are chipboard with an overlay, which started to curl and peel.

Dd and SiL painted some horrible old dark brown melamine kitchen cupboard doors with pale cream cupboard paint. The transformation was astonishing.

I don’t know how long it would have lasted, but was fine for 2 years - before the small kitchen was ripped out anyway for their extension.

The one I had looked exactly like knotty, weathered pine, and it was textured, too.
£10 a roll, and the roll did my kitchen.
If I buy it again, with my floor now grey, I should get the effect i wanted 15 years ago!

Thanks MissAdventure I’m off to look at wallpaper!

I think but I could be mistaken that Shandy recently gave her kitchen cupboards a facelift with Frenchic paint and followed a tutorial on YouTube.

They've had all sorts done to them since then, Oops..
They were red for a while, but them the overlay started to peel, so they had some wallpaper put on them and varnished (which looked brilliant!)
Then I changed the floor colour so the wallpaper didnt really go, so I've colour washed it with white.
Now I've changed the floor again so am thinking of going back to the wallpaper idea.

Missadventure buy some nice paint and paint the doors, we did that when we first moved in here as we had a lot of other things to do before we got to the kitchen, looked really good, I’m sure there is better paint these days that will withstand the use of a kitchen.

I had a new kitchen 25 years after moving into my present house.

We moved into my mum and dads house my childhood home. The kitchen is over 35yrs old and its solid as a rock.

I have thought about replacing the cupboard doors and drawers, but only for a change, certainly not because they chipped etc the working top is as solid as a rock too.

I had new doors and work surfaces put in about 15 years ago.
Fairly reasonable, except that the minute the sweet man struggled to fetch them in, I knew he had mistakenly made the oak, instead of light oak.
I didnt like to upset him, but I hated the kitchen with a passion.
Grey work surfaces with really dark wooden doors.
Just miserable looking.

My kitchen was in when we moved here but it was quite new at the time and we decided not to change it so about 8 yrs old.
However if I do get bored with it I will change the colour of the small appliances,I have had 3 kettles/3 toasters/2 pedal bins all in bright colours.

Moved in here just over 23 years ago, we had a new kitchen in December 2020, it’ll be the last.

My kitchen was new when I moved in 15 years ago and still looks as though it has many years left in it. I don't replace things unless I have to.

Our kitchen is 15 years old and still looks great. Changing a kitchen every 5 years does sound unsustainable, which is something that we surely need to consider.

Could never understand the kitchen thing in Germany Jacky. Empty room with a hole in the wall is just about right.
It would be a miracle if one kitchen fits the space in another. You were lucky. Maybe freestanding might work but the kitchens in Germany I have seen are all fitted.
The first time I saw an built in dishwasher was in Germany over 45 years ago. I had no idea it was hiding behind a cupboard. took us a few years until we got one but it wasnt fitted until we got our new kitchen 5 or 6 years ago.
My dd left her very nice fitted kitchen and the new tenants (refugees) were delighted.

Three new kitchens in 40 years, but two were put into house extensions and the third into a tiny, badly designed galley kitchen. Current one was put in 22 years ago and I have no intention of changing it.