how often to you renew your kitchen?

I am of the "if you can live with it then live with it" brigade. I am not a slave to fashion and if it does the job I don't care what others think.

I'd say 20 years.

Moved in here 47 years ago. Replaced existing gas cooker with electric and simply papered and painted the rest. Had a facelift a year ago to make life easier with accessible drawers rather than cupboards. Inexpensive and works for me. Have to confess I don't spend much time in it!

Ours is over 30 years old and frankly getting somewhat the worse for wear. There is a bad burn mark on the upstand behind the gas hob, caused when I first used a new, large sauté pan and didn’t realise that the straight side was touching it.

I now keep that sauté pan more or less permanently on that back hob, to hide the damage. ?

But the kitchen still functions fine, in that it produces meals, so I really CBA with all the monumental hassle of replacing it. We will have to eventually, when either the combi microwave or the big oven - both built in - finally give up the ghost. A combi (and I use it a lot) is apparently no longer available in that smaller size, to fit the tall unit.

Why anyone feels the need to replace a kitchen every 5 years I will never understand. So obscenely wasteful!

When you move into a new house (whether bought or rented) in Germany, the kitchen is usually an empty room with a hole in the wall.

We bought our first kitchen in 1983 for the flat we lived in at the time and brought it with us when we moved to our house in 1987. Fortunately the two kitchens were similar in size and layout.

The company I worked for was taken over in 2000 and I opted to leave and with the very generous severance payout I bought a new kitchen with a lighter decor. It's still going fine, only had to replace the dishwasher.

Interesting to read about the black trend. Our original design for this kitchen was anthracite (practically black) but we decided it was too oppressive and replaced some of the doors with the beech colour scheme from the counter.

Like coastpath I've moved a lot and only ever replaced one kitchen (2 years ago). It had been in the house since the 80s and I've been here 20+ years - but enlarging the kitchen meant I had to do something

Every five years seems quite over the top, having a kitchen fitted is incredibly expensive and disruptive, it's not always about the cost of the actual units, although they can be costly, from what I remember the main expense is for the work involved that goes into ripping the original kitchen out and fitting the new one, sometimes a whole host of people are involved, plasterers, electricians, plumbers. We had a silestone work surface and I seem to remember some template being made for that before it was fitted. All in all it was a palaver, I can't imagine having such major work done every 5 years which seems like a nano second in the great scheme of things. I don't think in any case if it's a question of being on trend, kitchens don't really date that quickly.

I've lived here for 13 years and have never renewed the kitchen. Nor have I felt the need to do so. But I did paint the cupboard doors a few years ago. And I covered the ugly work tops with sticky backed plastic.

We have lived in our current house fir 32 years and our First new kitchen was then as there wasnt one in the house. This was replaced about 6 years ago and its still the new kitchen as far as I am concerned.. Will be the last too....
Our first 22 years we kept the kitchen in situ. It didnt even cross our minds to change just for the sake of it. They did the job and thats all that was required.
We lived frugally and had no house-barrassment. Honestly how ridiculous are those silly tv adverts.

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.

Dylis

I have toyed with having a free standing kitchen which was probably first kitchen in my house, small terrace built in 1914. A couple of wooden dressers, cupboards with curtains and a butler sink. Probably not very practical though.

I love that look. If you do this Dylis please show us photos and let us know how practical it is.

If anyone is watching Scotlands House of The Year are you amazed by popular all black kitchens are? It must be so gloomy to work and eat in them.

Had a new kitchen fitted when we moved here 20 years ago. I have no intention of changing it any time soon. Having said that though,the appliances are wearing out. The grill in my double oven burned out, and the fridge isn't doing a good job at keeping itself regulated. I am going to replace these sometime this year, but I'm certainly not having a full refit.

New build 30 years ago. Replaced kitchen 5/6 years ago, but the worksurfaces haven't survived well. Having those replaced in a couple of weeks with 'Granite Transformations' where they put the new recycled granite on top of the existing surface. Has anyone had this done? Was it what you hoped?

We had to have a new kitchen when we moved in 23 years ago, some parts are showing signs of fatigue ( like me) so this year the plan is that we get the worktops professionally sanded down and oiled, new taps as I only have one tap that won’t turn off properly and one tap that won’t turn on.
The cupboards by the side of the oven are starting to come away (heat from cooker I suspect) , so something has to be done, but I’m nowhere near thinking of a whole new kitchen.

However, if we knocked the dining room wall down and had a large kitchen diner, then not only would I get a new kitchen but I would have to block up doorways, remove windows, move other windows and the very thought exhausts me , so I think I’ll leave it as is.

We moved into this house 34 years ago and it still had its original 1950s joiner made kitchen, shabby and awkward. We made do with it as we were strapped for cash but I always knew exactly how I wanted it to be. Finally, 10 years ago I got the kitchen of my dreams, traditional, beautifully designed and built and I absolutely love it. It will never be replaced in my lifetime.

I have toyed with having a free standing kitchen which was probably first kitchen in my house, small terrace built in 1914. A couple of wooden dressers, cupboards with curtains and a butler sink. Probably not very practical though.

We inherited an awful, falling to bits kitchen when we bought this house so had a new kitchen around 20 years ago, I think it still looks fine and no thoughts on replacing it.

We lived with the kitchen units and layout we inherited for many years. The one we had installed is about 9 years old, and won’t be replaced anytime soon, ?. If we decide it needs a freshen up at some point, we’ll probably just change the cabinet doors and drawer covers, as the work top and new layout is fine for us.

Moved in 32 years ago. So original kitchen and x2 New ones since then.

MOved here (a new build) 29 years ago - replaced the kitchen 15 years ago, as the units were damaged. Looked at repair first, but wanted to move things around.

Ours was done five years ago after a house fire. I'm nowhere near thinking about changing it.
The only thing that does need replacing is the kitchen sink tap, the brushed steel coating has blistered; annoying as it wasn't cheap.

I've moved house 13 times and have only ever replaced one kitchen completely. All the other kitchens have been cleaned like BillyO, tiles replaced, everything painted and things like flooring, light fittings, taps, handles etc changed where necessary. It's amazing how nice and new you can make an old kitchen look without spending very much money at all.

A complete new kitchen every 5 years seems terribly wasteful. Also, imagine the upheaval!!

At the age of 80 years I am due to have my FIRST EVER brand new, to my design, kitchen installed.

In the past I have always coped, with some tweeks, with the kitchen I have inherited in whatever propery I was living in.

As it is has already taken me close on a year, of looking at units, etc. planning, and organising getting it done, and know that it will be two weeks of total disruption, I cannot imagine anyone wanting to do it every five years. Does, she donate her existing kitchen units etc. to other people???

One of my daughters had her kitchen done (with considerable re-building), very cheaply about fifteen years ago. Took three months of disruption. She is now planning to have it completely re-done in a few months time, more expensively and taking far less time.

Ours must be about 40 years, since we replaced the previous owner's. Added a good solid worktop few years ago and on our third cooker. Few coats of paint on units and it works well for us.

Two replacements in 40 years

So far in my life: never. If it works as a kitchen I don't see any need to change it, even if it wasn't what I would have chosen to begin with had I been in the position of starting from scratch.

Every five years seems like the height of fussiness to me and, as someone has already said, wastefulness. How bored with life would one have to be to need want a new kitchen every few years?