New kitchen price shock

I am about to start a project in the next couple of months to swap around my dining room and kitchen, I hate my present kitchen layout, there are 4 doors including the back door and someone, or some dog, is always in the way. My budget is under 10k but my OH and my son are both electrician/kitchen fitters so the labour will be free although I will be at the end of a long queue! I too am going for handless gloss, but basic Ikea units.

By the way getting hold of Neff slide and hide ovens seems to be impossible at the moment. There is a big hold up in production somewhere. For that reason I have put the project on hold for this month and I am concentrating on the garden.

Yes, our new kitchen was more expensive than we thought,but that’s todays world everything is dearer.
Get the best whatever you can afford and what you want. You only live once and it should last.

Also apparently most kitchen firms have their sale in autumn.

We kept the price down by retaining 70% original bases. Why throw them away. Reasonable sized kitchen. Howdens. New floor and cooker. 7 years ago. Still looks good. £7000.
DIL spent about £ 12000 . Different expensive make. Identical kitchen.
When they moved had Howdens in this time.

You can get lovely undermount stainless steel sinks. I once had a dark brown composite sink, never again re composite, it marks and gets very stained after a while. A good quality stainless sink will never lose its good looks. I think mine was a satin finish, was really nice and the granite had drainage grooves on one side of the sink. I have a cheap stainless sink here now, as in builders new build cheap but I can keep it looking nice. As said above, bar keepers friend

Urmstongran

Goodness, how we’ve moved on! ?

Urmstongran my mum had a blue and cream unit just like that one in our kitchen she offered it to me when I got married and I politely declined her offer.

Optomistic. Stainless steel sinks can be kept sparkling by the use of "Bar Keepers Friend" or similar products. It is a powder that is sprinkled on the sink and then wiped off. It is sold in Lakeland shops but can be had in the cheaper discount stores for less. This might help you decide to save costs.

Ugh, they've shot up, haven't they? My brother-in-law knows people who have spent £30,000-£40,000 on a new kitchen but I think it's involved a bit of 'knocking through' to make a kitchen diner. Even so, it's a lot of money.

Go for it if you can, though.

Thanks everyone and I just wanted to update you all and say that yesterday I went and finalised the details and paid the 25% deposit. Like Franbern the owner will project manage it all for me from floor to ceiling and I really like her. And all her workmen who have visited where just fab. I took on board all your advice about spending my money as I know I am very lucky to be able to afford this ( although I have worked hard all my life and been a saver - part of the problem though when you are a saver is anxiety over spending the money! )
They start on 30 th August and it should take 2 weeks and then they need to come back and fit the granite worktop.
For those asking I am having white gloss handless doors with a white granite Worktop that has a very subtle shimmer to it and a light ash oak Amtico floor. All very plain but I am a less is more person and also it’s different from my current beech doors and dark worktop.

Biggest decision now is the sink! The lady has recommend a Blanco white silgranite one and says I will have no problem keeping it clean but other people tell me different…. I currently have stainless steel which I like but does look dull.

Oh decision decisions!

Have a lovely weekend everyone and thanks again for all your help , advice and comments,

I am a great believer in the saying you get what you pay for.
Good quality products last, and let’s face it, who wants to have their kitchen ripped out every few years which could happen with a cheap one.

You have done the right thing by getting a few quotes, you can afford it through your own efforts, so definitely go for it and enjoy it.

That is a fair price for a good quality kitchen op. I paid £22k for a beautiful galley kitchen six years ago at my last house, the cost was bumped up by having all new miele appliances, granite worktops, undermount sink etc. my oven was to die for, a very special oven for my sourdough breads.

The best thing was being able to have the units I wanted, first time in my life. Drawers throughout and half depth, worktop to ceiling cupboards, on one wall. I loved that kitchen but I was not in my right mind as the design was chosen by my husband and me and the measurements were all done on the morning he died, while out. I could have cancelled it but did not

So I carried on with the kitchen but only enjoyed it for three years. It did sell the house but I learnt a lesson and am remaining content with what I have now in my new build. I am very surprised at how laminate tops have much improved, in fact I would now prefer a quality laminate.

That kitchen was a once in a lifetime purchase, anyone who can afford it and can have it designed just for you, do it. My kitchen enjoyment, during those three years, was immense. I only moved for sensible reasons, to be near buses and shops.

We have a new build so no ripping out to done except for a window sill which is to become part of a worktop.

Having our new Mackintosh kitchen installed at the moment. Large utility room is being done as well with some bespoke units having to be built to hide the solar thermal and heat recovery units and controllers.

Inclusive quote for both rooms included an AEG induction hob, double oven, dishwasher, 2 sinks, 13 units including a pull out larder and bespoke section, wall shelves, tiling, lighting, quartz worktops for both rooms - just over £18,000 (materials and labour). As it is a new build we don't pay VAT on our fitted kitchen so with it, it would have been approx £21,000.

We bought from a Trade Company and found our own fitting firm (small local business). The appliances were cheaper from a large well known (hot meals !) company. The Trade company had a designer to help and provided computer images from different angles. We went through four different layouts before making a decision. I also got samples together to see how everything matched to the existing floor. All these were very useful.

The three items you mention Optomistic : quartz worktop, a Qooker tap, Neff appliance are high cost items and are probably a big chunk of that £23K. I'd say that quote was extremely good considering you having more work than just buying and fitting units.

Enjoy your new kitchen.

A friend of mine is a carpenter, I called in to pick up some new handles when he was having a delivery of timber.
How many kitchens? - just one, it was a mountain of timber
What is that going to cost? - complete with worktops and appliances £60,000.

We spend that much on luxury cars so why not kitchens!.

You seem to be having a great deal of additional work done, not simply replacing units and appliances, so the price, including high spec items, doesn’t surprise me at all. Have you had the quotes itemised so you can see just how much is attributable to the extra work? Labour is expensive!

In the middle of having my new kitchen. I was prepared for the high cost of these as a friend had hers done in January 2020 and a small galley kitchen cost them (with all appliances) about eighteen grand.

So, I was prepared for a similar cost for mine (different shape but probably about same area in total). Yes, I am also having a Quooker tap fitted - had to have floor to ceiling tiles taken down - so, with altered electric, all four walls needed totally re-plastering. Some change around of configuration also.
Quartz worktop - I did hesitate on this as such a high difference in price to any other - but went for it in the end. Savings, plus lots of help from AC and I will have my first-ever brand new kitchen finished by the end of next week. Hope I have some good years left to enjoy it!!!

I do not smoke, have a car, go on holidays,etc. My flat is my 'hobby' The amount of work by such highly qualified tradespeople, as well as the cost of appliances justify the cost.

I went to two national companies and one local one, was so delighted that the local one came out very competitive in price and it is they who are doing it all.

Not something I would go into debt to obtain, but if you can afford it -go for it.

It is so difficult to compare prices - see so many people saying how little it cost them, and they did all the fitting, etc. themselves. Glad for them, but that is comparing home grown apples and exotic fruit prices.

My final decision (obviously mainly on price), was also the fact that the local company acts as my Project Manager whereas the national companies really leave that to me - and with no idea at booking state as to which fitters, plumbers, electricians, etc are being used. It is very stressful having this work carried out - my company has taken as much of that stress as possible of my aged shoulders.

Good kitchen appliances are also very expensive, I am keeping my own free-standing dishwasher and washing machine, wanted my own choice of a new upright freestanding fridge/freezer - but even so, new sink, hobs, combi/microwave, oven, quooker all add up.

Neff oven is lovely as it is the only one with a 'slide away; door.

Think of how much time you spend in and around your kitchen - think as to how much pleasure you will obtain from this and remember how much it adds to the valuke of your house.

We change our kitchen quite regularly but never spend that amount
.I'm very lucky that my OH loves to work on the house himself with me as labourer .We buy from reputable companies ,like Howden or B and Q and the last was from Ikea ,build it ourselves and fit it
.Last time we took a wall down and plastered over a door bought a new range cooker and a new wine fridge .The total cost was around £6 ,ooo.The "old" one which was 7 years old was recycled into one of our lets and still looks great .
We do our own Bathrooms too and all our own and tenants decorating for them....because we like doing it .

Optimistic1 a close relative paid that much just for her kitchen units about four years ago! (Her Victorian kitchen is huge though.)

My kitchen was put in by the previous owner in the 70’s and can be seen in the museum in York! (Check out the photo.) ? The wretched thing was built to last, so it was taken out whilst the walls, ceiling and floor were refurbished - and then put back.

However, The Wonderful Man got to work and the brown trim has all been painted a powder blue, the new work surfaces, sink and range cooker are all cream and the ceramic tiled floor picks up the blue and the beige. Inside, the cupboards all now have pull-out drawers and the corner units have a brilliant German designed system where the shelving can all be taken right out of the cupboards - no more scrabbling round on hands and knees searching in dark corners.

Total cost, less than £1k. It still looks very dated, but does exactly what I need it to and is fully functional.

?

More than my house cost

Urmstongran

Goodness, how we’ve moved on! ?

Until quite recently a friend of ours had one of those in her very old village house in Majorca! Took me right back to home in the 50s/early 60s.

Sounds about right. Our friends have just had a kitchen fitted from Magnet, similar spec to yours £21k. We have the same kitchen, less expensive appliances, for 8k fitted by a local tradesmen. Think it must be the labour charges.

I think you get what you pay for. We have just had a new kitchen fitted as part of building a new extension. Like the OP this was essentally replacing the existing kitchen with a new one, same layout same place. It was considerably cheaper, but that is more to do with taste and style than money availability.

I always have laminate worktops. They are so practical and require no special care. We live in a 15th century farmhouse, so marble would look so wrong. We kept the existing quarry tiled floor and the only appliance we replaced was the fridge with a huge fridge freezer from John Lewis - and that was my one extravagence.

DH combed the internet, looking at kitchen units and manufacturers and we ended up getting our units from a no frills manufacturer in Yorkshire, by no frills I am referring to sales methods, not the units, which are excellent. One showroom on the factory site, no design service, although very helpful staff who check every order that comes in and came back to us with several queries. All the extras were in cupboard fittings, drawers in all the floor standing units.

As said came in at just over half your build cost Optomistic1, but it was part of a much larger extension project.

Ours was gutted, redesigned, one wall plastered, new radiator repositioned, quartz surfaces and karndean flooring in December 2020. It’s a Howdens kitchen with Bosch appliances, total cost was under £15,000, the quartz was £3,000 of that. That price includes new table and chairs, blinds and light fittings, a friend of a friend fitted it, another friend did the electrics.
I hope you enjoy yours as much as we do ours.

Joseanne

Was that drop middle door stable enough to balance things on?

My brother and I used to have our breakfast sat either side of the drop down worktop.

The designer told us that demand for new kitchens has gone crazy because people are spending what they saved during covid by not going on holidays etc. We were 8th in the queue waiting 3 weeks to get the design back (an independent company). I guess if they have customers queueing up it is going to be difficult to beat the price down by much.
What colour have you chosen Optomistic1?