New kitchen - am I being unrealistic?

[Mazzy]

My kitchen is in dire need of replacing, but as you know, these WDW holidays keep on beckoning!

I really do need to do something about it though as it's getting pretty depressing to look at. I've never had a kitchen fitted before, as in our last place we had a lovely one

Working out the budget for this year, as we need a new car as well, it looks like we could afford about 2,000. Do you think this is an unrealistic price? It's not a big kitchen, its about 10 ft square, no more than that, I would need a complete new refit, sink, cupboards, and would love a built in cooker as at the moment I have a free standing one and it looks awful! I don't need anything moving ie the sink and cooker can stay in the same place so that should make things easier (ie cheaper???).

DH is completely useless at DIY so it would have to be fitted for us. I would appreciate any help and advice, and am I dreaming in the clouds about getting a new kitchen for £2,000? The one we have was a DIY job and I really do want something professionally fitted this time but depends what price it comes at!

 

[UKDEB]

Mazzy, I've never bought a kitchen as we always seem to move to a new house before they need replacing! But MFI do some nice ones. I suspect you'd be looking at something pretty basic at that price (without all the little twiddly bits like cornices, etc), but it's worth a look.

 

[Floridanut]

Mazzy,

As with everything in this life you will get exactly what you pay for. £2,000 for a new kitchen is a little on the low side especially if you want built in appliances included. You could probably just about squeeze one in for that price but the quality will not be up to much.
BTW I am not that impressed by the 'complete' kitchens as sold by the big DIY places. Very often they are overpriced for what you get.
In our last house we fitted a new kitchen but contracted the job to a local carpenter (I did the plumbing and electrics). He built the units from scratch and the quality was superb while I plumbed in the integrated dishwasher, washing machine and fitted the oven. In total it cost us about £3,500 (and that was a few years ago)but we ended up witha kitchen worth close to £10,000.
One way to keep the cost down is do it in stages particularly if you can find good local tradesmen to do the work.

Regards

Kieran

 

[Mazzy]

Deb, yes it would be pretty basic I guess, but compared to what we have now it HAS to look better. None of the cupboards have a backing, you can see the concrete behind, and it's all just totally yak!!!!

Kieran, thanks for that, one bonus is that we wouldn't have to mess with the washer and dryer as they are in a separate laundry room, so that helps. As you say, you did your own plumbing and electrics, which is great if you can, but DH is absolutely clueless, he would either flood us out or blow us up!!!

Thanks both of you, anyone else who can help out here? I need a kitchen badly, but need WDW just as much!

 

[lisag1]

Mazzy,

What about checking out places like Wickes or fitted kitchen shops as they often have display stock that they sell off cheaper. I must admit that I don't think you'll get much for £2k I'm afraid.

Lisa

 

[Hilary]

I'd definitely recommend checking the cheaper places - a lot of their ranges have identical carcasses to the more expensive brand names, just with cheaper doors and handles.

If you find a range you like (and can afford), sometimes just changing the handles for something a bit 'classier' can give the whole kitchen a more exclusive look for very little extra cost.

Is this going to be a 'quick fix' just to last until you move or can afford to do it again with less restriction on budget in a few years, or are you hoping for something that will see you through to retirement? If it's for a long-term investment, then £2,000 may be a bit unrealistic! Personally, I'd rather have a 'cheap' (cheap? - who am I kidding? ) kitchen that I can change when I get fed up with it or it looks dated, than an expensive kitchen that I'll have to keep for longer to get my money's worth.

 

[athurstance]

Have you considered just changing the door-fronts. There is a company who advertise in the sunday supplements who do this and it is quite reasonable.
I'm getting quotes and plans for a new kitchen at the moment and even if you go to the cheaper end of the market - MFI etc, you really will find it difficult with a £2000 budget. They will do plans and quotes for free though - no obligation - so it might be worth getting them round to see what they can offer you then seeing if its worth it.
Personally, I'd say beware the cheaper makes. They may look the same but they definitely don't last the same. We made this mistake with some bedroom furniture and I won't ever do that again.

Angela

 

[BevS97]

when Phil got our kitchen done (before I met him - so lovely brown melamine.... but I digress)

he bought the units from a builders merchants and then had a local plumber fit them - why a plumber I have no idea, but he seemed to think that was the right way to go.

he did the same when we had the bathroom done - he bought the units and got someone else to fit them - he reckons it's a lot more reasonable doing it that way.

another alternative... My uncle took his kitchen apart and rearranged all the units how he wanted them, then he put new doors and countertop on and it looked like a brand new kitchen but it wasn't - but if you have concrete showing at the back then that might not work!

Bev

 

[Janet & Terry]

Hi Mazzy

We had a kitchen that'd seen better days too, couldn't afford to replace it. We got the door front people (from the Sunday supplement) to quote 'cos they say its cheaper than replacing kitchen - well all I can say to that is their product is cheaper than a top of the range kitchen!

The basic layout was ok, we could live with it. In the end, we painted all the units (hard work!) , a friend created a breakfast bar area, replaced the worktop, hob and extractor fan for an agreed fee, also we retiled the walls. If memory serves me right, it all came to less than a grand.

If you are able to spruce up the existing cupboards in some way, couldn't you find a good local handyman who could maybe put some backs onto your cupboards? Only a woman, me, don't know my DIY

Janet

 

[SMAX]

Hi Mazzy

I would leave it until i could save up more money.

I think that spending £2000 on a kitchen will not really make it much better in the long run as the units will be of an inferior build quality and will not last very long. Give it a couple of years and you will be kicking yourself for wasting the money.

If your DH was able to fit them then it might be ok, but the labour charge for fitting a kitchen of that size would be about £1000 to £1500 anyway............

Make the best of your units for now. Get some of that kitchen cupboard paint and give them a good facelift for a year or so while you save up....

Good luck

Simon

 

[SandraM]

Mazzy,
Lucky you, at least you have a budget - I'm just at the looking and dreaming stage!
However, a couple of hints would be:
1. Spend a tenner or so on a couple of kitchen magazines, you get great ideas and tips.
2. Bear in mind that freestanding and "reclaimed" units are in at the moment. (Not my cup of tea but can look very good in the right surroundings.)
3. What about buying a "used" kitchen? My neighbour is extending her house at the moment and is putting in a new kitchen. Her old (fantastic) kitchen was in great shape so she sold it! She's delighted that the old kitchen isn't going to the dump, and the lady who bought it is thrilled to have a great kitchen at a really good price.
Keep us posted, won't you, and good luck.
Sandra

 

[Mazzy]

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice

From all this info, I think we are going to have to rejiggle the budget a bit, as using the units we have or putting new doors on just wouldn't work, as it is all in such a sorry state!

I don't see much point in doing it if we end up with cheap units, it just defeats the object. Well, I'm not giving up my holiday, so maybe we will have to think about getting a car a little less new than we intended!

WDW has a lot to answer for!

 

[crumblesmum]

Hi Mazzy,

We just had a new kitchen installed, absolutely everthings new with intergrated fridge/ freezer/oven etc
We shopped around and had a MFI Hygena one in the end. I did budget for about 2.5k but in the end I must of spent 4k, it's all those hidden extras you dont't budget for. Anyhow, I was in a similar dilema at Xmas, New kitchen or back to DIS?
Solution was haven't hardly been out since Xmas(fortunately social life re-starts tonight) and instead of staying on DIS prorerty as planned we are staying on I-Drive again. A small price to pay for my lovely kitchen

 

[lisag1]

Hi Mazzy

Where you buying a brand new car?? If so why don't you think of getting a euro import. I'm taking delivery of my Scenic next week on an 02 plate. The list price is £14770 and I've paid £11699, so lots of extra cash left over. My DH has just got a diesel Clio for £7999 brand new and Ford KA's for £5400. They do PCP's too which we have done (to keep payments down) and are now saving a massive £450 per month which can now go towards anything we like!!


www.motorpoint.co.uk
www.trade-sales.co.uk
www.tins.co.uk

Lisa

 

[lisag1]

Hi Mazzy,

Forget what I said about motorpoint they are great if you are paying cash but disgusting on the credit front. All sorts of hidden charges - so beware.

Lisa

 

[CarolynU]

HI Mazzy, I am in the same situation as you kitchen wise. I cringe every time anyone comes around, but then I go on line and end up booking more flights to Disney! I then balance it out by spending even less time in the kitchen! I've done that so many times I don't even care anymore. LOL Carolyn

 

[BevS97]

Hi Mazzy - I was just in IKEA this afternoon and took a look at the kitchens - I don't know how many units you would need but they were showing a base price for a set number of units and many of them were under £1000 - you would need to add appliances and fitting etc on top of that - but it might be worth a look.

Bev

 

[Mazzy]

Thanks Bev, but we've bought drawers from IKEA in the past and I'm not really that impressed with them, we've had a lot of problems with knobs coming off etc.

We actually popped into MFI yesterday and had a look round. It looks like we could get one for around 3.5K doing a rough estimation as they have some special offers running. I just can't decide what type to go for, so now we have worked out the prices in the brochure, we need to go back and have another look, I'm terribly decisive about everything and this is no exception!

We are looking at the Hygena kitchens there, has anyone had one of these from MFI? Just wondering how you found it re durability etc.

 

[Janice]

Hi Mazzy

We have a Hygena Kitchen that we bought from MFI 15 years ago and it is still going strong!

We <i>have</i> replaced the oven twice, the hob once, the cooker hood once, the sink once, and put new work tops on once.

The first oven broke, so we replaced that after five years, then a few years later, about 3 years ago, we decorated the kitchen and I wanted white appliances so we changed the oven, hob and cooker hood to white. The sink we changed from Stainless Steel to white and I wish I had never bothered! The work tops were changed at the same time too. We re-tiled and gave a whole new look to the kitchen.

The actual cupboards are now beginning to look a bit *worn* and it was my intention to rub them down and buy that stuff from Ikea to give them a Limed Oak effect, but we are moving now - I think the new owners are going to do the same thing though.

I think a lot of it goes down to how the stuff is fitted in the first place to be honest, and my Dad was a carpenter so he helped Chris fit them and I have been really delighted with the way it has lasted. We paid £800 for the complete kitchen (not an over big galley type kitchen) including appliances during one of their sooper dooper weekend offers

When my mum and dad's house got flooded 5 years ago, we had to replace all their kitchen and bought Hygenia again - this still looks like new and they have been really happy with it.

Hope this helps.

Oh and when we move, the kitchen is already done.......in Limed Oak!

 

[UKDEB]

I've never bought a kitchen from MFI, but whenever I have a look around the showroom, I'm always really impressed with the quality. Take a look at the drawer runners, hinges etc., - they seem just as good as the more expensive ones. My Mum has an MFI kitchen which she's had for years - again the only things she's had to replace are the appliances. I think you'd get fed up with it before it would wear out.