Owning your own home

Thing is about a kitchen is that it's either so bland and off the peg it makes you want to barf OR it's so beautifully spec'd and bespoke and full of someone else's personality that it will never feel yours, either way it's about to feel the sweet release of the crowbar

Yeah, second hand kitchens are an interesting proposition but I assume you end up with lots of filler panels or things not quite fitting right?

have kitchen, have crowbar... what's the recommended disposal route?!

Indeed. I reckon in about 60% of properties that we've seen my girlfriend has been insistent that the perfectly functional kitchen would have to go straight away.

Has anyone got a £/m^2 figure for a basic kitchen refurb including all new cooker, hob, fridge freezer and washing machine?

I'm thinking about doing mine. As a PhD student I'm (relatively) time rich but cash poor, so would be looking to reduce budget by doing some of the work myself. I also have a father in law who is a furniture maker and who has done similar in a flat in the past.

I'd second @Tonts recommendation about Ikea. As long as you can measure up accurately and take note of where the boxing / gas / electric stuff goes, you can pretty much tweak it to your heart's content online after a quick trip up to the planning spot in tottenham court road. My 2m x 3m kitchen cost £3.5k with installation another few grand on top. Excellent financing too - I got mine on 36 months interest free credit, which means I'm paying about a hundred a month for it.

Similarly I got our kitchen (4m x 3m) done for 5-6k including all fixtures and fittings, couple new windows, retiled floor, new spots, replastered and it looks decent
I've been looking at custom units from uncommon projects but tbh I'm thinking of going down the custom fronts on Ikea units rather than full custom as it saves a lot of cost.

Would certainly be more confident in negotiating if the kitchen wasn’t fucked. Put a days work in to bringing ours back to life after ten years of neglect and so glad I did.

Would consider solid wooden worktops again.

Miele.

done for 5-6k

r u poor or something?!

anyone got any experience with this sort of noise?

https://www.sensofloors.co.uk/bcrete-resin-floor/

I've done work for a couple who had something similar and it was a nightmare! Ok it didn't crack but it did mark, scuff easily, dent and stain incredibly easily. They make some impressive claims on the website but I'd be wary unless I spoke to someone who'd lived with it in their home.

have you considered swapping her out, rather than the kitchen?

werd.

thought it might be a sensible alternative to poured, polished concrete, which i really would prefer because it's metal af.

Likewise. Knew someone who got an uncommon projects kitchen and it’s lovely but spendy when you get done to it. Pointers we took from it is the always use Grohe sinks and taps. We went plykea in the end. Can’t go wrong with Ikea units and can easily add shelves inner drawers etc

polished concrete

you are moving to Ulm?

Thanks all. Good to know something decent can be done for £3-5k.

Anyone got any inspiration pics of their finished projects from that sort of price range? Apologies if they've already been posted and I've missed them.

To each their own, of course, but I can't imagine paying in the region of £20k + for a kitchen. If I had that kind of cash it would go straight onto an overpayment on the mortgage...

Here’s mine from sales listing

I actually think working to a tight budget can be better because it’s forces you to make informed decisions and probably think a bit harder about how to achieve your desired look.

I’m gonna have to ask you some Qs once we start work on the new place - crittal, Bora and plykea all things we’re considering!

Decent.

I'm thinking ikea carcasses plus custom fronts and top surfaces could well be the way to go.

I've just upholstered my kitchen units in whale foreskin, which is a around a hundred thousand pounds per square metre, simply to get back into contention.

Albeit with some trepidation, I await the photographs of whale foreskins on kitchen scales.

Yeah sure thing. I’m only in E17 so can come and have a look when your ready if you wanted.

It’s “You can’t afford it”.

Haha. Would #rep.