New kitchen ....HELP!

Barney224

We've finally decided to change our dated kitchen and currently not using the space correctly. Both myself and my partner have been discussing ideas, layouts, colours, etc., over the past 2 weeks and we just seem to be going round in circles! We like the contemporary style, but not too modern. I think we also need a 3rd party to come and advise on the best layout for us, before we end up divorcing each other!

Should we get an external interior designer in to provide advice? Or will a kitchen company provide this to us? Should we visit showrooms to choose a design? how can we get a proper quote? etc.....

We're clueless as to what steps to take and in which order to choosing the correct kitchen and layout, so would love to hear from anyone who has gone through this recently. I'm based in Meath, Ireland, so can travel to Dublin if there are any kitchen showrooms people would recommend.

naughtysmurf

We took a video of our old kitchen, on a phone, did up a simple drawing with measurements of the room noting the position of sockets, switches, windows, doors etc anything that would impact a future design, then visited a few kitchen design / fitters with this information, if they are any good this will be a good starting point for them, they should be able to input your info into a software package & pretty much show you what your kitchen would look like on a screen before making a final decision, that's what we did

It's also important to see & touch different products that you have the option of using beforehand

We then got advice on what would / wouldn't work due to space, finish etc so definitely worth speaking to a few different places before making a final decision

Barney224

Thanks for the tips. I have lots of photos and have drawn up plans of the kitchen with all the dimensions.

When you say "visit kitchen design fitters" are you talking about companies or independent tradesmen? We're just not sure where to go and have been told my a few people that costs can vary between them! Do you have any recommendations on good places you went to?

naughtysmurf

Can't really help you there, we're in Limerick, the small local company we used designed & fitted for us but we visited three before choosing who to use, yes prices will vary, using granite countertops will drive the price up, a pvc kitchen (don't rule it out until you see, touch & feel) is very hard wearing & cheaper than traditional timber, traditional sink V Belfast sink all this stuff will affect budget

Ask for recommendations in the Meath & Dublin forums, some will design & fit, some will design & maybe give you a list of approved installers some may just design

Barney224

naughtysmurf wrote: »

Can't really help you there, we're in Limerick, the small local company we used designed & fitted for us but we visited three before choosing who to use, yes prices will vary, using granite countertops will drive the price up, a pvc kitchen (don't rule it out until you see, touch & feel) is very hard wearing & cheaper than traditional timber, traditional sink V Belfast sink all this stuff will affect budget

Ask for recommendations in the Meath & Dublin forums, some will design & fit, some will design & maybe give you a list of approved installers some may just design

Thanks again. Yeah, I'll post something on the Meath forum to see if I can get some good recommendations. I'd like to source locally if I can.

Payton

Ikea have a kitchen planner tool that you can use. It will give you a good idea of kitchen units, tiles, appliances all in 2D and 3D where you can view it from different angels.

Graham

Payton wrote: »

Ikea have a kitchen planner tool that you can use. It will give you a good idea of kitchen units, tiles, appliances all in 2D and 3D where you can view it from different angels.

Only really useful if you're thinking about an Ikea kitchen.

Ikea cabinets/doors are completely non-standard when compared to any other UK/Ireland supplied kitchens.

A couple of the UK kitchen companies offer the same online planner using the more common sizes.

Barney224

Graham wrote: »

Only really useful if you're thinking about an Ikea kitchen.

Ikea cabinets/doors are completely non-standard when compared to any other UK/Ireland supplied kitchens.

A couple of the UK kitchen companies offer the same online planner using the more common sizes.

I've played around with some of these planners, but I found them a bit cumbersome to use and I still can't get a good visual idea of it would look.

budhabob

Graham wrote: »

Only really useful if you're thinking about an Ikea kitchen.

Ikea cabinets/doors are completely non-standard when compared to any other UK/Ireland supplied kitchens.

A couple of the UK kitchen companies offer the same online planner using the more common sizes.

not true at all. We put a new kitchen in recently, our first port of call was to ikea with our measurements. The reasoning for this was that Ikea give you the designs to take away with you once done (hardcopy and soft copy) meaning you can review, tweak etc after without having to pay a deposit. We then reviewed and tweaked the design further, printed it out, and brought it to a number of places to show the general layout we liked. They then did a similar design, provided feedback based on experience etc and gave a quote.

Very few suppliers will give you the design without a deposit, hence why ikea as a starting point is so handy. Even walking through their design is helpful.

Graham

budhabob wrote: »

not true at all. We put a new kitchen in recently, our first port of call was to ikea with our measurements. The reasoning for this was that Ikea give you the designs to take away with you once done

I was answering a post about the Ikea online kitchen planner, there had been no mention of calling into Ikea to get a design put together.

My point being, unless you're going to buy an Ikea kitchen you might as well use a kitchen planner that works in more standard sizes. There are several kitchen companies that use the same online planner as Ikea but using standard UK/Irish sizes which would be a better starting point.

I don't disagree that going into Ikea for an initial plan might give you some idea what's possible with your space.

celiam

cash and carry kitchens do the same. take a plan of your kitchen or a video on your phone and they will do a design for you there and then and print it out. No obligation to buy

Candlemania

At Cash and Carry Kitchens and the likes, they have decent designers, they know how to work out the space - they're great for knowing exactly how wide the presses should be, how many will fit, etc. But it will be all very standard stuff.

If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind kitchen, then ask an interior designer for advice. They're best for colour schemes, material combinations and all the details, that will make your kitchen stand out. And this can be combined with buying from Express Kitchens/Woodies/B&Q.

Artdeco30

How are you getting on Barney224?

The best thing to do is go around the kitchen shops, and if you see a style you like, talk to a salesperson about approximate price to see if it is within your budget. If it is, sit down with them and they will give you layout and design options.

dellas1979

naughtysmurf wrote: »

Can't really help you there, we're in Limerick, the small local company we used designed & fitted for us

Could you PM me details. Thank you!
(dong a new build)

PermaC

Enjoyed the opinions expressed here.

MizMix

Definitely recommend visiting a few showrooms- even just for ideas. We almost went with an expensive kitchen co in Belfast but ran short on runs (house build). Went to a local kicthen co in Dundalk- exact same stuff except not one of the big German brands. I'd say it worked out 30-40% cheaper for equal quality (although we locked into a price mid of 2017- prices have def gone up since, but they're up everywhere). We did have an architect who gave us her input- but we got good ideas from the kitchen designers too.

PM if you'd like the kitchen co details- not sure if I can make recommedations on the thread

Richard Roma

As a general rule, did you find kitchens etc. cheaper up North?

MizMix wrote: »

Definitely recommend visiting a few showrooms- even just for ideas. We almost went with an expensive kitchen co in Belfast but ran short on funds (house build). Went to a local kicthen co in Dundalk- exact same stuff except not one of the big German brands. I'd say it worked out 30-40% cheaper for equal quality (although we locked into a price mid of 2017- prices have def gone up since, but they're up everywhere). We did have an architect who gave us her input- but we got good ideas from the kitchen designers too.

PM if you'd like the kitchen co details- not sure if I can make recommedations on the thread

MizMix

No I didn't find them cheaper but we did go to the higher end showrooms....and we got sucked in initially. I did find some of the showrooms up north way ahead in terms of design though- we got some great ideas.

The place in Dundalk worked out a lot cheaper- however I think they've upped their prices a good bit over the last 6 months (they're all busy again)

ShrutiSane

The kitchen is the beautiful area of your home which has to be special. If you want to construct your kitchen you can hire an architect.

itsthisyear

dellas1979 wrote: »

Could you PM me details. Thank you!
(dong a new build)

And me if you don’t mind. Thank you.