Have any mums got awesome kitchens?

[LondonMix]

That sounds fab. If you aren?t looking for a fitted kitchen not sure you need a carpenter. I recently discovered this site (ordered some bedroom furniture from them and they are fab). They will custom paint the furniture any colour you want and they have a nice range of furniture suitable for an unfitted kitchen look. I think you could do something really lovely.

http://www.anangelatmytable.com/kitchen-54-c.asp

If you are looking for any new fitted unites, I?d recommend British Standard (they are the same as Plain English but as its not bespoke, much cheaper and lovely quality). You?d need a carpenter to fit that but almost any good carpenter can do that.

It sounds like you?ll be creating a really unique space so good luck!

[Sue]

LondonMix Wrote:

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> That sounds fab. If you aren?t looking for a

> fitted kitchen not sure you need a carpenter. I

> recently discovered this site (ordered some

> bedroom furniture from them and they are fab).

> They will custom paint the furniture any colour

> you want and they have a nice range of furniture

> suitable for an unfitted kitchen look. I think

> you could do something really lovely.

>

> http://www.anangelatmytable.com/kitchen-54-c.asp

>

> If you are looking for any new fitted unites, I?d

> recommend British Standard (they are the same as

> Plain English but as its not bespoke, much cheaper

> and lovely quality). You?d need a carpenter to

> fit that but almost any good carpenter can do

> that.

>

> It sounds like you?ll be creating a really unique

> space so good luck!

xxxxxxxx

I also recommend British Standard, and they will sit down with you and work out a design around the pieces in your existing kitchen which you want to keep.

http://britishstandardcupboards.co.uk/

They have a showroom in Hoxton and you can go and see the units "in the flesh". Also (but double check) if you order something and it doesn't fit/you decide it doesn't work, you can return it.

You have to paint them yourself (they come undercoated I think) but that is reflected in the price. You also have to arrange delivery from the place the units are made, but they have a recommended deliverer from that area who they usually use.

[RoLo1]

We went for British Standard, range oven with induction hob, and that saved somewhat. We also decided we wanted an island (just storage and for chatting over) and we are delighted with the one we got from Butlers (butlers online if you google, it is actually a German company), matches.the rest of the kitchen, comes with granite worktop and a pull out table., and very reasonable. Their biggest London store doesnt have it on show, but we visited it to check the quality overall and we bought it based on that - a great way of getting an island without having to buy 4-6 units, separate worktop.etc.

[Sue]

RoLo1 Wrote:

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> We went for British Standard,

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Hi RoLo1, I PMed you but don't think you've seen it yet.

Who did you get to fit your kitchen? Could you PM me if you don't want to post the information on here? Thanks!

[[email protected]]

Hi after being 1 of 4 who built plain English's flagship showroom and also installing for Neptune for a long time, I am now offering bespoke kitchens identical to these at the same high quality. Please call 07935411433 or e-mail [email protected] for more details and enquires

[mooncake]

We're on the verge of ordering our new kitchen now. Having second thoughts about whether to go with the boiling water tap though. Those of you that have one, what brand did you go for and have you had any issues with splashing?? Also - how long does the filter last and is it difficult to replace? We're thinking about the Quooker 3-in-1 tap that does everything... Thanks!!

[Piaf]

A year on and the boiling water tap is going strong! Definitely one of the best things about our kitchen (especially for a non cook tea addict like me). We have the Quooker one but just the boiling tap. Once you are used to it, there are no splashing problems though it can spit a bit if you allow lime scale to build up.

[mooncake]

Thanks! Helpful to know. Is it easy to maintain - or did you do anything to soften the water in your house?

[Sayroo]

Hi All,

On a related point, we are putting in a new kitchen at the moment and have been to Currys on Old Kent Road tonight to get a good idea of appliances and brands we'd like to go for (or avoid) we'd looked in John Lewis too, but the range there was small and expensive in comparison.

These have been a good start, but I just wondered where else there are showrooms these days to actually compare and contrast dishwashers, (gas) hobs & double ovens etc under one roof.

Any good leads from your experience ladies?

Thanks in advance.

[Sue]

Sayroo, I'm in exactly the same position, interested to hear about Curry's, though I went to a branch in Oxford and the range of appliances on show was pathetic.

I too went up to John Lewis a few weeks back and was very disappointed at the small selection.

I don't necessarily want cheap, but I'm picky about design, and I think even some of the supposedly top end brands look so hideous I couldn't bear to live with them in my kitchen :(

I think why there are so few showrooms now is (grammar), people go to look at things in the flesh but then order them off the internet where they can get the cheapest deal. That's why Comet folded, isn't it?

[Sayroo]

Hi sue,

I'm sure you're right and yes, boots appliances online is excellent for doing just this.

The Old Kent Road Currys does seem to be some sort of superstore and did help us discount what we don't want, but we were struggling last night to think of anywhere else to go and have a good look, touch and feel before we buy!!

I'm not too keen on the Purley Way at the best of times and if Currys is all there is these days (with Comet and Dixons gone) don't want to drive out there to only realise there's a hobbycraft and a pets at home (!!) rather than a competitor to Currys.

My other thought was a giant Tesco or sainsburys and whether they have an 'upstairs' of double ovens somewhere....

[Mollymoo]

We are just about to have a new kitchen and are moving to an integrated fridge freezer. I would like a frost free one but I know of two people that have them and they are horribly noisy, whirling and wizzing away. Can anyone recommend one that you have which isn't horribly noisy or does it just have to be if you buy frost free?

Would also appreciate a recommendation for an integrated joint washer dryer, not having room for two separate units.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Christina from Howdens in Beckenham for kitchen design. She is so lovely, practical and a proper designer, unlike some of the other "designers" we have met !

Thanks in advance

[bee74]

have been following this with interest but only for the last few weeks, since our kitchen has become a building site and we need to make decisions about what actually to put in

we would like to go with an old fashioned oak worktop, but are aware from our previous kitchen that it requires so much maintenance... yet the alternatives look expensive and there are so many of them i feel a bit lost

three of the best?

has anyone re-used their previous kitchen units and sanded, primed and painted the doors? how do they look and do they last?!

thank you

[Sue]

Having had a trip to Curry's in the Old Kent Road (thanks, I never even knew it was there!) I am now toying with the idea of a Rangemaster cooker.

Has anybody used both built-in and range cookers, and if so, any thoughts?

I need to cost it all out and see how they would fit in to the plans, but basically at present I have a kitchen/diner with a tall double oven/two cupboard fitting which I'm almost certainly removing as it divides the room (always saw this as an advantage, but everybody else seems to think it makes the whole room look less spacious!) so I'm not sure that a range cooker would take up that much more space than a five ring hob ( I want a wok ring) and a built in oven.

Also I was going to have a single oven plus a combi-microwave, but a range including two ovens and a grill would mean I wouldn't need the combi-microwave, which takes up a lot of space.

I'd go for dual fuel - gas hob and electric ovens.

Interested to hear people's thoughts - having spent a bit of time googling pros and cons today!!

[Lin Henden]

Hewsons on East Dulwich Road

[Sue]

Lin Henden Wrote:

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> Hewsons on East Dulwich Road

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Sorry, which post are you replying to??

[Apple314]

The best advice I have is this: If you want granite worktops, get them from a granite supplier not from a kitchen company. They are exactly the same and about 1000 pounds cheaper. I prefer the look of wood but my last wooden worktop looked awful after just a few months, especially around the sink so I opted for granite this time.

[Apple314]

We have Karndean in two bathrooms and our utility room and I love it. I never have to worry that the kids are throwing their toys around. It's hard wearing and looks great. I have the classic oak and American walnut.

[Hillstop]

Do you have a supplier you recommend Apple? We're looking at this at the moment and am a bit scared of the current quotes.

[tarafitness]

Hi everyone

We're in the process of having our kitchen made awesome (I hope!). We've had a loft conversion and side return extension and are due to move back in a few weeks, fingers crossed.

We ordered our kitchen from Benchmarx. This is because we already have a tall larder unit that we bought last year from Wickes and have been very impressed by the quality of it (and the Blum pull-out drawers). Benchmarx do the same kitchen units, but cheaper, and they also do everything else it seems!

We've ordered our granite worktops (for either side of the cooker and the island) from a company recommended by the same chap in Wickes who recommended us Benchmarx - Imperial Marble and Granite Ltd. We've gone for black granite in 'Star Galaxy'. I wanted to get the darker more pure black, but they dye it to get that colour, and it therefore has the potential to become stained.

We're having black limestone tiles, which will work well with the underfloor heating, and matches our patio. We're also having aluminium bi-fold doors fitted by a company recommended to us by our builder, called Pinnacle9.

We're keeping our existing American style fridge freezer, washer/dryer, range cooker (with stainless steel splashback) and dishwasher, but have bought a new integrated microwave/grill.

Now all that's left to decide on is the sink and tap. We'd like to get a professional hose one, and we're yet to decide on a sink, but I think it's likely to be a ceramic 1.5 bowl one, as I think the contrasting colours will look good.

Also need to decide whether to get a hot water tap. Does it totally replace the kettle?

Any sink and tap recommendations gratefully received :-)

Tara

[tarafitness]

Have any of you (or know someone who has) had a granite/composite sink fitted? We're thinking of going for a Schock Solido 1.75 Bowl Cristalite Undermount Kitchen Sink, but I'm worried how hardwearing the material is, and/or if it's prone to staining?

Thanks, Tara.

[Belle]

Thanks for the link to Benchmarx, those storage things for cupboards are exactly what we're looking for - does any one know if you can/or has anyone retrofitted these? our kitchen just needs tweaked, not fully updated, and ideally we'd just slot some of those into the deep corner cupboards we've got which are totally impractical. Also love the slide out spice rack thing!

[tarafitness]

I don't see why the units can't be installed in an existing space. My OH installed the existing tall larder unit we have, after ripping out the impractical cupboard we had in its place :-)

Yeah, the spice rack thing is awesome. We were originally going to go with a full height pull out cupboard, but we needed to have enough space for a 'proper' integral microwave (i.e. with oven and grill facility), so had to sacrifice it and went with a small cupboard will pull-out space rice instead (see attached pic).

Forgot to mention in my earlier post, my OH was keen to leave our new side return wall exposed (as he'd seen it in our builder's portfolio and thought it looked good), so have used reclaimed yellow stock bricks for it and installing down-facing lights on it, hopefully it should look quite nice.

To save space, we're also installing a hanging pan rack above the island. We already had two by the same company above our cooker (which we'll need to sell on), and they're great quality and free up your cupboards for more important things... like tupperware! ;-)

Tara

[Fmm]

Tara - can I ask how you have found Benchmarx in term of ease to deal with, design help and delivery/ installation times? V interested in one of their kitchens. Also, does the microwave cupboard take 60cm width space - I will probably have a range (90cm wide) as well as a microwave, but I am struggling with finding a space for a microwave as I'd would prefer it to be counterheight, but then lose 60cm of worktop space... Thanks.

[tarafitness]

Sorry for the delay in replying. Benchmarx have been fantastic. We've been dealing solely with a chap called Tom in the Peckham branch and he's been incredibly helpful and accommodating.

I would like to say though that Jade from Howdens in ED was also super friendly and helpful, and we really liked the design. It's just that we were able to buy the whole kitchen for substantially less from Benchmarx, and also match the existing quality tall larder we had as the units are the same.

Re the microwave. I think it depends what sort you want to go for. We had to get a 600mm cupboard for ours as it's a combi microwave, oven and grill and so needs a bigger unit. You might be okay if you just go for a bog standard microwave? Yes we've lost space, but then we've got an island now in the middle of the kitchen thanks to the extension. I think if it still was a galley kitchen we might have thought twice.

Tara