2023 Home Renovations

[Pippedydeadeye]

We used a company called Rosy Coof. Ours was £7.5k.

[Morganna]

Ok, after much faffing about, I think I've decided to go ahead with moving the dishwasher, washing machine and fridge, and settled on this style, as it has no carved grease and dust traps. The kitchen woman is coming out on Tuesday to check everything against her quote and make sure it will all work, but if it will, and if we can have it done before Christmas, I'm likely to go ahead. I won't go for glazed doors, but I want curved end cupboards at the end of the runs, which will basically mean one at the end of the wall cupboards and one base one, as everything else is connected. The cupboards in my kitchen are on two walls, and the table, pantry and fireplace are all on the opposite side. When this is done I'll think about maybe painting the pantry doors to match, but I'm not sure about that yet.

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The remaining questions now are really around worktops, handles and paint colour for the walls. I want to paint the existing tiles, which are only splash back height, as they are fine apart from the colours, so the worktop will have to be the same depth as the existing one (as it abuts them), but that still leaves plenty of choice. The cabinets come in this colour, pale or dark grey and navy, or we could have it painted to order. The kitchen is quite dark, so I don't think navy would work, unfortunately, and I'm not keen on grey. I think the colour in the photo will be flexible, if a bit boring, and would go with any colour worktop and tiles. I don't know about handles/knobs, but I do like brass, and would pick that up with a brass tap, and possibly light fittings, which will also be changed sooner rather than later. Any thoughts would be welcome please, as you lot always have stylish ideas.

[bramblerose]

I love those cabinets and the colour. You can go wild with colour on the walls!

Personally, I'd go for wood worktops but appreciate they involve work and are not for everyone so maybe wood laminate.

[Morganna]

Honestly, I want as little maintenance as possible. I love the look of wood, but really want something I just have to wipe, and some of the laminate finishes are fairly realistic, so I'll probably go with that. The wood and marble worktops I looked at are also shallower than the laminate ones, so I'd have to either retile or have a filler of some sort to match up with the existing tiles, which is another consideration.

I'm watching that Home Made Perfect programme as I type, and someone has just gone for dark purple walls with bright green accessories. It looks better than it sounds, but they've knocked pretty much all of downstairs together to make a huge space (they all seem to do that), and the room can take it. I don't think I can be as brave, but you're right that I'll have plenty of options.

[Morganna]

Also. I am looking at these. I love them, but they are pretty huge, and I'll have to measure the distance between the existing light fittings to see if they will fit without looking too close together. The size of the kitchen will take them, but I'm not sure about the spacing between the fittings of the existing downlighters for proportions. I'm also a bit unsure whether they will glare, as the bulbs will be exposed. I'll have lights under the wall units, so they wouldn't be on all the time, but the kitchen is quite dark, so they would definitely get used. I think they'd look good with brass handles and tap, assuming they will work for size. Also, because they are shallow, they won't have to hang down too low, which is important as they will sit above a thoroughfare, rather than over a table.

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[Princess Morripov]

I wouldn’t paint the tiles, unless you absolutely needed to from a cost saving perspective. It’s rare it looks great and lasts really well in an area that gets a lot of use. I also think it looks a bit weird/obvious because there’s no grout on show.

If you are ripping out and fitting a new kitchen it’s probably really unlikely that the worktops/units will match to slot exactly around the tiles, or some tiles might get damaged/dislodge based on what order it was all done originally.

Dependant on what type of cooking you do would influence worktops for me. I love the look of white marble but I’d absolute ruin that with turmeric or curry at some point, I’m sure of it :lol: We had decent wood effect laminate in our old house that was great. We inherited a matt black patterned marble here that I actually have grown to love because it’s so forgiving so we are actually going to keep it when we redo the kitchen.

[Morganna]

That's interesting about the tiles, Pov. I've never painted tiles before, but the kitchen woman suggested the idea, as they are in good condition. I was going to ask the decorator to do it when she's here to do the bedrooms. I don't think I've ever seen painted tiles, tbh. I haven't got a lot of headspace just now, and painting them meant there was one less thing to think about, but if it's going to spoil the look then maybe I should reconsider. She's coming out on Tuesday, so I'll ask her to quote for a splashback when she's here.

[Beena]

I agree with Pov about painting the tiles. It's fine for a quick tart-up, but if you're investing in updating the kitchen, it might be worth re-tiling. I've had painted kitchen and bathroom tiles in assorted rentals and it scratches too easily. Inch square tiles, painted white can look okay though if you prep properly.

[sally maclennane]

I agree about just removing the tiles. If you're doing everything else from scratch, it would be a shame if you were limited by existing tiles. I think new tiles would look much better, and from memory a splashback area won't actually cost that much.

[Morganna]

It's more the hassle that's deterring me really. Although I don't want to spend a fortune, I don't want to spoil the look for a few hundred quid either. I'm wondering about a metallic splashback - I found one online, but I'd really need to see what it looks like as it's made of alloy, and I'm not sure what that is :)). This is what it looks like in the brochure. It might be overkill with those light fittings if it's too metallic though.

It would go along the wall between the base and wall cupboards as well as behind the cooker.

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They all look green, but they aren't really. As I say though, I'd need to see them, so I'll ask for samples, and I've emailed the kitchen woman to ask if she'll bring me something to look at next week.

[Disco]

It would be a shame if painted tiles became the new not-flush dishwasher.

[Morganna]

It would be a shame if painted tiles became the new not-flush dishwasher.

:lol:

Good point, well made.

[sally maclennane]

I think it'd be more hassle to keep the existing tiles and try to work around them. When the company start pulling out the old kitchen, it'll be much easier if they're not worrying about damaging the tiles. Will they be plastering the walls once the old kitchen is removed? Again, that will be awkward if they have to work around tiles, as it will be when they start fitting units. A blank canvas will be much easier for them to work with.

If you're not keen on tiles as a splashback, there are some nice glass ones.

[Princess Morripov]

It would be a shame if painted tiles became the new not-flush dishwasher.

:lol:

Good point, well made.

This is the truth. Smash the fuckers out and get new tiles you like, even if they are the same but a different colour

[bramblerose]

Don't get a metal splashback, it will drive you crazy trying to keep it smear and scratch free.

Just get new tiles.

[Morganna]

I don't know if I want tiles.

I'm going to look at the various splashbacks in the showroom and see what there is. My main priority is something easy to clean, and according to the brochure this stuff is anti-fingerprint - like I say, it's 'alloy' (whatever that turns out to mean), not metal. It might be hideous, but there are lots of different styles and finishes, and I'm drawn to a solid splashback with no grout rather than tiles, at this stage anyway.

[Texaco Shirley]

We’ve got glass. The lack of grout makes it far easier to clean than tiles.

I would assume alloy means predominantly metal.

[Morganna]

I’ve investigated further and it is aluminium composite - not much wiser really, but it’s marketed as anti-fingerprint (their term :))). I’ll get a sample and see what it’s like. I do like the idea of no grout. As I say, if I’m not keeping the tiles I can look beyond laminate for the worktop, so I have lots of options.

[Morganna]

Well, she's been with the samples. This is not a great photo for colour match, but I am looking at something like this - for the purposes of a quote, anyway. The cupboards are a lot more cream than the photo shows, and the worktop is lighter. The splashback is laminate rather than alloy, and not as shiny in situ (the photo was taken in front of a window), but pretty.

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Also. I wanted curved end-cupboards, but moving the appliances to the bottom wall means there won't be space for one there. I am going to have a small cupboard with a pull-out spice rack instead, but it can't be curved. I don't know whether putting a curved wall cupboard on the other wall is going to look odd on its own, so might go for a squared one instead.

I am thinking of a black tap and black handles, as otherwise there could be too much metal if I go for the huge lights and the copper splashbacks.

[Morganna]

Sorry to hog the thread, but has anyone had a black granite sink?

I am toying with the idea, and Google tells me that they are no harder to keep clean than white ones, but i'm not convinced. I currently have a white porcelain sink, and there will be a white cooker, washing machine and freezer in the kitchen, none of which will be integrated, so I don't know whether to stick with white as it will tone in with those. I like the look of this one though, and thought if I had black handles on the cupboards it would go.

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