Week 69: Krazy Kitchens part 2
The week began with a fantastic session of Zoom with a Howdens design rep. Oh did I tell you we are going with Howdens for our kitchen? The research took longer than the actual choosing of the kitchen as I wanted to make sure we were going with the best. I looked into Magnet, Wren, Benchmarx, Ikea, Homebase and Wicks. So there was a good mixture of both high end and budget friendly. I scoured these retailers to see the range, style, cost and what will suit my property. In the end I settled with Howdens as their reviews kept coming on top. I was a little apprehensive at first as our project manager said it's best to use Howdens and they've been using them for many years. I just wanted to make sure for myself and I'm glad I did.
Tip: Never take anyone's word for anything, always do your own bit of research to see if you're happy to go ahead.
Now that the retailer and colour has been decided, all that’s needed now is to choose the finer intricacies. That was easy enough, tap, handles and knobs brushed gold as it’s my brand and the gold in the backdrop of the looked divine. Now I just need to incorporate the colour white. I was thinking of a deep Belfast sink (ceramic white of course) and perhaps white flooring.
Appliances was pretty straight forward as I knew I preferred a free standing Range cooker as I wanted some old fashioned charm. Integrated dishwasher and why wouldn't I? If I'm aiming for a high end finish to sell on as a luxury family home then I wouldn't expect anything less. An encasing for an American style fridge freezer (but not providing the fridge itself). As food is a very personal thing and people's eating habits are so diverse that I thought best leave it for the family in question. There is a separate utility area where I will be providing sink, worktops, laundry rails together with new plumbing. Again I have omitted the washer dryer as the potential family will no doubt have their own ideas of what constitutes a good machine.
It's a large kitchen with a separate dining room in addition to another lounge, so this was a no brainer. The kitchen space had to be filled with something and what better than an island. As the kitchen is usually the hangout hub a few stools will see this space as a:
Food prep area
Breakfast bar
Homework zone
With the dining room left for the more formal affairs and finer dining. Kitchen suite is of a traditional shaker style (border on the edges & frame like appearance). I have gone for a mid range popular brand: Chelford and paired this up with natural solid oak worktops.
The Cut Backs
Sadly there is no escaping this. You will have to trim the dream. When my rep quoted £7k I had to put my reading glasses on and restart the plan. Yes seriously.
U-shape kitchen, I took out an entire wall of glass cabinetry to make way for a stylish looking brick effect feature wall. Kitchen is now an L-shape.
Chelford cabinets replaced with Alandale doors instead, they don't have those grainy like grooves but it's okay not for £7k
Island swapped for a slimmed version of its former self with now half units
Range cooker went back to their range, not with a £1,600 price tag haha. It's now a striking looking 5 burner hob in black with a double built in oven. Still cheaper than a single range cooker (even with the two ovens).
Oak worktops swapped for oak looking laminates which honestly I can't tell the difference.
Belfast sink gone to
Handles & knobs some are a lot pricier than others so I did a mix and match and dropped a couple
This was all taken care of via my 8am Zoom call. I literally saw the prices evaporate with each change I made. My budget was £5k all inclusive, appliances the lot. My third and final draft was emailed to me shortly after the session. With a heavy heart I have decided to go with the revised version as I have to be mindful of all costs involved.
Tip: Try not to to take it too personally. It is a business at the end of the day and not your happy ever after home.