I live in France where flats routinely come without installed kitchens. We have just agreed to move, one month from now, into a flat with a 3x2m space which currently only has a sink above a cupboard. Apart from the obvious (fridge/freezer, oven/hob plus extractor, worktop and cupboard underneath, overhead storage, dishwasher, lighting, cabling, splashbacks, microwave) what else am I going to need?
In order to keep costs down we'll be getting the furniture bits from Ikea and the appliances from somewhere else. One cupboard and the worktop on top will be fitted to make use of an otherwise dead corner.
The layout is a rectangle with one of the short sides giving onto the living room. There are no windows. Standing in the space where the 4th wall would be, to the left there is room for a fridge/freezer, oven/hob, then the sink, then a 60cm gap which will be filled with a double cupboard which opens on one side only, facing you, like this. Next to that will be the dishwasher. That entire (back) wall will have a 180cm worktop. Above it will be some kind of storage unit. To the right there will be room for this half-depth unit plus some shelving overhead.
It's going to be a squeeze and I'm not keen on storing things on shelves, but they are cheaper than cabinets and can be more easily made to fit, so we're going to start with that and see how we do.
What do I need to know about buying and fitting a kitchen, including appliances? We are not DIY people - do we need to get someone in to do the installation? Has anyone got any tips? How long does it take - I'm hoping only a couple of days?
Lastly, I am a keen cook and will need that worksurface to be as uncluttered as possible (with microwave and kettle it's already shrinking fast). How do I keep stuff off it? I've looked at this to hang utensils off, because the arrangement I've suggested above will have no drawers, but would prefer something that went from one wall to the other, like a wardrobe rail - can I just get a wardrobe rail and use that?
All help welcome! Thanks.
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Property/DIY
Choosing and installing a kitchen for the first time, one month from now - what do I need to know?
5 replies
thereistheball · 11/01/2011 16:20
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