Cabinet appointments

Kya deLongchamps gives a submission on how to serve up a champagne kitchen on a ginger beer budget.

IT is wildly bandied about that acquiring a new kitchen can add as much as 20% to the value of your house. This presupposes the inclusion of a top flight Italian, German or handmade timber kitchen in a colour and style that will drive the potential buyers into a contractual frenzy. Where you do upgrade — create a kitchen first and foremost for yourself. If money is tight, there are subtle compromises, decorating insights and smart shopping adventures to bring home a champagne kitchen on a ginger beer budget.

Stay on point: Carry out a kitchen survey based on your highly personal needs and consider what you can retain. Consider mixing up freestanding pieces (that you may already have) with builtin units for bespoke individuality. Relentless terraces of cabinets can suffocate a kitchen, so don’t buy in more than you need. Examine what you’re using right now, estimate what extra storage is lacking and add another 10-15% in volume for the natural evolution of domestic detritus. Don’t move plumbing positions unless it seriously impacts your needs. Putting a bend in a water pipe or waste pipe to accommodate a few centimetres is one thing, but crossing the kitchen with dishwashers and sink can mean taking up the floor.

Don’t fudge budget: A new kitchen including cabinets and appliances will cost you from between €3,000 and €30,000, so there’s plenty of room to ruin yourself, if mesmerised by high aspirations. Detailing the interior of one cabinet with chrome articulated chic can push a 60cm unit up €150. If you have a set, realistic budget (and there’s no need to go out to spend all of that) and cannot be talked into more expensive options, you’re in a much stronger position. Bring your kitchen measurements and rough plans to the kitchen supplier and let them work out your design out using their CAD technology. This is generally a free service for a standard drawing not heaving with detail. See what they find available within the money you have to spend and let them know discreetly that you are still shopping around. Sticking with standard cabinet sizes is generally a money saver.

Hunt: Commit to some legwork and communication daring. Once you develop shopping safari skills, you may never go back to paying full price. Larger retailers clear out old stock of cabinetry and show kitchens to make new for the next season. Offers can be advertised on-line or in the press, but you might be lucky enough to strike your own deal. Ask about discount on discontinued lines and the fate of the store kitchens. You just might get that oiled Iroko for the same price as an economy laminate.

The configuration of any assembled kitchen must reasonably ally with your space. Shop mid-week when the browsers are low and your custom more highly prized. People are fickle and even contractors do make mistakes. Used kitchens, some two, or even one year old, do come up in the classifieds and if you buy a second hand kitchen privately you will have to organise its removal and installation. Poorly fitted, any kitchen unit, even new or used, will fall flat.

Tread lightly: Many so-called eco friendly houses have kitchens so over specified for lighting, they wouldn’t look out of place on the Starship Enterprise. Whip up a sophisticated light show without a fleet of lights drilled into the ceiling and baseboards. Use the area under hanging cabinets and the tops of cabinets to set inexpensive hidden trim lighting. Bounced off the floor and ceiling it’s not only atmospheric but can give a wide wash for counter work and general tasks. Rails set with movable spots are easy to install in place of a central pendant. The halogen bulbs included on most extractors will light your cooking area efficiently.

Divine vinyl and laminate: Many people remains sniffy about vinyl flooring but as a one-piece, water impermeable material it performs superbly and cleans up with the slop of a mop. Both the capital outlay and installation are highly economical at €10-€15 per square metre. Vinyl is soft and in a springy quality form, will not only keep your toes warm but won’t shatter your fallen crockery. If you dread the cost of a slate floor, there are ‘hewn’ laminate options that are so convincing, you would have to skim your nose off the faux grout to notice. Installation on a good level surface is in simple click panels, and a suitable mid-level DIY project. Try Simplifit panel flooring supplied by B&Q.

Feature colour: Introduce new colour in manageable quantities in paint, paper, fabric and window treatments. A roll of designer wallpaper won’t set you back more than €50. The paper must be a wipe down, water-resistant product suited to the humidity of a kitchen. After that you can dress everything from the back of glazed or open cupboards to the area hosting a dining table (a great trick for indicating function at a glance). Set behind Perspex or glass, your splashback and counter returns can be as individual as you are. Window blinds in rollers and Romans offer another canvas and start for as little €20 a window. Take a look at Helena Karlson’s award winning Scandinavian designs in venetians from €46 and gorgeous Roman Reveals from €76, at Tuiss. www.tuiss.ie.

Stand aside: Freestanding appliances offer great value for money and are easier to replace than built-ins. Examine the pieces offered with a complete kitchen package. If you can do better, source your cooker, fridge and dishwasher elsewhere. Measurements must be to the millimetre and watch out for the room needed to accommodate the hinge movement on, say, the fridge. Energy efficiency should be top of your list in terms of priorities, and with water charges coming, the consumption of dishwashers and laundry machines is more than a quaint extra.

Ditch or diva the doors: If you have good solid cabinets in place, you can change the doors and counters, and conserve the original layout of your existing kitchen, saving yourself thousands. Stock cabinet size doors from 40cm up are widely available at large DIY outlets, predrilled for door hanging. If you buy from IKEA, be aware that their sizings are off-standard.

A repaint of existing wood or melamine can transform a tired run of cabinets. Dedicated no-prime paints include Crown’s latest Cupboard Paint suited to MDF, melamine, wood and veneers. Follow the preparation instructions to the letter. From €25 per litre. Replacing the hardware on the doors will add fresh new character and prices start around €8 for handles and €5 for knobs. Match the hole positions for an effortless switch out.