Cheap Kitchens VS Affordable Kitchens

kitchen, cheap kitchens

I’ve written a lot about interiors recently as we are making changes to our home. Here’s a question for you, “can you get away with installing cheap kitchens in your home without having to pay through the nose down the road”? Yes, you can! When I say cheap kitchens I mean high-quality kitchens that comes with all the fixtures and fittings and yet are affordable. These are the type of kitchens you might find at Kitchen Warehouse.

When Cheap Kitchens Go Bad

The type of cheap kitchen that you won’t find at a reputable kitchen store is the type of kitchen that Roy and I had in our first home. It was a rental that we took on quickly as the house we were moving into fell through and we were packed up and ready to go. We should have been tipped off by the fact that the wallpaper border in the living room was sellotaped on, or the fact that there was no heating or gas installed, but hey, we were young, in love and absolutely blinkered. The kitchen though, that was something else.

When I refer to this kind of cheap kitchen I mean poorly fitted doors, very shallow cupboards, one door hung upside down, cheap hinges and a poor arrangement which meant the kitchen offered no decent storage and workspace was limited. On the upside, it was laid out in such a way that you could wash your hands in the sink and warm your bottom by the grill at the same time…..

Curiously I’ve seen this property recently (on Rightmove) and it has been completely renovated. No sellotape on the walls, radiators have been installed and there is a decent kitchen. Even from the pictures, you can tell the difference. The quality, the layout, the practical aspects. I was quite put out at first. I know that the person who owns it now wouldn’t have paid a fortune on the new kitchen which just goes to show the difference between cheap kitchens and cheap kitchen that are of a high quality.

Affordable Kitchens and What They Offer

There are certain things that I require from a new kitchen:

  • It won’t break my budget
  • I have choices so that I may customise the layout of my kitchen how I want it to be
  • The kitchen comes from a reputable company
  • There is scope for some design elements (kitchens don’t need to be ugly and boring)
  • Plenty of storage (clever storage is always a pro-point)
  • Enough worktop space

What about you? What are your kitchen must-haves? Clearly these days you don’t need to throw ridiculous amounts of money at a new kitchen in order to receive something that works for you, your lifestyle, your space and your family, so even with a budget in mind, what would you like to see in your kitchen?

Written in collaboration with Kitchen Warehouse

Make the Most Out of Your Living Space

living space

If you’re a regular reader of Curly and Candid you’ll have seen that it seems to be interior’s month or two at the moment. We’ve lived here for 14 months now and need to really put our stamp on the house. For us, it’s all about making use of unused living spaces or making the best of used living spaces. Throughout our research we’ve come up with a  few tips on how to get started with your home renovations to make the most out of your space.

Unused Rooms

Chances are that you will have unused rooms that you can turn into functional spaces. If that spare room is simply there to store your junk, it might be time to clear it and give it a purpose. Turn your spare small room into a study, or a walk in wardrobe. You can use your garage for a workshop or your summer room as a playroom. We don’t have an unused room as such but do have a decent space under the attic stairs we could use better….

Narrow Corridors

One of the things that old and new homes have in common is narrow corridors. If you are living in an apartment, this problem is even greater, as the corridor will not only be narrow and useless, but also dark. There are several ways you can make these spaces more functional, by adding a narrow shelving unit, images, floating shelves, or even a shoe storage. Installing a few glass bricks will make the space brighter and more of an attractive living space too.

Built-In Wardrobes

You might also consider getting more space from your bedrooms if you get made-to-measure wardrobes and save floor space. We had built in wardrobes and bif cupboards at the top (great for hiding Xmas gifts!) and this makes a big difference to our room. You can also invest in a storage bed or sofa to store away things you don’t use every day. You can add small shelves above the doors and build up your airing cupboard to make the most out of your space.

Getting Rid of Walls

Opening up the space in your home will improve the comfort level of your house, and make it more inclusive for all family members. An open plan design will need a detailed structural plan and you might want to talk to Contemporary Architects who can draw up your design and check the stability and integrity of the building before applying for a building permissions.  I’m not a fan of open plan living space to be honest, unless you have an awesome space, but have seen great results from those who have done it.

Extensions to Create New Living Space

If you have tried everything above, and you still don’t seem to have enough space, chances are that you will need to start thinking about getting an extension. Work with a professional to find a way to optimize the existing home spaces before you add more rooms downstairs and upstairs. Solid wall constructions and two-story buildings are likely to cost significantly more than lean-on conservatories and so on.

If you seem to be lacking space in your home, chances are that you will need to start thinking beyond tidying up and clearing out your storage. Use the above ideas to make the most out of your home and add functionality and style to your living space.