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Bespoke Fitted Kitchens – Get Your Online Bargain Now

June 26, 2010 By Appliance Man


Bespoke fitted kitchens are an absolute necessity in any household that wants to be considered by its own owners and by visitors a household to be proud of. Without a decent fitted kitchen to cook in, then your house may not be the chosen venue for many social visits by your friends!

Now, when we are talking about getting kitchens fitted, it may conjure up images of scheming carpenters billing you for endless hours of sitting around sipping cups of tea, all the while your kitchen is no more near completion. Yet your bank balance is getting close to extinction.

This is why you need to do your research when looking into getting any bespoke fitted kitchens. They will not come cheap and nobody wants to be pouring money down the drain, especially in the country’s current state of financial turmoil.

The best thing to do is to look online at some of the companies’ websites that will offer examples of their previous work and see if you feel that they are the company for you; don’t be afraid to take a fair amount of time researching the company’s website to make sure that you are going with the right choice. Once you sign on the dotted line, it’s tough to go back!

So, when it comes to bespoke fitted kitchens, if you manage to find a good company to go with, you should try to get to know whoever is going to be fitting your kitchen, at least on a formal level, in order to know exactly who you are dealing with. The internet is a wonderful tool for a company to showcase their work and for you to check out what they are showing, to see if you are a good fit as customer and vendor; however, at times it can feel a touch impersonal, so once you have placed your order with the company, don’t be afraid to call the number given and ask for a consultation, giving the whole deal a more personal feel.

So, there we have it. If you want a great online bargain on anything from bespoke fitted kitchens to other handiwork around the house, the best place to check out bargains is on the internet, where your requirements can be assessed online and your needs and wants can be judged by the web pages that each company’s site displays.

By: David Harfield

About the Author:
David Harfield writes about furniture. If you are in the market for any bespoke fitted kitchens then visit Chiswick Woodworking Company to see if they have the right deal for you.



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Bank Balance, Consultation, Household

Fitted Kitchens – How Much Do They Cost?

June 26, 2010 By Appliance Man


A Fitted Kitchen is one of the most expensive purchases you will make… and, as it is likely you will only buy two in your lifetime, it’s not surprising people lose touch with prices.

The cost of Fitted Kitchens can be broken down into four main headings:

Furniture – Cabinets, Trims, Handles etc

Appliances – Oven, Hob, Hood, etc

Specialist Worktop – Granite, Quartz, Corian, etc

Installation – Carpentry, Plumbing, Electrics, etc

To give you an idea of likely costs consider these “bands” of cost – representing the likely lower and higher cost dependant upon quality/quantity:

Furniture – £3,000 – £7,000 Appliances – £2,500 – £4,000 Specialist Worktop – £3,500 – £5,000 Installation – £2,500 – £4,000

As you can see it is now possible to assess your costs by choosing your own particular requirements. e.g. You may be buying Furniture, Appliance, and a Granite Worktop, but have no Installation cost (you may be fitting yourself).

So, if you intend buying all of the items (Furniture+Appliances+Specialist Worktop+Installation) your kitchen is likely to cost you between £11,500 and £20,000.

Now, don’t fall into the trap that goes “I’ve only got a small kitchen so mine will be less than that”

The cost of an average kitchen is not generally dependant upon its size… Why?

Most new kitchen designs contain a similar number of cabinets (the average is 12) Bigger kitchens will have 12 big cabinets Smaller kitchens will have 12 smaller cabinets A cabinet 300mm wide may be half the size of a cabinet 600mm wide… but it is 80% of the cost. Therefore, smaller kitchens contain the same number of “slightly cheaper” cabinets – making the furniture similar in cost. When you consider that most people will have the same requirement for appliances irrespective of the size of the kitchen, the cost of the appliances will be similar whether your kitchen is large or small. Also, as a large proportion of the Kitchen Fitting is dependant on the number of cabinets, the cost of Installation is similar for large and small kitchens.

Small kitchens are not cheap to buy, it is more the case that… large kitchens are more cost effective! The cost of your new fitted kitchen is far more likely to be influenced by the quality of products purchased, than it’s size.

The trick is to identify what you want most, and spend your money accordingly.

For example, if you really do want a fabulous high gloss black granite worktop you may have to cut down on the cost of appliances, buy cheaper furniture, or fit it yourself.

On the other hand, you have had your eye on that new Induction hob and would rather see it sitting in a new fabulous black gloss laminate worktop than not have it at all.

As always, it pays to shop around… look for the best value for your money!

By: Peter Earthy

About the Author:
Peter Earthy is a regular contributor to fitted kitchen design Forums, Blogs, and Web Sites.

Check out his free “Kitchen Cost” and “Fitting Cost” calculators at http://www.fittedkitchen.info

These free calculators will help you budget for your new kitchen.



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Granite Worktop, Hob, Quartz

Vintage Style Kitchens Have A Charm Of Their Own

June 26, 2010 By Appliance Man


Enormous amounts of time and money are spent on fitted kitchens, but why not create a shabby chic or vintage style kitchen that reflects your own personality, and has so much more charm than modern day mass produced chipboard and plastic? An old-fashioned kitchen will become the center of family life, inspiring even the most reluctant cooks to don their aprons and set to work with a will.

Many kitchen utensils are attractive enough to be decorative as well as functional, whether they be genuine vintage or modern retro-style reproductions. Why not consider making a feature of them and allowing them to be seen in all their splendour? Shabby chic means looking around for rough wicker baskets, simple vintage pottery bowls, humble wooden spoons gathered together in an earthenware pitcher, a bowl of fruit waiting to be used – all these have the potential for creating beautiful still-lifes in the corners of your kitchen. Establish your basic year-round display, then add other elements as the seasons change, perhaps bowls of spring bulbs in April, or a row of pumpkins waiting to be carved as Halloween comes around. Remember too that displays like this don’t mean an untidy and inefficient kitchen with lots of clutter, but that having the items you use regularly easily to hand makes the cook’s life much easier. Every item should have it’s own place and purpose in your vintage style kitchen.

Don’t automatically assume that fitted cabinets are the only answer when planning your kitchen. Think about installing an old-fashioned kitchen dresser – a great solution to your storage problems. You can keep rarely used objects hidden away in the bottom half, cutlery and all those odds and ends that you need handy in the drawers, and display your everyday china and utensils on the shelves. If your budget won’t run to a dresser, then even inexpensive ready made shelves can be customised to meet your shabby chic desires. You can attach small hooks to the edge or underside of the shelves to hold cups and mugs, and edge the shelves with a pretty fabric or paper border to match the rest of your decor – this is a great way to add colour and interest to a plain surface.

It’s worth mentioning colour too – this is a very personal choice, but I think that some colours do work better in a vintage style kitchen than others. As you’re trying to emphasise natural, home-grown and home-made produce, then natural colours like greens and browns work well as do soft whites, creams and yellows. Strong, modern colours will look completely out of place in a vintage decorating scheme.

Large expanses of wall painted in a neutral colour do need to be broken up. Soft watercolour paintings can look great on such walls. If you don’t feel up to, or don’t want to paint your own, then there are plenty of lovely images out there. Postcards [http://www.devonbeardesigns.com/prod2.asp?id=272&sub_cat=581] can also be mounted and framed in groups for a great display at very little expense. Don’t overdo it though, a little goes a long way and quality in this instance is definitely worth more than quality. You could always commission a personalised print from DevonBear Designs, sure to be a talking point in any kitchen scheme.

By: Helen Dickson

About the Author:
Helen Dickson is the owner of DevonBear Designs. She designs and makes a small range of really practical – and pretty – textile items and stationery all inspired by the wonderful coast and countryside of South Devon, England. Helen is a talented watercolour artist and all DevonBear Designs products feature one of her images. Visit her site at http://www.devonbeardesigns.com



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Bowl Of Fruit, Pumpkins, Spring Bulbs

Built-In Appliances Improving the Styles of Kitchens

June 25, 2010 By Appliance Man


Fully fitted kitchens wanted by many homeowners and a built-in appliances are a major part of this.

Washing machines, dishwashers, cookers and fridge freezers are just a few of the built in appliances that are available. If you are designing a new kitchen and are in need of a few new appliances then you can give serious thought to buying a few at the same time to ensure they are all the same style and they will match your new kitchen design.

Appliances play a huge role in our day to day lives as we rely on them a lot. From making the breakfast in the morning, cooking the dinner in the evening and keeping our clothes clean and dry. You probably do not realise how important our appliances are until one or more of them do not work, this causes major disruption to our day to day lives. When one of them breaks down we have to probably take time off work to wait for someone to come and fix it which is not ideal.

If you are in the process of redesigning your kitchen then built-in appliances are recommended and if you are buying new appliances then do your upmost to ensure they are energy efficient as you can end up saving a considerable amount of money. If you make sure all your home appliances are energy efficient you could see yourself saving hundreds of pounds a year on energy bills. This will also mean you are creating less CO2 which is the main cause of concern for all environmentalists.

When you are looking to purchase an appliance of any type it is always advisable to choose a brand you know and trust. Choosing one of the main brands such as Bosch, Miele, Beko or Hotpoint means you can rest assured that you are getting a high quality product. You will also receive a warranty so if anything is wrong with the product when you buy it you will either receive your money back or a new appliance.

By: Bob Brightside

About the Author:
Find the best deals on built-in washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, cookers and more. The best of these deals are online.



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Fitted Kitchens, Hotpoint, Quality Product

Fitted Kitchens – Fitted Kitchen Tips

June 24, 2010 By Appliance Man


The Work Triangle or The Work Area:

One of the most important aspects of any fitted kitchen and its also one of the areas of planning that must involve the input of the cook or chef. There are three main appliances that will determine this area and these are, the cooker, the fridge and the sink or waste area. You may well ask why, well these when you think about it are the three most used places in any kitchen. If any of these areas are too far away from each other it can make using the kitchen to its full potential difficult.

So the work area or the work triangle should be given the attention it deserves before proceeding to the other areas of choosing your kitchen, and that is your first fitted kitchen tip.

Available Kitchens:
When you go to any showrooms today you will see a huge range of fitted kitchens displayed under strategically placed bright lights, and you think I must have one of these. A little advice, do not rush that decision, and that is your second fitted kitchen tip.

One of the areas to check out is the kitchen carcass or the frame. This is where the doors are attached by hinges that will be used many times every day, and you certainly do not want to be adjusting doors in a few weeks after your purchase because some manufacturer decides to cut corners by using rubbish wood from framing, and the hinges and other fittings like runners become loose because the screws used for to attach such fittings are not gripping properly.

Maple Kitchens
This is a very valuable hardwood timber, we have in North America the Sugar Maple while in Europe we have the Sycamore Maple. Butchers blocks and bowling pins are mostly manufactured from hard maple from North America and it has a beautiful decorative wood grain that is extremely popular when installing fitted kitchens in Ireland.

Ash Kitchens
This wood is a tough hardwood and is used for making bows, fitted kitchens, electric guitar bodies and one of the famous sporting accessories the hurley stick. Hurling is a sport played by sporting warriors all over Ireland and is deemed to be the fastest spot in the world. Not for the faint hearted.

Oak Kitchens
One of the hardwoods with a very attractive grain and is widely used for furniture making for centuries. It is also used for making whiskey and wine barrels and is one of the timbers used for the construction of timber framed houses. American Oak custom and fitted kitchens when manufactured and finished of to a high standard are just beautiful.

Knotty Pine Kitchens
Pines are mostly grown in the Northern hemisphere and are extremely important in the commercial world and is widely used in the making of custom and fitted kitchens, windows and roofing and floors.

In-frame Kitchens
These kitchens can be made of any wood and are simply manufactured by having the doors and drawers sit into the the frame rather than having them protrude like a normal kitchen. They are by far the best style of custom and fitted kitchens available to day. Leinster Woodcraft are specialist in this type of manufacturing and you can see their kitchens by visiting the links below.

Painted Kitchens
These kitchens are where the kitchens are painted and can be refreshed over the years. A popular fitted kitchen is where the kitchen base and overhead units are painted cream with an Oak work-top to add contrast and style.

Advice, look behind the lovely new kitchen door and ask questions, after all its your hard earned money your spending. Visit the links just right below this article to view images and get quotations.

By: Daniel Gilligan

About the Author:
Daniel is a freelance author and writes articles on home improvements, for more information visit Fitted Kitchens from Leinster Woodcraft



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Bright Lights, Fitted Kitchens, Wood Grain

Thinking About Design – Fitted Kitchens, the Smart Way

June 23, 2010 By Appliance Man


When choosing your own fitted kitchen, it is easy to lose track of the overall design, and to become overfaced with the challenge of making the project a reality. There are several ways of ensuring that your involvement in the process is reflected in the design, while also remaining flexible to changes in either your budget or your tastes. The key to this confident outlook is in thinking about design – in a sense calling to mind the various elements of your fitted kitchen in a workable manner.

However technically-minded we may or may not be, it is certainly possible for us to form a preliminary ‘sketch’ of a kitchen design that suits us; by ordering a few brochures and visiting a few stores we can begin to realize a shape and a unified feel that may be built essentially around any aspect of the design: kitchen cabinets, worktops, specific lighting – all of these things can be the starting point from which the picture of the finished kitchen begins to grow.

From a loose portfolio of ideas (brochure cuttings, photographs from stores), we will begin naturally to think about the specifics and how they are relevant to our personal needs – call it a brief, a plan, at this stage it’s just a kind of list of the storage space, appliances, surfaces, finishes and fittings that we think are more suited to our own needs and tastes. As each kitchen is different in its positioning, shape, and size, we can begin to be more selective, and trim down the design to suit the space it will inhabit.

After getting a fairly good feel for the kind of fitted kitchen we want, we may still have further questions that need answering in order to reach that perfect design – after all, as good as the in-store kitchens and brochure pictures may be, the correct blend of interior aspects and practical elements is hard to achieve. But, as we’re thinking about design already, we’re one step ahead in providing ourselves with the solutions.

Browsing a few websites offering fitted kitchens, we’ll find that the better companies offer a ‘free design visit/consultation’ service. By arranging a consultation, we can openly and frankly lay down our vision for the fitted kitchen we’re thinking about, and establish a kind of creative space in which ideas can be bounced back and forth. The bottom line for design consultants is the preservation of the picture we have of the fitted kitchen, so again we are strengthening our initial vision with the experience of trained, impartial professionals.

We might consider this further and find that the in-store fitted kitchen examples and the brochures are the product mostly of thinking about and talking about design; the texture and finish of the cupboards may be anchored around a striking worktop as a centrepiece, for example – there is a choice being made, and whether or not we want to think of ourselves as customers-cum-designers at all, these choices will be the aspects of the finished fitted kitchen that really come to life and make this most central space of the home truly unique.

By: Katie Brunt

About the Author:



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Appliances, Fitted Kitchen, Specifics

What to Look For When You Are Buying Luxury Fitted Kitchens

June 22, 2010 By Appliance Man


If your kitchen is in dire need of a new look and you are interested in having a luxurious fitted kitchen installed, you need to find the best company to work with. The best fitted kitchen companies are those that build their reputation based on customer satisfaction, so if friends or family have recently undergone a kitchen remodelling project and you like the finished look, then by all means ask them what company did the work.

If you should not happen to have any personal references to use, then the best place to do a bit of comparative shopping is on the internet. There are many companies online today who offer luxury fitted kitchens so your choices are many. However, to make the task easier, narrow down your search by looking at only those companies that are located in your general area. Simply use your favourite search engine and conduct a geo-targeted search using a simple search term such as ‘luxury fitted kitchens London’ and you will be presented with a good listing of companies.

The best companies offer a wide range of styles which allow you to define your tastes and put a bit of your personality into your kitchen. You should have dozens of colours and finishes to choose from regardless if you are looking for a traditional, contemporary or ultra sleek and chic look in your new kitchen. Take the time to view the photos, prices and services offered on the websites so that you can narrow your choices of companies down to one or two. The top companies will, when contacted by you, arrange to come to your home to give you a no-obligation quote. It is also recommended that you take the time to drive to the top one or two companies so that you can get a hands-on, close-up view of what they offer.

Considering the fact that your kitchen is the central meeting area in your home and its most important room, you should take as much time as you need to look at all of your options. You most certainly have some ideas in mind concerning what are some ‘must-haves’ in your new kitchen such as an middle island, special counter tops or a certain finish on the cupboards and drawers. Be sure to write down all of your wishes and ideas so that you can discuss them with the top one or companies you are thinking of going with.

One other way that can be used to find luxury fitted kitchens in the UK is to visit a comparative shopping/review centre website that makes it their business to offer consumers reviews on fitted kitchen units and fitters so that comparisons can be made concerning the products, services and prices. It is on these sites that you will find honest reviews of the larger kitchen retailers in the UK as well as some of the lesser-known businesses. These reviews are written by actual customers who were not bribed or paid money to add their thoughts. Browsing through one or two of these sites is really a good way to know which companies have the best reputations regarding high quality products, outstanding design services, low prices and good customer support.

By: Harry Worthington

About the Author:
Are you looking to find Luxury Fitted Kitchens? Lifestyle Interiors by ASQ is a company that will be able to help you. For more information on the company and all your questions answered please visit the website at http://www.lifestylebyasq.co.uk/



Filed Under: Fitted Kitchens Tagged With: Dire Need, Fitted Kitchens, Simple Search