My kitchen rules (in my opinion) - part two

So as I discussed in my previous post (you can read it here) we put in a new kitchen before we moved in with the help of Kitchennet in Drummoyne.  They organised all the cabinets and trades for installation - but to lower some of the costs I sourced the appliances and also the other essential items.

Be warned - when installing a kitchen - don't forget to ask about what is (or is not!) included.  Things that are necessary but might not be included are -

Tapware - 

There are lots of types and choices.  Mixer taps are the type of taps that have a single unit, and you lift the lever on the top of the spout itself to turn on, twisting to either side for hot or cold.  I think most taps seem to be this type now.  I didn't really see any or many units with a spout and two separate taps, and those really old fashioned ones with two separate taps and spouts don't seem to be around at all.

Mixer tap which is quite common

Old fashioned two separate taps

But we had to get the top of the line tap (of course).  My husband is a great cook, and enjoys spending time in the kitchen (which I encourage!)  He was keen on what is known as a mixer tap with vegetable spray.  Basically you have one part of the spout over the sink and another part that pulls out of the holder and is flexible, and can spray your vegies, or salads, or anything really.  You can get some mixer taps that pull out and retract, but I have been told that they sometimes may no longer retract after a some use.  So our tap is taller, but will not need to retract at any time -

 

The famous tap - one spring out arm with spray, the other fixed arm (although it does rotate) for getting a glass of water

It really is great.  I can fill up tall vases and rinse out the bins so easily.  I know they look a bit strange and my parents complain they can't just get a drink out of it but I recommend them if you can fit them in!

The cupboards had to be moved upwards to fit the tap in

We actually even had to change the plans for the kitchen to raise the cupboards above the tap - but there was never a question in my husbands mind, we were fitting it in somehow!

Sink

You would think that was a given in the kitchen plans, but turns out that you have to pay extra for this too!  And then there are more choices than I expected.

First of all you can get a drop in sink or an undermount sink.  Drop in is the type with a draining board as part of the unit, and as it sounds, you "drop it in" to a hole in your benchtop.  The metal part of the sink sits on top of the bench top.  You can get all different configurations - single bowl, double bowl, single and a half bowl, left draining board, right draining board, double draining board - it goes on and on.  With a drop in sink, there is often a tap hole already cut into it, so you are limited to that hole what type of tap you install.  (Generally this will be a single hole in the middle of the sink, so a mixer tap will fit)

Double bowl sink

Single bowl right drainboard

Reece Bathrooms - this is a Franke Granite sink

Reece Australia -  Franke drop in sink

Obviously space is an issue for this - I always think two bowls are helpful so you can tip out water or rinse out in one bowl while washing in the other.  But it depends on your kitchen. You need to measure up carefully to see what you can fit. And also think about how you prefer to wash up or what is around your sink which might affect which side the draining board goes on.  As these pictures show, there are different shapes and materials as well that you can choose from.  Lots of websites have good choices, but Reece and Clark both are good places in Australia to have a look at.

Then you have undermount sinks.  Again, the name is a hint.  These sinks attach underneath your bench top so all you see is the benchtop, a smooth edge and then the sink bowls.  Some people prefer the look of these, as you don't have a drain board to collect grime.  You also have more bench space. However when washing up you still need to put your dishes somewhere so you need to think about a draining rack etc.  I assume you would only really do this with stone bench tops, as a laminate bench top would not look as attractive on the edges.  When the stone bench top is cut your stone mason will need the sink so it can be attached.

Undermount sinks can be single or double bowls, and also come in different shapes and sizes.

A single undermount sink from Clark

We chose the double undermount sink, which I think looks nicer, is deeper than other sinks, and has plenty of room.  We also got a built in colander with it and you can buy other draining boards to use with these sinks, to cover one bowl.

One side of our undermount sink - I think it has a nicer finish on the edges.  The other side is full of dishes so no photograph today!

Splashback 

You can choose many different materials, but check it is suitable for use, particularly for ceramic or gas cooktops - a melted splashback would not look good.  Tiles are often used, but you can use glass, acrylic, or even just a painted wall.  And of course there are a multitude of choices in tiles.  For our kitchen our tiler was included in the price but not the tiles! I ended up choosing very plain white tiles, with a trim of grey mosaic tiles.

Plain white tile splashback with grey mosaic tile trim

Handles on cupboards or drawers

Again - I would expect these to be included but they may not be.  So check!  And same as tiles and really all accessories - there are many choices ranging from basic and less expensive to much more expensive.  Handles can often be changed at a later date if you want to give your kitchen a bit of a make over.  I don't really see the point of spending a lot of money on them, but I'm sure some people do!

Appliances

The final thing you need to buy and consider - appliances.  Again, prices can vary greatly and you can buy all different sizes and types.  This is going to depend on your situation (a family may need a bigger fridge than a single person, or a person who loves baking may want a bigger and better oven) and of course your price range.  You can make your own choices on appliances - but you will need to consider and buy - an oven, a cook top (or an upright cooker combining both) and a range hood.  A dishwasher is very common but not essential (although I couldn't live without mine!)  And although you might already have a fridge, you do need to consider the size to make a large enough space.  So if you're going to buy a new one - decide before you get the kitchen made!

We were lucky enough to be able to use my parents old Smeg oven, which was given to us for free. I purchased a Bosch glass cooktop from The Good Guys and bought the floor stock to save some money.  The Bosch dishwasher came from Harvey Norman on a super Saturday sale.  And the Blanco rangehood was also negotiated from The Good Guys.  Shop around for the best prices and some places negotiate more than others. 

Blanco pull out range hood

My favourite appliance - the dishwasher

We ended up getting a bigger range hood than necessary - originally we thought we would put in a donated 90cm cook top so needed a 90cm range hood to go over it - but then later we changed to a 60cm cook top.  Range hoods can be pull out or fixed (you pull out one section to make them larger - my preference) and can also be the canopy type that seem most popular in all the magazines I read.  Best to do your research depending on what you can fit in (can you duct it outside?) and so you don't knock yourself out every time you are cooking.

And one final thing - which I will go into more detail on a separate post- do your research on your necessary purchases.  I bought our taps, tiles and sink at the Sydney Renovator Auctions.  This place is fantastic and so much cheaper than other retail outlets.  I paid $300 for the sink, approximately $300 for the tap, and $4 per square metre for the tiles.  There is a buyers premium added but it was still significantly cheaper than buying retail.  Some of the sinks I have pictured above cost between $1600-$2000 just for the single or double bowl!  Taps can also easily cost hundreds of dollars.  While you don't want to buy cheap rubbish that will leak immediately, you can source good quality items.  Our kitchen guys and plumber couldn't believe the prices I paid, to the point they tried to buy the tap and sink off me!  I also bought toilets and vanities (posts coming up) at a reduced price.

My Kitchen rules (in my opinion) - part one

As I discussed in an earlier post, kitchen installation took longer than I would have ever expected!  I had thought you went to a showroom, picked some colours, drew up a plan, and maybe had the kitchen installed in a week or two.  Clearly I was wrong!

The house had a sort of functioning kitchen when we bought it, but it was definitely our plan to put in a new and updated kitchen.  I decided that this should be done before we moved in.  I had visions of moving in, and then it all being too much to unpack the cupboards again and the kitchen never being fixed up.  Many people said we were better to move in and live with the kitchen for a while, so that we got something really practical and that suited us, but with the previous owners keeping their fridge in the laundry (who knows why?) and the cupboards and cooker being grimy and disgusting I did not want to even think about that option.

This is the kitchen which was originally installed - pictures taken prior to us settling

Original kitchen which I didn't fancy keeping

So we started our visits to showrooms about six weeks before our settlement.  I thought this would be plenty of time.  The first showroom we walked into was gorgeous.  Everything was top of the line - 40mm stone tops, automated cupboards that opened with a press of a button (so you don't have to lift your arms above your shoulder!) and all other mod cons you can think of.  Then of course the big question - how much?  As I didn't really know how much kitchens cost I was a bit wary of the "what is your budget?" question - however when we were told the starting price for their kitchens was $35,000 we realised the high end was off the list for us!

Second place was still lovely, but slightly less expensive.  However, they imported all their cupboards from France (or perhaps Germany) and so the earliest they could hope to get cupboards was 8 weeks - with a probably delivery time of 8-10 weeks.  So off to the next showroom.

Finally, we found Kitchennet in Drummoyne.  We were really happy with them.  The initial visit we were looked after by a really helpful woman (whose name I have forgotten, which is bad as she was really very good at customer service!), who didn't mind us asking about the less expensive options.  Although she couldn't give us an actual price, as we were talking about the use of laminate and given our kitchen is only one row of cupboards and an island bench, they were confident we could get a lovely kitchen with relatively lower expense.

The next visit was to meet with the designer.  John was very helpful, and had actually accessed the house plan through the real estate site when we bought it - so had already drawn up some suggestions.  We were happy immediately with this plan, so could go ahead and have it drawn up fully.  Again the question of budget - I was still a bit wary and so I said we were looking at $10,000 but that we would buy our own appliances.

So the final plans were drawn up - and amazingly (or perhaps I am being cynical, but it did seem a bit of a coincidence) the quote was just under our budget - $9700.  I really do wonder if I had have said less money the quote would have fallen under that amount!

For this we got two 900mm drawer systems, 3 other underbench cupboards, plus an above fridge cupboard, pantry cupboard, and 5 other high cupboards, plus the cupboards above the rangehood. There is also an island bench with space to sit at.  All hinges are Hettich, and the drawers are soft close. Overall I was quite happy with the price and the plans.

This shows the kitchen with sink cabinets, drawers, oven (which we supplied) and one of the underneath cupboards, also on the other side you can see our island bench, which consists of drawers and a sitting area

The drawer organiser which also came with the package has been very helpful

We went for laminate cupboards, and initially we were going to have laminate bench tops. We chose white for the lower cupboards (I think the colour is Ash White) and for the top cupboards John suggested that we use a contrasting colour.  We chose a woodgrain finish, and the colour is Alaskan. We were going to use a dark grey colour for the bench tops.  When we were deciding however, we were offered a deal to use 20mm stone for the bench tops and it was only $600 more than the original quote.  We decided on Smart Stone in Marengo, however in the end this was out of stock and so we ended up with Caesarstone Raven.

You can't really tell but the upper and lower cupboards are different colours

Stone benchtops in the dark stone colour

In addition to the increase for the bench tops, we also had to pay more as I wanted a double under mount sink, and there was a slight variation for extra cupboards.  So the final amount for the kitchen was around $11,000 - including all trades and installation, and removal and disposal of the old kitchen, but not including the appliances or the sink and tapware, all of which I sourced myself.  I will write another post regarding buying of appliances and tiles, and approximate costs involved.