Kitchen re-vamp

When we put the house on the market recently we knew that it needs a new kitchen, we realised that when we bought it, but it's one of those things we put on a back boiler. We got a few quotes, just for new doors, worktops and sink it was well over £3000 Although the kitchen isn't huge, the doors are oversized so we can't just go to B&Q and pick some replacements up, we need to have them made

We are going to go back on the market but, this week, the doddery old built in cooker started playing up and wouldn't light up, the attached grill hasn't worked since we moved in, but it is as old as the house, (20 years), so I expect it's about time for a change.

This got us to talking about doing the kitchen up, more for our sake than anyone elses, the doors are mdf and have blown for some reason, I've attached some piccies, so we couldn't just paint them to tidy them up a bit. I came up with the bright idea of coating them in fake leather, so Clive has done all the hard work and here it is as a work in progress. We have stainless steel knobs, and are going to have chocolate leather look worktops with some bling in them, stainless steel sink and stainless steel cooker and hob so that it all matches. It will cost us a fraction of what we would have had to pay, and this way, we have something more pleasing to the eye and goods that work, and we won't feel so bad if the house sells and the new owners rip out the kitchen which we would do if we had spent thousands on it

If we took the units out and replaced with a normal kitchen we would have to re-tile too, and we don't think those tiles are available anymore. We are going to paint the walls cream and then have cream tiles, (well probably laminate that looks like quarry tiles), on the floor so that it isn't too dark in there

Here are some before and after shots, don't forget it's only just been started so not looking too good yet.






Thanks for looking

It looks surprisingly good, very ingenious.
How big are your oversized doors ? Ikea do big doors, I think my wall units are 92 cm high as opposed to the usual 70 or whatever it is. They also have a better range than B&Q.

Looks good but very dark to me. And what about cleaning grease off what products can you use that are safe on leather and effective?

Also, does putting leather on items near an ignition source increase risks?

I'm guessing it's vinyl SB and some kitchen unit ranges are vinyl wrapped. The risk of fire would be no greater than previously. There are rules regarding how close the unit can be to the hob but not what the unit is made of.
It does look dark and I don't do dark but it looked insipid before and the after picture is a huge improvement.

I'm not sure what the sizes are, I'll aske Clive when he comes back in, but I know he checked around for door replacements...not sure if he tried Ikea though

Clive has a lot of industrial products, he has degreased everything before he starts glueing the leather on, it's a fake leather and the shop assured us it is anti-flammable, it is the stuff that is also used on worktops and designer kitches...the adhesive is also anti-inflammable, although I leave all that to Clive who assures me it is.

We do have a huge window in the kitchen and two huge ones on the landing the other side of the kitchen door, so it is always quite light in there, but I take your point, that's why everything else will be in cream to make sure it isn't all too dark

Clive is also going to be painting those oak coloured edges in a chocolate colour so it all blends in, I shall take some more piccies soon and show you all as it progresses

The old brown cooker and hob will be replaced with stainless steel, which will also reflect the light

I realised it was "faux" leather!

Looks great Sheree, there are a lot of chocolate browns in kitchens at the moment, it's very popular

Very nice You've chosen my favourite colours Well done to you and Clive xx

we couldn't have afforded the real stuff...and Clive knows I would never have allowed it

Thanks Jane, we toyed with the cream colour but then thought it would look as washed out as the old doors, we wanted something a bit different...it's going to be a case of you either love it or hate it I think, thankfully Clive and I are really pleased with how it's looking

Thanks Lou...don't forget to keep looking back as I update it, hopefully you'll still like it when we've finished xx

Very good idea, looks smart and modern. Unique.