New Kitchen - ball park price?
Aug 13th 2009, 11:30 am
#46
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Hillarys, Perth
Posts: 3,973
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
Aug 13th 2009, 12:27 pm
#48
Demi-God
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Far North Queensland
Posts: 2,812
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
The key, my friends, in terms of value add to a property, is to fit a $20,000 and make it look like a $60,000 kitchen. Can be done.
The other trick is good design. A Kitchen is a workplace and has to be practical. But it also tends to be the part of the house that female influence on the purchase is most keenly felt, so it needs to look good too. But: there's not much point spending money on three sinks when you only need one (especially in these days of dishwashers), no point fitting three cooking ranges if there's only four bedrooms in the house. Most kitchen designs that don't work have far too much cupboard space and not enough open storage. By that I mean hooks and hangers for the tools of cooking. Saucepans are far more efficiently and conveniently stored by hanging them, not by stacking them.
Most kitchens I've seen are for looking at, not for cooking in.
Also, looking at the price of range hoods, consider building a chimney instead. Far more effective, and probably cheaper. Good lighting is essential. And good work surfaces. A central table with a wooden block top on it for cutting is probably the most useful thing you can put in a kitchen I reckon. And nobody ever does.
Cupboards are 90% useless in my view. Store your porcelain in the dining room dresser, your food in the pantry and your saucepans on hangers. What are the cupboards for? More than two is probably a waste of money.
The other trick is good design. A Kitchen is a workplace and has to be practical. But it also tends to be the part of the house that female influence on the purchase is most keenly felt, so it needs to look good too. But: there's not much point spending money on three sinks when you only need one (especially in these days of dishwashers), no point fitting three cooking ranges if there's only four bedrooms in the house. Most kitchen designs that don't work have far too much cupboard space and not enough open storage. By that I mean hooks and hangers for the tools of cooking. Saucepans are far more efficiently and conveniently stored by hanging them, not by stacking them.
Most kitchens I've seen are for looking at, not for cooking in.
Also, looking at the price of range hoods, consider building a chimney instead. Far more effective, and probably cheaper. Good lighting is essential. And good work surfaces. A central table with a wooden block top on it for cutting is probably the most useful thing you can put in a kitchen I reckon. And nobody ever does.
Cupboards are 90% useless in my view. Store your porcelain in the dining room dresser, your food in the pantry and your saucepans on hangers. What are the cupboards for? More than two is probably a waste of money.
Aug 13th 2009, 12:38 pm
#49
Sunny Sydney
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Sydney
Posts: 6,241
Aug 13th 2009, 12:39 pm
#50
Sunny Sydney
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Sydney
Posts: 6,241
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
The key, my friends, in terms of value add to a property, is to fit a $20,000 and make it look like a $60,000 kitchen. Can be done.
The other trick is good design. A Kitchen is a workplace and has to be practical. But it also tends to be the part of the house that female influence on the purchase is most keenly felt, so it needs to look good too. But: there's not much point spending money on three sinks when you only need one (especially in these days of dishwashers), no point fitting three cooking ranges if there's only four bedrooms in the house. Most kitchen designs that don't work have far too much cupboard space and not enough open storage. By that I mean hooks and hangers for the tools of cooking. Saucepans are far more efficiently and conveniently stored by hanging them, not by stacking them.
Most kitchens I've seen are for looking at, not for cooking in.
Also, looking at the price of range hoods, consider building a chimney instead. Far more effective, and probably cheaper. Good lighting is essential. And good work surfaces. A central table with a wooden block top on it for cutting is probably the most useful thing you can put in a kitchen I reckon. And nobody ever does.
Cupboards are 90% useless in my view. Store your porcelain in the dining room dresser, your food in the pantry and your saucepans on hangers. What are the cupboards for? More than two is probably a waste of money.
The other trick is good design. A Kitchen is a workplace and has to be practical. But it also tends to be the part of the house that female influence on the purchase is most keenly felt, so it needs to look good too. But: there's not much point spending money on three sinks when you only need one (especially in these days of dishwashers), no point fitting three cooking ranges if there's only four bedrooms in the house. Most kitchen designs that don't work have far too much cupboard space and not enough open storage. By that I mean hooks and hangers for the tools of cooking. Saucepans are far more efficiently and conveniently stored by hanging them, not by stacking them.
Most kitchens I've seen are for looking at, not for cooking in.
Also, looking at the price of range hoods, consider building a chimney instead. Far more effective, and probably cheaper. Good lighting is essential. And good work surfaces. A central table with a wooden block top on it for cutting is probably the most useful thing you can put in a kitchen I reckon. And nobody ever does.
Cupboards are 90% useless in my view. Store your porcelain in the dining room dresser, your food in the pantry and your saucepans on hangers. What are the cupboards for? More than two is probably a waste of money.
Aug 13th 2009, 2:29 pm
#51
Has left the building
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,079
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
no its all relevant is it not.The point I was making about % of house value (which again is taken the wrong way by reverse snobs) was:
- If your house is worth $3m or $4m would you use cheap items such as handles, tops, floor linings, door & drawer linings?
- If you dont set a budget the price could escualte well into a $1million.
- It would seem between 5% and 15% is now a reasonable range??
Seems also people to think about the difference between new created / new built kitchens and refits. As Badge correctly pointed out no matter what budget the inner skin will be MDF its the benchtops and outter linings that cost differentiate.
As per designer kitchen outfits I would save my money and plan the kitchen myself but guess there are other people not comfortable with layout planning guides through DIY stores. Seems a shame though considering most units are all standard sized.
Aug 13th 2009, 3:56 pm
#53
Account Open
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 4,298
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
no its all relevant is it not.The point I was making about % of house value (which again is taken the wrong way by reverse snobs) was:
- If your house is worth $3m or $4m would you use cheap items such as handles, tops, floor linings, door & drawer linings?
- If you dont set a budget the price could escualte well into a $1million.
- It would seem between 5% and 15% is now a reasonable range??
Seems also people to think about the difference between new created / new built kitchens and refits. As Badge correctly pointed out no matter what budget the inner skin will be MDF its the benchtops and outter linings that cost differentiate.
As per designer kitchen outfits I would save my money and plan the kitchen myself but guess there are other people not comfortable with layout planning guides through DIY stores. Seems a shame though considering most units are all standard sized.
Why not forget about the value of the house, and simply instead think about what kind of kitchen you want (top of the range or budget)... then price up the components and set a budget accordingly. I'm still struggling to understand what the value of the property has to do with the price of cheese.
Aug 13th 2009, 4:01 pm
#54
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,600
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
Aah now you see . . . that's where you've gone wrong . . . he's talking about kitchens and you're talking about cheese . . . it's like a real life 'chalk and cheese' situations . . . 'cept with kitchens and cheese . . .
Aug 13th 2009, 4:15 pm
#55
Has left the building
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,079
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
A percentage as a good starting point ?! Surely it is a terrible way to set up a budget. I would suggest that budgeting is not your strong point.
Why not forget about the value of the house, and simply instead think about what kind of kitchen you want (top of the range or budget)... then price up the components and set a budget accordingly. I'm still struggling to understand what the value of the property has to do with the price of cheese.
Why not forget about the value of the house, and simply instead think about what kind of kitchen you want (top of the range or budget)... then price up the components and set a budget accordingly. I'm still struggling to understand what the value of the property has to do with the price of cheese.
I agree with you about once you do the detail costing of your budget but to start off with you need a point of reference.
Put it this way if you start off bottom up and come up with $75k is that the right amount to spend on your property? If you say yes without reference to other similar priced properties in your area your the cheese.
If you find the benchmarked price point is say $85k your on to a good thing. If however you find the BPP is $45k you need to reassess your specifications.
I am not saying to stick to a % but you need it as a reference/benchmark. I initially asked a simple innocent question about 10% being right? ie $38k to $380k property versus $200k to $4m property ie 5%. It still appears to me a good indication or guide for setting a budget cap.
Aug 13th 2009, 4:29 pm
#56
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
You obviously come from a different view point to me. If I was ripping my kitchen out and replacing it, I wouldn't consider the price of the house as my starting point to work out the budget. I would start with what I have in the bank and if there's zip, then I'd consider how much of a loan I could happily repay. I could have a 6 million dollar house, but if I don't have the wherewithall, it's irrelevant. In my opinion anyway 
We've renovated a few kitchens now and would always go the cheap carcasses (Ikea style) and spend the money on decent quality tops, doors, handles etc. To spend thousands on sooper dooper designer carcasses which are still made out of MDF seems pointless to me.
Totally off topic, I got home last night to find hubby had cleaned the kitchen up after his dinner (that's a first I believe) and wondered why the work tops looked so shiny, closer look and found he'd used Mr Sheen Furniture Polish on them
Daughter jumped up to sit on one before I could say anything and she slid straight off again 
Several sheets of kitchen roll later, they still looked nice but without the greased look. Still had food stuck to it but it was shiny 
Good job I love him
We've renovated a few kitchens now and would always go the cheap carcasses (Ikea style) and spend the money on decent quality tops, doors, handles etc. To spend thousands on sooper dooper designer carcasses which are still made out of MDF seems pointless to me.
Totally off topic, I got home last night to find hubby had cleaned the kitchen up after his dinner (that's a first I believe) and wondered why the work tops looked so shiny, closer look and found he'd used Mr Sheen Furniture Polish on them
Daughter jumped up to sit on one before I could say anything and she slid straight off again Several sheets of kitchen roll later, they still looked nice but without the greased look. Still had food stuck to it but it was shiny Good job I love him
Aug 13th 2009, 4:30 pm
#57
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Kohimarama
Posts: 1,626
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
Ever heard of benchmarking?
I agree with you about once you do the detail costing of your budget but to start off with you need a point of reference.
Put it this way if you start off bottom up and come up with $75k is that the right amount to spend on your property? If you say yes without reference to other similar priced properties in your area your the cheese.
If you find the benchmarked price point is say $85k your on to a good thing. If however you find the BPP is $45k you need to reassess your specifications.
I am not saying to stick to a % but you need it as a reference/benchmark. I initially asked a simple innocent question about 10% being right? ie $38k to $380k property versus $200k to $4m property ie 5%. It still appears to me a good indication or guide for setting a budget cap.
I agree with you about once you do the detail costing of your budget but to start off with you need a point of reference.
Put it this way if you start off bottom up and come up with $75k is that the right amount to spend on your property? If you say yes without reference to other similar priced properties in your area your the cheese.
If you find the benchmarked price point is say $85k your on to a good thing. If however you find the BPP is $45k you need to reassess your specifications.
I am not saying to stick to a % but you need it as a reference/benchmark. I initially asked a simple innocent question about 10% being right? ie $38k to $380k property versus $200k to $4m property ie 5%. It still appears to me a good indication or guide for setting a budget cap.
Aug 13th 2009, 4:33 pm
#58
Demi-God
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Far North Queensland
Posts: 2,812
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
I think what has got up peoples noses is the fact you made reference to particuarly suburbs and not just quoting a % - you then went on to say my neighbour etc etc making it clear that you lived in a expensive suburb where houses can be worth around $4 mil - It was not necessary.
Aug 13th 2009, 4:35 pm
#60
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,600
Re: New Kitchen - ball park price?
Tidied.
