Forums › Kitchen DIY Forum › Kitchen Design Issues › Chunky/Industrial/Concrete kitchens
This topic has 2 voices, contains 5 replies.
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| October 26, 2005 at 5:18 pm #6056 | |
 Lady |
Hi there, after a few minutes on your site I’m hoping you might have the key to a design idea i’ve had. I have a lovely old conversion flat with wood as far as the eye can see, including original floorboards and sash windows in the kitchen. The current kitchen is appalling and needs to be ditched asap, but I want to find the perfect replacement first. I’m after something very industrial looking, to contrast with the traditional rooms and other features, but I absolutely don’t want shiny stainless steel/aluminium. I also think it would look better as a number of separate free standing units. I have seen photos of heavy-looking matt grey kitchens, with open ‘block’ style shelving under the work surfaces in thick materials. Is this concrete? If so, what stops its weight destroying the floor below? And where can I get something similar? Any advice or recommendations would be extremely helpful. |
| November 1, 2005 at 11:54 am #6059 | |
 timfoley |
Lady, Welcome to our forum. Nothing you detail is available off the peg and a bespoke solution seems the answer here. Cabinets can be made to your own specifications and all that’s required are sketch dimensions to an appropriate manufacturer. Concrete can be used as a worktop and comes in a variety of colours but I suspect the shelving you speak of is in fact a painted MDF, constructed in such a way that the shelves look “chunkier” than standard. kitchen. You may also consider employing the services of a designer to put your plans to paper. This will also serve the purpose of providing your manufacturer with specifications in order to fabricate your design. You may wish to consider our design service, http://www.kitchensfitted.co.uk/Consultancy/design_costs.php should this be the case and if you wish to speak with our designer let me know and I will ask him to contact you in this regard. I’m sorry if I have assumed totally incorrectly here and if so, do please let me know in finer detail what you mean. Tim. |
| November 8, 2005 at 11:05 am #6075 | |
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Lady |
Hi Tim things with MDF I don’t know about! The appeal of the kitchen i’m after would be the chunkiness, and without doors there’s nothing to hide the MDF etc. behind. The best option I’ve seen on the high street is in Habitat – a cross between their wooden free standing range and their aluminium/steel open shelving range. If you can access this link, there’s a house for sale nearby with a similar look to what I’m after (though I’d need more workspace than this!!) http://www.kfh.co.uk/flash/base.html?fr … 536-235-8- A®ion=southeast&sType=All Although I would love to have a bespoke kitchen made for me, for costs reasons it has to be a final option only… |
| November 8, 2005 at 11:57 am #6076 | |
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timfoley |
Lady, You can do some great things with MDF and it is the perfect surface to create a number of paint effects on. My guess, after viewing the link, is that the open cabinetry is indeed MDF with a paint effect, although the image was not so good as to distinguish this. Using other materials to would prove rather expensive although it is feasible that what we are seeing is the real deal, be it granite, concrete or a composite. There are a number of companies who specialise in manufacture of freestanding ranges and it may be that this is the correct avenue to go down but your preference for an industrial look leads me to believe that even this might narrow your options. Perhaps creating your own range is the answer but to keep costs down I would consider investigating the paint effects that can be achieved on a board to offer an authentic industrial feel to your kitchen. There are a number of kitchen artists who make a living doing just that and it may be worth you speaking to one to discover the possibilities. Tim. |
| November 8, 2005 at 12:07 pm #6077 | |
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Lady |
Hi Tim exploring. If I go down this road, presumably I’ll need a joiner to create the cabinets plus a painter to finish the look? Please point me in the right direction! It would be good to compare it to the real deal (look and price), so if you can recommend any companies who use the materials you mention, that would be really helpful too. This really is so helpful – thank you for replying and sorry to keep quizzing. |
| November 9, 2005 at 9:36 am #6083 | |
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timfoley |
Lady, Not sure which area of the country you are based but I will ask that an artist contact you via e-mail if you approve. Do let me know. your locality but first you will require some sketches and dimensions of the cabinets required. is to provide a sketch of one cabinet to guage an overall picture of the potential costs. The “chunky” shelving is achieved by secret supports, (battens), with two MDF boards sized accordingly to slide over the battons. Therefore if using a batten of eg. 30mm depth, your chunky shelf will be 18mm(MDF) + 30mm (Batten) + 18mm(MDF) = 66mm. A standard cabinet height in the UK is between 860mm and 885mm but you have a good opportunity to consider ergonomics here and choose your own optimum height. Good Luck and let us know how you go on. Tim |
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