Kitchen - gentle renovation or new kitchen?

Hello everyone

we received the contract for the purchase of a house yesterday and are extremely happy. We are already in the middle of the planning and the kitchen is part of it.

The kitchen is 18 years old and actually still in good condition. We wouldn't plan it very differently either, what would be different is to make a tall cabinet on the far right and the kitchen island flat and not as offset as it is in the picture. Also, we don't like the color (vanilla yellow). There are also too many handles for our taste.

Do you think a gentle renovation would be possible, for example, replacing the fronts? Foiling? Otherwise, any ideas or input that we might have overlooked?

We actually don't want to spend 30k again right away on a new kitchen…

For me, that would also be too many handles. What kind of manufacturer is that? Many manufacturers still have the same dimensions and offer replacement doors, so a retrofit of new fronts, e.g. handleless. You can replace one or another cabinet, for example drawers instead of doors or a tall cabinet instead of a mid-height one. Sometimes a kitchen also gets a new lease on life when you replace a cabinet with an accent front or laminate it, or replace it with a single piece display cabinet according to taste. Possibly replace wall cabinets with flat ones. Actually, a lot is possible. You can also laminate yourself, but it involves a lot of work and beforehand you would have to fill the handle holes, only to then set new ones individually.

Hello everyone

we received the contract for the purchase of a house yesterday and are extremely happy. We are already in the middle of planning and the kitchen is part of it.

The kitchen is 18 years old and actually still in good condition. We wouldn’t plan it very differently either, what would be different is to make a tall cabinet on the far right and have the kitchen island flush and not offset like it is in the picture now. Also, we don’t like the color (vanilla yellow). There are also too many handles for our taste.

Do you think a gentle renovation would be possible, for example by replacing the fronts? Foiling? Any other ideas or input we might have overlooked?

We would actually prefer not to spend 30k again on a new kitchen...

Yes, something like that is what I have in mind – replacing the fronts, replacing the mid-height cabinet with a tall one, possibly enclosing the extractor hood...

The manufacturer is Hans Eisenring (Switzerland).

What kind of costs should be expected? How much does a front cost approximately?

What kind of costs do you have to expect? How much does a front cost approximately?

No idea. I would get a quote from a kitchen studio and a quote from a carpenter. It shouldn’t cost a fortune. But I would budget around 3-5000€, although I estimate the carpenter to be cheaper.

If these are painted fronts, one could also fill the handle holes with putty and have them repainted at a (car) paint shop and then install new handles.

Through a kitchen studio/carpenter, it would probably be at least 5000 euros. Matching the counter might also require a new worktop or one lives with the gap and obtains base cabinets of suitable height for the back of the peninsula and uses the worktop again.

I think I would simply do nothing - with the still good-looking kitchen - and buy a new kitchen in a few years, if the budget is perhaps available again.