Ideas For Creating A Diy Kitchen?

I studied drafting in high school, architecture in college, then decided it wasn’t for me and I went to law school instead. I wouldn’t change a thing. Architecture & interior has remained a passion throughout the years. Thank you for sharing this–it is beautiful, sleek, & a reminder of why it’s important to design a space that is reflective of who a person is. This is pretty badass! 🙂

Worked in the countertop biz for years and I would always recommend granite for high traffic areas like the sink. It’s not just the staining and scratching but also chipping. Soapstone is very soft almost like marble and thought the scratches scan buff out or ad to the look the chips will be more of a nuisance. Quartz is also a good option although its kind of bland. Butcher block is much better on tops that don’t see a lot of moisture.

Love the aesthetic of your new kitchen; your design choices were great. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. The sleek, removable shelving on the island backsplash is my favourite design element and I can see that design applied to many other areas of a home, including the display of plants or ‘objets’ or even a minimalistic bedside table solution for small spaces. The Velcro fixing for the kickboard is a useful idea too!

I think knife holders should be a built in feature. I’ve seen it in one or two homes floating slightly above counter top level and it looks great along with it being a space saver. You don’t have to worry about knife spacing, bumping into it and losing a toe/finger, or a kid getting ahold of it, like this magnetic holder. You can also build your bedroom cabinets into the wall for a more seamless/spacious look

10:31 I think the issue with the Oxygen Lighting is that its color rendering index (CRI) was very poor at only 80. A good light need to be CRI 90+ for you to see clear. Your second linear laser light does have CRI 90/95, which explains why you can see more clear with it. Also, I don’t think having individual lens and not diffused helps you see thing. (It could actually make it worse since it will have distinct shadow from each individual light source.)

Thank you for sharing the practical details. Beauty is one thing but when you add daily use practicality WOW. that makes the difference. We added three things to ours that helped immensely. 1. The bottom drawer fronts hang down 1/4″ so when hands are full or dirty I can pull them open with my foot. 2. I have a narrow trash pull out between the sink and dishwasher. Makes me now wonder why designers butt these two together. 3. Lower cabinets are all drawers. What a difference!

Thanks for this article. You make me realize that I can DIY a lot of my own kitchen renovation (and it’s overdue – my kitchen is a GE Wonder Kitchen from 1956. Oh, and it’s pink – pink cabinets, pink appliances, pink walls). I appreciate your attention to the small details, so here’s a small detail question – what is the brand of the black cutting mat you show in the article? Thanks and wishing you well.

It looks great!. Regarding the sink countertop, in a home I once owned I had fitted the same wood top has you have in yours. I was lucky enough though that I didn’t have the warping or expansion. (it seemed to hold up for the 5 years that I stayed in the property, prior to selling-up and moving to spain). Although when purchased it wasn’t treated, It may have been down to me completely oiling it once a month…or just pure luck. (also got some chopping boards from it….but they weighed a ton!). I am presently in the process of buying a new build after returning to the UK from spain, and because the property has to be ‘officially’ signed off by the developer before any personal interior changes (ie flooring taps, baths, kitchen sinks etc) can be made to the developers finish. So, ironically, I have to choose from the developer ‘limited choice’ of ‘supposedly free’ fittings/extras etc….and them rip them all out to replace with my preferred choices. Seems ridiculous!. I have also been told that depending what I rip out (I plan a bathroom/ cloakroom, worktop and flooring)and replace, could invalidate the warranty!.

This makes me depressed, I spent two years designing my kitchen but the other halfs parents squandered all their money on rebuilding the same design but with modern aesthetics, par the appliances which were replaced except for the washing machine which was another disappointment. This was all after getting cowboy builders to replace all cellar joists promising 3 days but took 5 weeks because they kept giving a day and then coming another day, and never the time they say either…we were ignored, and my dad, a handyman by trade, also warned of it. They’re Audi drivers, so I should have expected this ignorance, they don’t live here. They spent too much, they spent on the wrong places in the kitchen so the boiler can’t get moved and my partner’s foot broke because they “couldn’t afford” to replace the jamming old back door or the leaking roof on the “lean-to”, as we call it. The aesthetics look horrible, the hardware is wrong, a door which should have been vertical opening kept hitting my head believe it or not…I’m do jealous you have your freedom and such, it looks really beautiful!! :'( you’ve done an amazing job, and for the record your other kitchen design wasn’t too bad…idk what you meant by washing dishes before using them, surely they didn’t catch dust in less than 12 hours between meals :s

Cultural difference to Europe: It’s mind-blowing americans keep preferring gas and full ranges even for new kitchens. I noticed this in many kitchen renovation articles. I see both as something of the past and feel it’s more convenient to have the stoves and the oven in separate places and use induction as it offers much more control

Absolutely love the design, it’s amazing. Each element is so well thought out and compliments each other. However, as a wood worker, please please please watch a couple table saw safety articles on kickback. It looks like you have a setup for a left hand? The guard is usually on the right hand side. But I noticed when you are cutting you are applying pressure towards the blade causing a pinch. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I read through a lot of the comments and didn’t see it mentioned so I thought I would. But definitely a new subscriber.

Love the black painted splashback. I have two black painted walls in my bathroom. @3:10, open shelving is a no, no for me. Anything you put on them will have to be washed before use. The shelves will also attract a sticky deposit that is a pain to clean no matter how regular you do it. @3:45, again because of dust, I wouldn’t have gone for that console. @4:53, looking sharp. I also replaced the cupboard doors and drawer fronts on my old, but high quality kitchen carcass. I went for a high gloss flat panel with full width pulls similar to yours. @7:37, I always want to shout no whenever I hear mention of butcher block counters. Yours have lasted well, but I would have advised against it. Not a fan of slot in cookers. There is potential for cooking overspills to get into areas that cannot be reached when cleaning. Did you find muck when you removed the old cooker? All my observations may seem overly critical, but I am coming from having renovated four properties and long ago discovered the do’s and don’ts. I love the end result and the fact that your kitchen is the polar opposite of the generic “Shaker” that is so pervasive.

Fantastic work as always, Eric! Nothing teaches detail design like getting down and dirty, learning from past mistakes through the DIY process! Please keep up the brilliant work – I recently registered as an Architect with the ARB (I’m based in England) and have certainly been learning a lot from and getting inspired by your content so my deepest thanks!!

I have just installed our DIY Kitchen and have been really overwhelmed with the quality. Makes it a treat to fit and the finished product looks amazing. We visited their factory, toured the showroom and spent many months in the planner and in dialogue with their ‘design’ staff on the chat module. Fantastic all round. Cannot recommend more highly.

Hi currently fitting a diy kitchen for a customer (3rd diy kitchen in the past year ) the units are in just finishing touches to do. Great quality kitchen, supplied very well packaged (minimum chance of transit damage ) which i have had from other suppliers over the years. Have fitted kitchens from most of the big names over the past 30 plus years and i have to say i would rate diy kitchens as one of the best. A great range of unit sizes to chose from unlike some of the off the shelf suppliers. I few niggles similar to those mentioned in the article, door clearances can be tight between units with end panels on both ends. The gap between the two doors on tall units is bigger than i would normally leave. Would be nice if they supplied the plastic strip for the bottom of the plinth, as without it the mdf will definitely take up moisture when the floor is mopped. I’ve also had issues with dry joints on units too. Overall would highly recommend diy kitchens, also had a trip to their showroom at the factory earlier this year, without a doubt one of the best show rooms I’ve ever visited. Ohh and the Yorkshire tea and flapjack in with the delivery is a nice touch.

Our DIY Kitchens kitchen is now 7 years old (nearly!) And has been brilliant. Similarly, we have a custom painted solid door setup. Delivery and customer service was brilliant. We also had a QC issue on a panel but they sent it along in addition to another one as an extra for offcuts as it was a custom colour which was a nice touch. We visited the showroom and that was really good to get a proper look at things. Quality wise it has been great and is standing up well against 2 young boys and 2 dogs. The only slight issue is the one you pointed out about the points not being bound so we have some water ingress under the sink but nothing major. Was suggested later by someone to run a bead of silicone along the high risk areas like sink and dishwasher. Will definitely use them again, they were brilliant 😁

Love the series Andy but really spooky when these kitchen articles started – we had a DIY Kitchen already in the shopping basket ready to buy, not only that it’s Clayton Sage! Great taste, obviously. Glad your conclusion matches what we’d already heard elsewhere. It’s arriving end of November so wish us luck – doesn’t look like we’ll need it though 😉 Cheers!

Kitchen designer here – based in a showroom on the other side of the river from you Andy! With corner larder units, if adjacent to another larder unit, I always provide an end panel (or an edged filler/blanking panel) to go in between them. Whilst it only provides an extra 1-2mm clearance depending on the range, it’s enough for the diagonal angle not to impinge on door swing. In this kitchen’s case, it would also provide symmetry and a ‘frame’ to the corner larder. Hope this helps – found your article insightful too, thank you.

i fitted a diy kitchens kitchen and i seem to remember something about needing and end panel as a spacer on each side of the tall corner unit ( in our case the even bigger walk in larder) so that the opening door swings clear of the one next to it. I can send you pics if you wish. And I couldnt fault the quality of the carcasses and doors either.

You can adjust the ‘weighting’ on that top box so the door closes a bit quicker. Dry assembly would have just been an error in the factory, everything is glued unless you specifically ask for dry assembly, I sometimes do on units such as boiler cupboards etc. that corner cupboard, I’d put a couple of packers in between the panel and the carcass (only a few mm) and the caulk the small gap with colour matching silicone.

I’m currently in the process of fitting one of these kitchens too (linwood in cornflower blue). Overall impressed so far (only half way through). Still a few frustrations though. I would echo some of the things you have said aroung QC, the only damages we had I would say happened at the factory not during delivery. We also had the exact same issue with being missing 1 end panel, on original order but not on the delivery note. Plus also had a wall cabinet which was just completely missing it’s door – not sure how they managed that. So far they have been excellent with customer service though and do get things sent out quickly if there are issues

I’ve fitted three diy kitchens, the 1st one a few years ago, which I was really impressed with, on this I recommended them to two more customers. I have done these two since then recently, there standards seem to me to be slipping a bit mainly to do with the fabrication/production process, ie cabinets out of square, really awkward to level up especially with tall units, unit bases not aliening with sides, some center posts on wide units not fully cramped together and then glued, I think they need to calibrate some of there machinery a bit more often, touch up paint not matching, on the last two I did. I also have had a hand recently in fitting a Howden kitchen, I’ve got to say I was more impressed with the way that was put together, accuracy of construction was better.

just a bit of constructive criticism from a full time kitchen fitter, when scribing your fillers and end panels you should add an additional 2 -2.5 mm to allow for the buffers on your doors, otherwise your doors and drawers are going to be further forward than the front edge of your end panels or fillers.

MDF for kickboards seems unwise, as generally you’d mop a kitchen floor so there would be moisture on the edge. Sure you don’t get floor sopping wet, but its not staying bone dry. Thats before your washer/dishwasher spring a leak, or freezer failure wets the floor. Maybe not an issue with white units, as would be easy to replace, but getting the right shade of green 5 years later might be tricky

I’ve fitted my own kitchen in my last 3 houses, as well as lots of kitchen units at work for a work areas. The first kitchen I fitted was a Wickes off the shelf kitchen which was a bit rubbish, and since then have gone with IKEA kitchen units (especially at work as we have about 40 800mm units so ikea worked out much cheaper). Then a friend of mine bought a diy kitchens kitchen and I was blown away with the quality, so much so, that when our purchase of our project house completes, we will be ordering a diy kitchens kitchen 🙂

Floor still looking good! With regards to the hinges, I really dislike the piston soft close Blum hinge, always buy my Blum hinges from trade hinges with a built in soft closer which you can turn off if the weight of door doesn’t need it. Like others I get a plastic foot for the plinths from Howdens which gives you the confidence that no moisture should be soaked up. Saw a grohe tap in one of the drawers, did you not fancy a boiling water tap? Makes tea much quicker.

Hi, we’re looking to do a kitchen, and considering the MDF/MFC sort as in DIY Kitchens. We’ve also looked briefly at solid wood kitchens, including those made of plywood. We want a kitchen that will look good after many years, but the typical costs for solid wood or birch ply units is on the range of 5x+ as much. As someone who knows woodworking, carpentry, and repair, can you say a few words about the decade-long longetivity of your DIY Kitchen? With wrapped/veneered MDF/MFC, I guess once it gets damaged, your options for repair are very limited. I know that DIY kitchen also do a painted MDF/solid timber variety. I guess with the painted sort, there is the option of repairing the wood and repainting in a decade. It’s also hard to know whether we should even think of several decade-long timescales. I’ve heard of people swapping out doors for a refresh. It’s hard to swallow a £4k estimate vs. £20k hardwood estimate when you can just replace the doors if anything happens for a fraction of the price.

I’ve just gone a DIY kitchens at home. The kitchen itself is great! However the quality control has been terrible. I’ve probably had more than 20 replacement doors/cabinets/fillers etc. It’s a real shame given the quality of the kitchen itself. I’m still having issues with drawer front being drilled too low so they don’t line up

Looks good Andy and seems reasonable price wise for sure. For your plinths you can get a clear plastic extrusion which the plinth sits in. Comes in a role. Keeps the water away. When I helped my sister install her kitchen it was cheaper to buy 20mm solid rustic oak from a local wood yard than the plinths mdf oak faced. Madness

Sadly we have had a pretty bad experience with this company. Many of our units arrived damaged and as you say, it wasn’t on the wagon but QC must be pretty weak. I think they rely on kitchen fitters to correct this as they go and the customer probably never finds out. Real shame as they are the strongest units by far.

Out of interest, did you completely cover your floor with the wooden Flooring (or what ever it is) and build your kitchen on top? or did you build the cabinets on the subfloor and lay the flooring up to the cabinet legs (With the edges hidden by the plinth)? About to gut my kitchen and rebuild, and am wondering what the norm is..

Fitted a whole lot of kitchens from a whole range of sources, and DIY kitchens are pretty much the best I’ve done of the non bespoke/custom unit companies. Yes, a few niggles, but usually easily sorted and nothing missing on delivery. Well put together, and unbelievably I don’t think I’ve ever had to adjust the doors to any great extent, which I guess is a sign of care in assembly in the factory. I’ve no connection to the company, btw, other than fitting them for customers and I’ve used them for a biiiig utility room in my own house.

Honest? Excellent quality?🤣🤣🤣 You read their negative comments, as positives are fake. It’s exactly what 100s of others have said. Paint chips off and is easily damaged, chemical reaction with substrate causing hardening and poor adhesion. You won’t be able to cut down without chips everywhere. 3m long worktops all scratched and corners damaged, good 50% of rest arrives damaged, replacement arrives scratched damaged and hinges drilled not as original panel. Waiting time 2-3 weeks to get replacement. Some panels have different length, some carcass panels are different length so the whole thing is not square, large unit shelves not supported all sagging under its own weight, shit . Units ordered as flat oack arrived glued. It’s rubbish you’ve been warned.

For me, as a home owner not a fitter, the best thing about DIYkitchens is their configuration tool. It is great for creating a design and hopping and changing bits yourself and seeing how things will look. Unfortunately the delivery time when I was looking was too long so I ended up taking my design to Howdens but I was impressed by the online tool.

Hi Andy, regarding your issue with the doors. I have the exact same DIY kitchens corner larder and I can confirm you do actually need an end panel on both sides of the corner larder unit. To solve the issue with the plinth you simply install the plinth before you attach one of the end panels. Granted, you’ll never get it out again… So don’t put anything behind there that you need access to OR if you can’t help it, you can cut a section of the end panel away, behind the plinth, so you do have some access. Hope this helps!

I have a diy kitchen, designed and fitted by me, having no kitchen experience but reasonable diy experience. We have the big corner unit and when we assembled and tried to move it the sides dropped down destroying the base, as the only thing holding them to the base was natty IKEA style cam connectors leaving about 5mm of chip to support all the weight. We ended up putting a load of brackets on and it getting it back together and it has been fine ever since (3 years). I hope they have sorted that design flaw though! We have panels on both sides of the corner unit and this prevents any door binding, but as you say the plinth won’t fit after. I ended up cutting it in half and then gluing and painting over in situ. Would definitely use them again. Cheers for the review, love the website.

Interesting article. We bought a DIY Kitchen on the basis of many good reviews. Or builder (not a kitchen fitter) installed it and it’s been solid for the past two years. The only “issues” are the dishwasher door came off and it was a nightmare to fit the replacement. And over time I’ve noticed the panel gaps are awful. But these issues I attribute to our builder and his shoddy work rather than DIY Kitchens.

Fitted two DIY kitchens in my kitchen and utility in my extension completed in 2020. Company is quite local to me and did get to the showroom. Brilliant company to deal with – had a few issues / mishaps (mainly my fault) but they really helped out! Kitchens look great – had solid surfaces fitted the company that they used were first class! I’ve now been commandeered to fit the in laws a new kitchen and sister in laws too – both being currently bought from DIY Kitchens. Cant recommend them highly enough!

I have just taken delivery of the exact same type – Clayton Sage set of units from DIY kitchens for my Utility Room replacement. They are fantastic. Having paid through the nose for a large Howdens kitchen and paid to have it fitted without much change from 30k, I refused to be ripped off again. On time delivery, no damage and nothing missing for a 1/4 of the price. If only I had found them earlier… Howdens units are 18mm, DIY K’s are 22mm. The quality is second to none. But never mind that, I found your post very informative and helpful. I’m no expert, no handyman either. So thank you for the insight. 👍🇬🇧

I’ve just fitted my own small kitchen from DIY kitchens, the fact they are preassembled, packaged so well for delivery gave a good sense before it was even unwrapped. The last kitchen I installed was from MFI so that’s a throw back, circa 2001 but I remember the tediousness of having to build from flat pack. Also all doors come in a protective film so you can keep it on until you’ve finished installation and not risk scratching it. You do have rhe option for a moisture barrier for the plinths, I added it to my order as it seemed a no brained fir the little extra cost but would help the longevity of the plinth. I didn’t get touch up paint though, didn’t notice that as an option. I chose a Petrol blue contemporary design, I did buy handles but decided against the ones I ordered and will source my own. Was amazed at the price you stated for all your units, was expecting you to say just over £5k to be honest. I’m pleased I saw this article and all the positive comments, I was happy with the service from DIY kitchens and the quality, would use them again, or recommend them, but well, I hope not to have to fit another kitchen in my lifetime 😀

mainly fit kitchens, mostly howdens but been more than impressed on a few diy kitchen installs just like your corner larder I’ve had an issue with a rounded base cab and plinth but not something I couldn’t get around. re-corner larder even with other kitchens like local manufacturers there’s always issues with the doors and clashes, seen myself squeezing in packers on the decor ends or the connection to other units to give that little bit of extra room as I’m sure the client or yourself wouldn’t mind a 2-3mm gap from carcass to end panel rather than a door clashing with that panels or doors and that should just give you that extra nudge needed.

Installed my DIY kitchen in 2014, still going strong, apart from the misses damaging the corner of a door against a pot – user error.. I was impressed so spec’ed a custom painted kitchen with corner larder in same config for my sister in law. We used end panels either side, but it didn’t fit perfectly. I think I would have used perhaps a thin sheet material just to ease the end panel slightly in hindsight.. Interiors were available in white when I ordered, and I also had the corner 1m shelf issue which from experience can confirm needs the extra support! I have to say customer support at DIY is exceptional – they even sent me new hinges for vertical bi-folds 8 years down the line…. In comparison my mum had a magnet kitchen and has bowed doors in the same timeframe, and all I can say is magnet after sales is approx 1% of DIY….

Corner larder. Check your door size and indeed circus size. Sometimes you can find with made to order that the door can be 1 mm to big at 598 and indeed the cabinet can be 1mm too small. Next check I’d you have set the end panel in too far as these you have 22mm doors and have stepped it in this will have reduced the overall width. If it was an 18mm door the panel would have 20mm rebate line giving you a wider opening. To combat it. You could shim your decor panel off the cabinet and and caulk and re edge with 22mm edge band the cabinet. Reduce your filler on your draw unit to maintain range centre and space

I fitted a DIY kitchen to my previous house. The 22mm handleless j pull doors work well. Much nicer for fat fingers than 18mm j pull doors. My criticism would be that my units were not very moisture resistant. Within 6 months the doors and plynths started to split. My plynth wasn’t moisture resistant mdf. Overall, the kitchen looks great but I wouldn’t use them again purely because the longevity.