[Sponsored campaign] We all know kitchens are super expensive – like second mortgage stuff. At the same time who doesn’t want the kitchen of their dreams? After all, for a lot of us, the kitchen is where we spend most of our time. When we moved home a little while ago, we had a complete renovation on our hands and guess where over 50% of the budget went? Yup, the kitchen was more expensive than all the bedrooms, bathrooms, flooring, wall building and everything else put together.
That’s why when Used Kitchen Exchange (UKE) got in touch and asked me to partner with them I was so excited. They offer the possibility of getting your dream kitchen at a massive bargain price. UKE sell used kitchens as well as ex-display kitchens and the savings can be up to 90% off the original price for used and up to 70% for ex-display.
I wish I’d known about them when I was renovating. The idea of having exactly the kitchen you’ve always dreamed of but paying a fraction of the price is just too tempting. In case you’re wondering if it’s worth buying a used kitchen or an ex-display one, I’ve listed some of the biggest benefits below. For my next home I will definitely be exploring this route as the choices are plenty, you can get exactly what you want and the savings are so huge.
Benefits of buying a used or an ex-display kitchen
1. massive savings
This is the most obvious and the biggest benefit that makes it worth buying a used kitchen or an ex-display kitchen. Many of us have to save for years to get the kitchen of our dreams or worse go in to debt if we don’t want to wait. In my previous apartment we inherited a kitchen we absolutely hated. But we had to live with it until we saved enough for a new kitchen which took 5 long years!
Buying a used kitchen can save you up to 90% of the original cost while ex-display can save you up to 70%. And you end up getting a lot of bang for your buck. For example, UKE often sell very high end used kitchens that are designed to last – think top end German and Italian kitchens. Some of the kitchens cost in the region of £50,000 – £100,000 new so you’re not compromising on quality either.
2. sustainability
For some the massive savings will be the biggest benefit, for others it will be the sustainability. Buying a used kitchen means that there will be fewer kitchens that end up in landfills. It also means that more trees are being saved. According to UKE, every kitchen sold saves an average of 5000 kgs of carbon which equals around 1 year of being carbon neutral for a family of four. I’m sure you get the idea and can see how this is so much more environmentally friendly than buying new.
3. used doesn’t mean old
While some preloved kitchens can be 10+ years old – these tend to be extremely high end kitchens that cost over £100,000 new and are of course in good condition and built to last. But there are many that have had very light use like under a year. And there are even some that have never been used at all (from show homes or similar) and are still being sold at a fraction of the new price. I just spotted a high end German kitchen on UKE’s site which has a retail price of approximately £28,000 and is now being sold for £5,500 with Siemens appliances included and it’s completely unused. I don’t think bargains get better than that.
Alternatively you can go for an ex-display kitchen as it’s a new, unused kitchen that’s been on display in a showroom. The savings aren’t as massive as used kitchens but they’re definitely still huge and so much cheaper than buying new – usually in the range of 50-70% off. E.g. the modern white kitchen pictured at the top of this post is an unused ex-display one that costs £14,400 new but it’s now just £6,499 – saving you approximately 55%.
4. little or no compromise
For most of us, when we buy a new kitchen it often means some amount of compromise due to budget. When we were planning the kitchen in our current place I fell in love with a particular finish for the cabinet doors. When the price came through, I first had to lie down(!) and then go back to the drawing board. I ended up with a finish I like but not the one I really wanted. And that was just one of the compromises.
With a pre-loved kitchen, you can get exactly the style you want without worrying too much about cost. You might have to look around and wait a bit till a kitchen you love comes up for sale but it’ll be so worth buying a used kitchen in the end. And it will still be quicker than having to save for a brand new luxury kitchen. For e.g. the pastel kitchen above is a UKE pre-loved kitchen where the couple didn’t compromise on quality or design and yet spent less than £5,500 in a big space. It ended up looking so good that it was even featured in a magazine – you can see more pics and read the story here.
5. you can adapt the layout
One big thing that puts a lot of people off buying a used or ex-display kitchens is that most of us mistakenly believe that you can’t change the layout. You absolutely can. As long as you buy a kitchen big enough for your space, you can rearrange the cabinets exactly how you want. For e.g. a U-shaped kitchen can become one long kitchen or a bunch of cabinets can be put together to create an island in your kitchen. The layout can be whatever you want it to be for your kitchen. You can even buy a bigger kitchen and use the extra cabinets for a laundry room or use them in the garage.
6. you can customise the look
As mentioned above you are far less likely to need to compromise on your kitchen when you buy used or ex-display. But sometimes you may not find the exact colour you want or a kitchen with the finishes you want. The good news is that you can still go for a used kitchen and paint the cabinets (as long as you buy cabinets in materials that can be painted of course). You can buy new worktops and hardware and other finishes as you’re likely to have the budget for all this after saving so much. With a little creativity you can create the exact look you want. It would also be so fun to put your own ideas and finishing touches on a kitchen to create just the look you’ve always wanted. An example of this is the blue kitchen above. The pic on the left shows the before and the right is the after. As you can see it’s been so completely transformed that it’s unrecognisable! The cabinets have been painted, the layout has been changed, they’ve added brass trimmings and a new worktop. By opting for a used kitchen, this couple saved £15,000+ and still got the kitchen of their dreams.
I’ve shared my opinion on all the big benefits of why it’s worth buying a used kitchen or an ex-display kitchen but I also wanted to share any drawbacks that I see. The biggest and most obvious one is that it’s not a brand new kitchen. Depending on the age and use, it can have some wear and tear but all used kitchens by UKE are inspected and only if they’re approved will be they accepted. So if you go down this route, make sure you find a reputable company, read reviews, do your research and most importantly view the kitchen before you buy.
In addition, buying a used kitchen can mean a bit more work for you as you will need to plan the layout and know your space to make sure the new kitchen will fit. You can of course hire professional help for this but it’s entirely possible to do this yourself – I’ve done it in 3 of my homes and it just requires some time and thought and lots of grid paper – you definitely don’t need to be a designer. For me, the huge amount you save makes it so worth buying a used kitchen or an ex-display one as the savings offset this extra bit of effort.
My favourite part of buying used/ex-display is that I love the idea of so many people being able to afford their dream kitchen when they thought they couldn’t. I love how accessible it suddenly becomes to so many more people all while helping the planet too. Head on over to UKE to check out their current kitchens and if you do go down this route, send me pics – I’d love to see what you do with your kitchen.
In partnership with UKE but as always all words, opinions and ideas are my own.
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