The carcasses are fine. What dates is what you see.

What changes, what stays

We keep the carcasses if they are straight, dry and the hinges hold. We keep the layout, so the plumbing and electrics stay put: that is where the saving is.

We change what you see and what you touch: the fronts (repainted or replaced), the worktop, the splashback, the handles, the tap, the lighting under the wall units. Sometimes the doors of two or three units only, for a contrast.

Repainting kitchen fronts, properly

It is not a quick roller job. The fronts are taken off, degreased, sanded, primed with a bonding primer for melamine or wood, then painted in two coats with a spray gun or a lacquer roller, in a paint that resists grease and washing. Allow four to six days with drying, fronts refitted and adjusted at the end. A well-primed melamine front lasts years; a front repainted without primer flakes in six months.

The three changes that count most

The worktop: going from a worn laminate to quartz or solid wood changes the kitchen more than any paint. The splashback: zellige, metro tiles or a glass panel up to the wall units. Handles and tap: brass, black or brushed stainless, matching, for five hundred euros in all.

What it costs

Repainting the fronts of a medium kitchen: 1,200 to 3,000 € excl. VAT. A new 3 metre quartz worktop: 1,500 to 2,500 €. A tiled splashback: 90 to 250 € per m² depending on the tile. Handles and tap: 300 to 800 €. A renovation without changing the units therefore sits between 3,000 and 7,000 €, for a kitchen that looks new. 6% VAT if the home is over ten years old.