Kitchen short-cuts

Before you splash out on a new kitchen, consider buying a quality second-hand or ex-display one from an online trading site.
Kitchen designer Liam Murphy was endlessly amazed at the quality of the old kitchens people were planning to demolish and replace, so he set up www.secondhandkitchens.com.au to help people buy and sell old kitchens.
"You're often doing the seller a favour, as it can cost them $500 to have someone remove their kitchen from their flats and take it to the tip," Murphy says. "But you can buy second-hand kitchens for less than $5000 and new kitchens off the showroom floor for between $5000 and $15,000. A new kitchen will cost around $30,000, with $10,000 to $15,000 on top of that for appliances."

The logistics of buying and installing a second-hand kitchen can be difficult and Murphy advises it's only worth considering if you can either install it yourself or have someone who can help.
"You'll never be able to employ someone to do it for you, as people are too nervous about getting it right," he says.