A modern Kitchen in Mangalore

TerryM

We like to build a modern kitchen in our new house,
We are from Amsterdam but we want to build a proper kitchen in our new house in Mangalore.

So a we are looking for some good shops anybody a good idea to check out ?

Where are we looking for:
- a new work surface
- new sink
- new stove
- kitchen cabinets

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crvlvr

You might be better off shopping in Bangalore and have the shop ship the items to Managlore. I've been to a couple of shops there that have the entire setup on display. I can't seem to remember the location though.

TerryM

Oke. We have a kind of plan in our head how we want it but a trip to Bangalore will never hurt

capt_mahajan

google "modular kitchens bangalore"

Nick-H

We looked at a couple of 'modular kitchen' suppliers.

Then we selected a designer/engineer to do the whole house who said he would not do the job unless we let him do the kitchen.

That means cabinets and doors custom-made, not bought from a warehouse.

Make sure everything is insect/termite resistent.

Give us a couple of weeks and we'll be able to tell you how it worked out!

For the shiny surface there is only one option: granite.

Even cheaper houses here are likely to have granite kirchen surfaces. It is shiny, durable, you can put pans on it straight from the stove.... It is a fraction of the price here that it is in UK. You can get it in a variety of colours too.

Do not make the mistake of buying marble (the supplier will probably put you right of they are half decent) --- it is not acid-resistant, not good for kitchens. Use marble in the bathroom if you want posh there.

There are synthetics available too: if you want the surface/sinc/draining board all-moulded-in-one-piece I'm sure it is available --- and probably as expensive as outside India.

For cookers we looked at Faber and Kaaf. The Faber stuff was (and looked) cheaper. We chose Kaaf.

It's all still in boxes... ask me again in May!

Another reminder... remember that your kitchen tiles should be both tough and not-too-shiny. Too shiny is too slippery.

Here's some how-it-was and progress-so-far pics of our kitchen...

Attached Thumbnails

       

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nomad

cookspace in koramagala bangalore has good stuff on display.
there are few really good places in indranagar 100 ft road.
dont go for imported stuff as nobody knows how a italian modular unit will behave in indian conditions.

i am getting mine done from space and design koramangala. much cheaper than the big showrooms, and they had very good knowledge of material to use in kitchen. plus i will get custom made units for my kitchen.

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Nick-H

Very good point. I don't think there are many termites in Europe.

Probably nothing is as durable as the old fashioned brick and stone kitchen (although ants are nesting under the worktop in my current place)....

We decided to make a concrete platform for the wooden units. This allows the floor to be washed down liberally with water (there is a floor drain) in traditional Indian fashion. I was warned about this by another interior designer who told me that modular kitchens do not necessarily go well with Indian lifestyle, and if we wanted to live like that we should not install them on a flat floor as the water would ruin them in a year or two.We've got one of those; does every city have a "100-Foot Road" full of tile and building shops?

cyberhippie

Marble work tops are also very affordable in India!

Nick-H

They are... but, they are not suitable for kitchens!

Even lemon juice will damage the surface. Had this confirmed by a dealer when out choosing kitchen surface a few weeks back

Digital Drifter

Here's a hint;

IF you're going to use white tiles against the kichtentop(ledge) where the gas stove is.....

1. White really does show the st(r)ains of all your cooking effort. if that was cryptic, nothing gathers dirt like white! If you rub your hand where the tiles are, you'll find it all starchy from the steam release of the rice cooker. use another colour or use granite as the facing to the kitchentop

2. Since the tiles are there and white, it's a good idea to plaster tiled area with foil wrap. Tear it and replace every 3/6 months. Hygiene? the blasted walls have been collecting starch for ages.

3. If you're going to use tiles in the bathroom...
a) when the tiles are put in, make sure the level is LOWER
than the room from where you're entering. that way you
don't get water flushing out from the bath when the sink
is clogged. Boneheaded contractors sometimes raise the
level of the bath floor when they're tiling in.
b) there are some tile types which are slip-resistant(vitreous?); use them in the bathroom; the chances of old people slipping and cracking their skulls is less(CDC estimates this is the leading cause of death of old people, apart from siumply dying of old age ). these tiles have a rough finish to their surface.

c) have a 5-15AMP plug point there in the bathroom. The tiles will need grouting work in the salinity and humidity of Madras. you will need some power tools work there.

d) install a steel rail with ROUNDED edges along the length of the commonly leaned against wall. It serves as a hold, the rounded corners prevents gashing in the darkness and accidental banging and serves as towel hanger too. Do not rivet it but cement the railing in. Wet clothes are heavy and the rail goes wobbly after the combined weight works the screws loose.

e) have a proper door stopper and door ledge built, so that there are no gaps from the bottom frame of the door and the floor. Insects.

f) either have good windows or install an exhaust fan.

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Nick-H

Wow, DD... Are you in the business? I thought you were in IT?

As our bathrooms are finished now I think it is too late for some of those hints, but I think we are OK on most things.

Even though our engineer is really good, some daft things got through, like fitting an electrical outlet where the shower would spray on it! (it's been moved).

We are ok on the levels, there is a good drop down to keep the water in. And we have traps on all the drains (including the floor drains) to keep the insects out.

I'm paranoid about slippping (although I never have done) on the wet floor. The best non-slip surface we found (a company called Tosca) I couldn't use for colour, but the tiles we have chosen are not shiny.

Contractors making mistakes... What was that railway station next-door to Liverpool St station in London called? Hah! Broad Street! Anyway, having stood almost disused for years they knocked it down and built a multi-million (maybe billion, it is big) commercial development there. The first day it was open to the public I walked accross its beautiful, polished granite paved open spaces thinking --- Hmmm, this is going to break a few legs in the wet. The next week there were guys with grinders taking the surface off...

Two indoor and one outdoor bathrooms....

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nomad

my landlord in chandigarh was probably big fan of marble. our kitchen was also full of marble. every drop of lime juice had left its mark in kitchen and used to look ugly.
i think the kitchen-walllaah will tell you this

Digital Drifter

Is that a compliment or insult?
Happened in ITPL too. slick slippery surface exposed to the weather too. the first rain and the first thuds later....they used blow torches to vitrify the tiles.

That's the word. vitrified tiles. those are the rough tiles suitable for bathrooms. Else just pave the bathroom with cement and don't smoothen it fully. The downside is, if you drop something heavy, you'll gouge the floor and moss/slime growth if the bathroom is wet for too long. Nothing like a bit of HCL acid to clean that up too. A weak solution of.... because an idiot will try the full strength acid and promptly burn himself.

Always happens with advice. "don't touch the red button"

"you mean, this red on....KABOOM"

nomad

naah.
vitrified tiles are very slippery when wet. nitrification is the process of removing crystallization from solids. its gives them glass like finish and reflection.

anti-skid tiles for batroom

TerryM

Eveybody a big thanks for all the smart idea's to look at and checking things out I will let you guys know how it's going.

Nick good luck on your project