Question on kitchens (not spam!)

[inkey$]

The irony isnt lost on me with the recent spate of spam kitchen posts, but I'm seriously asking the question. We need a new galley style kitchen and appliances with the current stuff taken out and the new put in.

Builders we've had in so far recommend using them and shove a Howdens catalogue under your nose, but is this really our only option? Looked at Magnet website and also checked out individual appliances via Appliances Online. Want a modern white kitchen with wood or possibly granite worktops and mid-range applainces (Bosche/AEG/Neff). Tiling and decorating will need to be done seperately of course.

What would you do?



By the way, Im not doing it. Other than being DIY phobic I'm also far too busy with doing work I'm actually trained for!

 

[Stark]

Magnet are very good, the recently bought Poggenpohl....who make some of the worlds best kitchens. Apparently their carcasses are the same.

 

[Nondizzyblonde]

I would go bespoke like we did. We also looked at the ones you mentioned, but for little more we had a kitchen built exactly to dimensions we wanted, which was also of a much higher quality. We went with white gloss, inset handles, cherry worktops. One thing I would not do again is have a wood work surface round the sink, I would go for an all stainless steel unit in that part. With wood you are sentencing yourself to regular oiling and the occasional sanding back. Saying that, all 'accidents' sand out.

 

[Stark]

Why not mix it up and go for Matt grey lower cabinets and white Matt upper units...

 

[mr wilks]

Ive fitted them all mate from B&Q ( don,t ever ! ) to Magnet ( great but pricey) & countless Howden,s .
Just beware Howden,s for selling the add on,s like make up panel,s & filler,s when you don,t really need them & i 100% guarantee that your order will be missing at least 3 item,s
Last 3 kitchen,s i have bought for my own use has been from here http://rossendaleinteriors.com/brochure_viewer_new.aspx?brochure=eco-kitchens
Decent product at trade prices & like for like better than Howden,s for less money

For a visual comparison here,s the galley kitchen i fitted recently in Normandy / all units / doors & worktops were around £1350 + appliances & sink / taps

 

[inkey$]

http://rossendaleinteriors.com/brochure_viewer_new.aspx?brochure=eco-kitchens
Decent product at trade prices & like for like better than Howden,s for less money

Just checked this out and some good options in there. Now need to work out the kithcen design and get it over for pricing. With labour, appliances, fitting etc I dont even want to hazard a guess on cost but its looking better :lol:

Great advice all. Thanks so much. Knew it was worth a posting the questions to you seasoned pros

 

[marchantsuk]

We had a new kitchen last year. Went with a small local company who could bespoke everything. Specked Granite tops and good quality Bosch appliances, cheaper than wickes, howdens and magnet.

 

[Peddyboy]

I have been in the interiors industry 25 years. Don't worry I won't sell you anything but if you need designs or ideas let me know. Be happy to help

Sent from my Z1 on Tapatalk

 

[inkey$]

I have been in the interiors industry 25 years. Don't worry I won't sell you anything but if you need designs or ideas let me know. Be happy to help

Sent from my Z1 on Tapatalk

Cheers Peddyboy. Thats good to know and may well take you up on that. Should be failry simple. Galley kitchen, door at one end window at other and decent appliances

 

[Geezah]

I used Wren for one of my places, I wAs impressed by the the assembled carcasses and price. However, like most places, don't buy everything from them because you'll end up paying over the odds for appliances, handles etc. For the same reason that you wouldn't buy your underlay from a carpet retailer!

 

[Nondizzyblonde]

Re: Appliances, I agree source them from elsewhere. I opted for all free standing, as personally I don't get the whole hiding thing, bit like putting the look in a cupboard in the bathroom. Also, cheaper and easier to replace when they go. Anyway, appliances are Bosch from local independent shop which was cheaper than the big chains, as they immediately gave 10% off for making a big order, and the Rangemaster was from the co-op which was several hundreds cheaper than elsewhere. So as people say, maybe get kitchen from one place, and then source appliances yourself.
BTW if you want to see my kitchen, google Leicester Come Dine With me 2009.

 

[original guvnor]

Ink$ it sounds like you have similar requirements to us when we recently embarked on our new kitchen project. We wanted white gloss units, white quartz/corian worktops and mid-range integrated appliances. So we ended up with Bosch (it's virtually identical to Siemens and Neff because they are part of the same group). We decided against AEG because they are now owned by Electrolux and quality has apparently taken a step backwards and we couldn't afford Miele unfortunately which would've been first choice. For units we looked at Howdens but their gloss is a bit dull frankly. We also looked at Magnet and almost went with them (their Integra white range) but decided in the end to go with a local company who get their units from a company called PWS. The units are well made, solid, ready assembled carcasses and we are pleased with the result. For worktops we went for a quartz product made by Silestone which was pretty expensive (about £3.5k) but we felt was worth it. In the pecking order it was a lot cheaper than corian but about the same as granite. It was finished about a week ago (apart from a glass splash back which is on back order). Couple of pics below.

 

[gannet]

We went with Howdens and can't complain - builder sorted it mostly so can't comment on any bits missing...

gloss white with walnut tops (not real wood - oiling is a pain), I'll if I can fish out some pictures.

As others sourced some appliances through howdens, some through local independent - all but dishwasher are free standing though, so easily replaced...

 

[Geezah]

Thats a really nice kitchen, if you go for a gloss finish, be prepared to be continually wiping down the fingerprints, watermarks, etc etc as every little mark will show up.

 

[gannet]

Thats a really nice kitchen, if you go for a gloss finish, be prepared to be continually wiping down the fingerprints, watermarks, etc etc as every little mark will show up.

we feared the same, but in reality it doesnt happen...

black cat hair on the hand...

 

[original guvnor]

Sorry Gannet - didn't mean to imply Howdens weren't good units. They were, it's just the white wasn't bright enough for us so we looked elsewhere.

 

[gannet]

Sorry Gannet - didn't mean to imply Howdens weren't good units. They were, it's just the white wasn't bright enough for us so we looked elsewhere.

didn't take it that way

 

[domsz4]

my mate is a kitchen fitter so i hear about kitchens from time to time and i would say he moans the most about ikea kitchens and says they are an odd size.

on the other hand another friend has just had a wren kitchen and whilst its of a good quality he has had no end of trouble with it. it was delivered with no doors due to the manufacturing plant being flooded and the ones that were subsequently delivered were rubbish and were replaced several times over.

 

[FunkyMunky]

My other half and her parents own and run a kitchen manufacturing company - I'll not fully plug them as I don't think you're local enough (they're in Banbury) but they do supply a large volume of kitchens to various trade customers in the south.

From what I know, builders will suggest Howdens as it's fairly readily available kitchens off the shelf and the cost to the builder is a lot lower than going to anyone of the retailers you or I would go to (B&Q/Magnet etc). You can get a design and quote today and pretty much have a kitchen delivered tomorrow from Howdens.

However, typically the design of the kitchen is limited by the size of the units that are available - whereas going somewhere a bit more independent who can do bespoke sizes will mean you actually get something that fits your space better.

The overall cost of the units and doors is reasonable from almost anywhere, your cost creeps up when you progress beyond vinyl wrapped doors and laminate worksurfaces into real wood with stone worksurfaces, not to mention adding lighting, inbuilt cupboard storage solutions and inbuilt appliances.

If you do find someone local and independent who stocks any of the Second Nature, Burbidge or Marpatt doors, feel free to get in touch and I can ask my other half to provide you with a quote - the majority of their business supplies to trade and the retail jobs they do are priced favourably. They more than compete with Howdens et al on price and quality.

This is our kitchen - bare in mind this is very high end of what they do and our kitchen is very generously sized but is typical of the quality of their workmanship versus the size of kitchen they can supply :

 

[dan425]

This is our kitchen - bare in mind this is very high end of what they do and our kitchen is very generously sized but is typical of the quality of their workmanship versus the size of kitchen they can supply

I didn't think I'd find myself saying this on the Z4 Forum, but that is a nice kitchen!