Howdens kitchens, any good?

We had one put in a couple of years ago, shaker style, dove grey. Nothing negative to say about it really, the builder was very keen to use them over IKEA as the carcasses etc are pre-built. They're more expensive than they used to be but I think they're still worth going for.
 
Had nothing but hassle when we got a quote for Howden's and had big reservations about the warranty as addressed earlier in this thread. You are not the customer of Howden's, your builder/joiner is. If they stop trading then your warranty is worthless effectively as you have no contract with Howden's directly and it's up to the branch/head office if they want to go above and beyond to help you - legally it's a grey area. Other downside is the other guys have options of 0% etc....for Howden's it's all cash up front as most builders won't offer credit either.

The other thing that really cheesed me off with Howden's was the different prices between branches and the joiner/builder account used. We got a first quote from the branch in Leek who quoted lower for the joiner they recommended vs our joiner we found ourselves by around £300-400. Our joiner suggested trying his local branch at Uttoxeter instead who magically managed to knock £800 more off for our joiner but were still £1K more than Wren and that was with their own brand appliances vs Wren who were a mixture of Bosch and Neff I guess due to the offers and discounts Wren can get from the manufacturers.

Our Wren Kitchen is superb quality but I know several people who have had huge issues with their installers and the fitting cost is obscene in comparison so we ended up buying our kitchen from Wren and getting our own fitter (joiner who specialised in kitchens) instead. Quality is excellent as was the install job - just meant I had to project manage myself somewhat with the electrician and plumber but was no biggy.
 
Last edited:
Def will go for DIY Kitchens myself. Lots of good reviews and the kitchens look great with a low price too.
 
Just finishing Howdens kitchen today (worktops). Our design they made it fit better, ordered and delivered in two days apart from a few doors.

Trade account about £7k with appliances, sink plus hob. Cannot beat there 3 year warranty on appliances anywhere. Doors are Matt film still on them :)



OaU2ZC5.jpg

z1YiXX1.jpg

VekkJYk.jpg

rrrlQV0.jpg

h5uIGZP.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dropped on this by chance last week as well for another property.

High street kitchen centre having a refit discontinued line but easy to match up, went get it from store last Saturday. Would have been 6K got it for 1K.

Sometimes you can still grab a bargain :)


6zESnM8.jpg


9k64b4B.jpg


RW977D5.jpg


a9ZgPPX.jpg
 
zuludawn said:
Doors are Matt film still on them :)
Click to expand...
What colour are those cabinets? We were looking at dark green or dark blue shakers. Can't tell if yours are dark blue or not..
happy_2008 said:
My builder got me a quote from the local howdens and sent me pictures of plan and list of units etc. I forwarded that to DIY kitchens and they quoted me like for like.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Perhaps we'll try the same with DIY. We already did a rough design on the website, but as I mentioned previously because we're knocking down a wall, removing a support pillar, and adding insulation to the back wall there's a few variables at play which make me nervous.

I can't remember if I said but I was very impressed with the Howdens design service. I commented it was the sort of meeting I'd expected with our local indie kitchen shop (which are top of the budget at the moment and have not replied to my questions after two weeks..)
 
Scam said:
What colour are those cabinets? We were looking at dark green or dark blue shakers. Can't tell if yours are dark blue or not..

Fair enough. Perhaps we'll try the same with DIY. We already did a rough design on the website, but as I mentioned previously because we're knocking down a wall, removing a support pillar, and adding insulation to the back wall there's a few variables at play which make me nervous.

I can't remember if I said but I was very impressed with the Howdens design service. I commented it was the sort of meeting I'd expected with our local indie kitchen shop (which are top of the budget at the moment and have not replied to my questions after two weeks..)
Click to expand...
In the end Howdens reduced there quote to within 2-300 of DIY kitchens quote and i opted to buy from them for convenience e.g. problems with units can be swapped straight away at store etc. Its perhaps something you should consider if you're having tradesmen fitting your kitchen.
 
happy_2008 said:
In the end Howdens reduced there quote to within 2-300 of DIY kitchens quote and i opted to buy from them for convenience e.g. problems with units can be swapped straight away at store etc. Its perhaps something you should consider if you're having tradesmen fitting your kitchen.
Click to expand...
Good to know. Did you basically go back to them saying you'd had a cheaper quote elsewhere and ask them to match it?
 
Scam said:
Do they even do that? Was under the impression you have to do all your plans etc yourself with DIY.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we got Howdens round to measure and design the kitchen for us. We even bought it ourselves with an account we opened no trade account needed.
One of the cabinets got delivered with a hole in, they let us pick up a new one the next day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom