Fitted Kitchen Recommendations

Marakith

Marakith

Marakith

Associate
Joined
22 Nov 2004
Posts
412
Location
London
Hi there! Happy New Year!

We're planning a kitchen extension this summer and whilst the drawings are being finalised we're looking ahead to the big task of getting the new kitchen installed. Having a peek at the market and thinking of designs/ colours.

There are a lot of suppliers out there! We're looking for excellent quality at a reasonable price (i.e. not cheap - not stupid either). And we're trying to avoid suppliers that use chipboard/ melamine foil etc in their construction because it doesn't age well and can't be repaired.

Keen to know peoples' experiences with different firms: their products/ quality/ choice/ presales service and the fitting experience.

Thanks!
 
We went Sigma H line through their trade section and I fitted it myself, although the kitchen is great I'm disappointed with the foil wrapped MDF "Aluminium" trim!
Currently fitting the Howdens version of this in my parents house and the quality of the carcasses is good but its not as good as Sigma but Howdens use a metal trim on the handle less design which is nice to see.
 
Another vote for diy kitchens

Remember they don't design though

Pretty good to deal with, had to put our delivery back a couple of time due to build issues

After sales support could be a bit better
 
Since you’re in London it might be best to look around for recommended local kitchen companies? If you’re paying for a design and fit service you’ll want to be having lots of in-person chats and design meetings etc?

Everyone in here will recommend DIY Kitchens, but the clue is in the name :)
 
we did our kitchen and utility rooms using DIY kitchens and found their ranges and products extremely good vfm so another vote for them.

We have the basic shaker range in the utility (Malton) and the more expensive wooden inframe range in the kitchen (Helmsley). I am impressed with the Malton, it’s foil wrapped but has a good grain finish that makes it look pretty decent and as they all come fully assembled, even with doors on, it’s easy to fit yourself and a breeze for a kitchen fitter. My neighbour is a carpenter and fits kitchens, he gave me a hand with fitting the sink and finishing work like cornices etc.. and he was taking pictures of the units and despite getting discount at howdens has been planning his own kitchen with DIY kitchens.

As a guide, we got a design/quote from Wren, they only offered a foil wrapped basic shaker style we liked, just supply of units was £9k for the kitchen, we got the diy kitchens ‘real wood’ with open grain painted finish for £6.5k which included more pan drawers and upgraded deep sided glass drawer inserts.

The do a wide range of kitchens, foil wrapped, real wood, smooth finish, open grain finish and different styles of the same basic type, so square edged vs rounded, or more inlay details etc.. they use Blum drawers/inserts/hinges and can’t fault the quality, they also do more useful units so had more choice than Wren and other places.

Their online planner was pretty good, certainly more than enough to plan our kitchen various ways, try different ranges and switch back/forth between everything..

One tip, they partner with a nationwide company for their worktops (quartz/marble etc), I got a quote a negotiated based on local pricing and they were happy to price match even though based on a nicer spec of quartz, and I’m glad I took them up on putting an led groove in as well, very nice with that and plinth leds..

 
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Demon said:
and despite getting discount at howdens has been planning his own kitchen with DIY kitchens.
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That's funny. We went with our local firm, some of our reasoning was down to the fact that our builder recently did his kitchen and despite getting a good discount at Howdens he went with the local indie.

We did have a couple of meetings with our local Howdens and it was all very good and we liked what they were supplying, but they were only £4-5k or so cheaper (I think, and that's including appliances) than the local indie which are very well recommended, seemed a lot more flexible, were supplying better range of kitchen (Mackintosh), do a lot of big detached houses round here, and had worked with our builder a lot and seemed keen to take the workload off of us with regards to timing etc. Although that remains to be seen as we are all currently waiting for out builder to start downstairs yet :p

Our friends fitted a DIY Kitchen in their flat and were very happy, as did our neighbour up the road.
 
Don’t discount IKEA. We’ re going through the process at the moment similar to yourself - the builders are actually partway through the extension build as we speak.

We went to IKEA after a recommendation from a friend who fitted one. We had a free two hour design consultation appointment with an extremely helpful and knowledgeable designer. We’d initially planned/hoped to have an island in the kitchen, and she said whilst the space was physically there (just), we’d be forever walking around it to get where we needed and it’d feel in the way. We ended up comparing various different designs and settled on a twin L shape design with a peninsula which we’d not even considered.

Price is very competitive, stock is very good - when we finalise and pay for our order next week, the delivery can be as quick as two days. And for a self fitter like me, the single rail from which the rear of the units hang looks to be a good idea which will help get everything perfectly level.
 
Yeah I have a lot of time for ikea but I’m not sure the quality is comparable to manufacturers like Nolte and Mackintosh etc. I guess it always comes down to budget!

Side note- I got shouted down last time I mentioned it (I don’t care) but be aware the owner of Wren is one of the biggest Conservative party donors and quite an active backer of them.
 
I've done 2 IKEA kitchens and they have been great. The only glitch is that they have no room for services at the rear, so either whack a baton on the wall or butcher every cupboard. I understand carcasses made for the UK market have space for services.
 
Scam said:
Yeah I have a lot of time for ikea but I’m not sure the quality is comparable to manufacturers like Nolte and Mackintosh etc. I guess it always comes down to budget!

Side note- I got shouted down last time I mentioned it (I don’t care) but be aware the owner of Wren is one of the biggest Conservative party donors and quite an active backer of them.
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Thanks. I'll avoid Wren, then!
 
Yeah I would favour howdens and diykitchens over ikea for the service gap, coming ready "built" ie not wasting time doing flat pack and general quality.
 
Had a wren kitchen fitted late last year. It’s great but….
get your own fitter
the lower ranges seem to have longevity issues
be prepared for some damaged missing parts that may take a week or 2 to replace.
 
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