Howdens vs Ikea kitchens - which is best overall? Any advice?

sillywilly · 7 July 2010 at 11:05AM

Hi,

My partner is getting a new kitchen soon and I was wondering what was best for value and quality.

They have had a couple of quotes off a Howdens salesman, obtained because the fitter is a "contact". Apparently the only way to get a Howdens quote.

I have to say I am not that impressed with the price. They wanted a mid range kitchen - but even that seems excessively priced after the "discount".

We went up to their "showroom" which was a 10 X 10' reception area showing off f all!! Surely if you are spending a good few grand with a company you are entitled to see a few fully fitted kitchens to get an idea about quality? A stray door here, random off cut of worktop doesn't really cut it.

The supposed CAD drawing was nothing like the kitchen quoted for, the "discounts" seem to be completely arbitrary - RRP whatever - price we will charge - 75 % off - !!!!!!?

One other thing about them. When we went and viewed their showroom saw a load of appliances - all branded BEKO. That is NOT a good make and made us wonder - are all their own branded appliances just BEKO shi7e that they make out cost £800 before discount?

I said look at Ikea because they are they same thickness cabinets 18mm and their prices seem a lot keener especially if u supply yr own appliances.

Knocked up an Ikea kitchen plan in an hour that was 3D, to scale and using branded Which best buy appliances and saved more than 30% on Howdens allegedly "discounted" prices. Even more if they wanted solid wood worktops which Howdens were "discounting" at £700!!

My question is which is better value? Apparently Howdens units come assembled. Didn't see any of that in the showroom we visited. But if it will save a couple of money to complete some Ikea carcasses its money well spent? The fitter would prefer that cos it is less effort to him!!

All of them seem a massive rip off in reality. You are paying for a manufactured piece of MDF with a covering. £4500 seems excessive, especially when you are getting BEKO appliances!!

Any help or advice will be greatly appreicated. Thanks.

gabyjane · 7 July 2010 at 12:06PM

Hi all i can say is we have a Howdens kitchen and it is really nice. We bought a new build almost 3 years ago and it has been fab so far, no idea how much it cost though. The only thing that is now needing to be fixed is the fact the cupboard doors are slightly wonky and need tightening up which i don't seem to be able to do with some of them but other than that as good as new. the kick boards need replacing but that is due to our useless plumber who ruined part of it doing some work but would be fine if it wasn't for him!

We have a pearwood kitchen (id'e say inbetween oak and beech colour) and it has a black worktop which again is damage proof as yet with dd cutting apples on it etc!

I would look at Ikea kitchens when we replace this one as just think they are really nice but then there are lots of places that sell nice kitchens! I have fallen in love with a cream one i saw in one of my home mags which i think is wickes!

good luck x

Hopejack · 7 July 2010 at 2:20PM

I too am looking at a Howdens kitchen but not impressed at all with their customer service. We are having our kitchen knocked to pieces and extended both along and out to include a dining area and a sun room/family room. My concern was that the actual kitchen area of the kitchen won't have many units in it. I'm using a builder so he suggested I go along and have a look at my local Howdens. We did this and it was heaving, like you say a very small room, not much scope for looking at anything really and the chap we spoke to was clueless - I tried to explain we wanted a rough layout plan of the kitchen (took our building plans along) and he said we'd have to wait until it was built and then they'd come along and measure up??? We then tried again to explain that we are having the kitchen 'built' and so could, at this stage, change the layout slightly if we can't fit what we'd like in the space, so ideally we'd like to know before the building work starts! He was either useless or not very clever!

Needless to say it's almost 3 weeks on and we still haven't been contacted about a plan that they were meant to be drawing up! I had to ask him to write a list of the things I definately wanted in there as he was going to go off and get them to do a plan without even knowing what I want in there - how useful is that?

Needless to say, my builder has now sourced a local, small company who seem quite good and proactive. We are going in Saturday to see the plan they've designed and they are quite willing to discuss discount/undercutting Howdens.

As long at the latter can produce what we need at a price we like, I probably won't even bother to chase Howdens up. I was very, very disappointed by them given the good things I'd read about them. Shame as their units do look OK, just the service is next to rubbish.

So, I'd say don't discoun your local companies - maybe not a bespoke service as they tend to be expensive but one of your local kitchen shops might do a good deal? I had never thought about going to one as I thought they'd be way above our budget. In addition, they shop around for appliances too - quote for Bosch for all ours and at good prices!

sillywilly · 7 July 2010 at 2:57PM

Thanks for the responses guys. Apparently Howdens sell 400,000 kitchens a year!!

I am convinced there has to be some massive collaboration with "trade" cos even without appliances the kitchen my partner was after would have been a few grand after "discount".

I said that seemed rather expensive for a few pieces of laminated MDF!!

Anyone any experience of quality between Howdens and Ikea as they both seem to have 18mm carcasses but Ikea actually give you a long guarantee. Howdens don't?

CKdesigner · 7 July 2010 at 3:06PM

Hi

As I have said before, the kitchen is the most important room in a house so having a well designed kitchen for your needs is SO important. It is always sensible to at least go and have a chat with your local independent kitchen specialist, they should be more knowledgeable than salespeople from most of the nationals and be able to do a better job at reasonable prices.

Good luck.

amerste · 7 July 2010 at 3:16PM

Also had a quote through a builder friend from Howdens and with the usual 75-80% discount, I still saved over £1600 going to wren kitchens and thats with an extra dishwasher thrown in and all Bosch. The quality of the units are superb.

sillywilly · 7 July 2010 at 4:05PM

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi

As I have said before, the kitchen is the most important room in a house so having a well designed kitchen for your needs is SO important. It is always sensible to at least go and have a chat with your local independent kitchen specialist, they should be more knowledgeable than salespeople from most of the nationals and be able to do a better job at reasonable prices.

Good luck.

Thanks for your reply. Did you get the kitchen fitted by the independents too?

CKdesigner · 7 July 2010 at 5:30PM

sillywilly wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. Did you get the kitchen fitted by the independents too?

Hi

Sorry - I am an independent kitchen specialist and I like to think we do a much better job than any of the national companies by having a professional design service through to a reasonably priced full fitting service.

Krav · 7 July 2010 at 6:33PM

amerste wrote: »

Also had a quote through a builder friend from Howdens and with the usual 75-80% discount, I still saved over £1600 going to wren kitchens and thats with an extra dishwasher thrown in and all Bosch. The quality of the units are superb.

I am currently finalising a kitchen with Howdens so very interested in this thread. May I ask how much you paid for yours, the number of units and the range?

Doozergirl · 7 July 2010 at 6:35PM

Howdens are trade. They don't have 'showrooms' and the service you get is a trade service a lot of the time. They will send people out to you to design but don't expect that in the branch - they will have trade conversations with you.

If the question is the orignal one, which is best Howdens or Ikea then I would say Howdens. Ikea do get good reviews on here but having gone and done the 'wiggle' test on every kitchen drawer out there, I just don't think that Ikea stand up to Howdens. A lot of the slab doors aren't wrapped at all, not even on to the sides, to me look like they will peel with time - lovely that you get a guarantee with them but I won't buy an Ikea kitchen. Howdens do come pre-assembled so you save money on the assembly.

What isn't great about Howdens is that different people get different discounts dependent upon their relationships and some tradespeople will add their own margins on top of what they pay to Howdens whereas others will pass their price straight to you. It's possible to get a Howdens kitchen at a really good price that may not be quite as cheap as Ikea but then I'm not sure I'd expect it to be.

You also have your kitchen delivered within days of order, so if your kitchen isn't built yet then it's easy to see why they aren't too keen to do a deal at this point in time - whilst you might want to get an idea of what it looks like, they can't come out and measure and the people in the branches don't generally do CAD drawings.

I use Howdens, they are a good standard kitchen - not top drawer but of a decent quality and not expensive. I pay less for Howdens than any retailer can offer. I know that people often get quoted more but I wouldn't ever expect to spend more than £3000 on units in a decent sized kitchen. I don't think I could get away with an Ikea kitchen in one of our houses. I never buy appliances from Howdens though. I always shop around for appliances, sinks and taps. Howdens are a joinery, they do not specialise in appliances and don't offer great prices on them either.

kayl · 7 July 2010 at 7:52PM

I was very interested to read this thread, as I have in fact paid a deposit on an IKEA kitchen today! I was very impressed with the quality and range of styles. The cost was very good, the only drawback being the cost of installation. I know that I could have had it installed by independent tradesmen cheaper, but decided that it was worth it not to have the hassle of trying to coordinate a joiner, electrician and plumber.
The total cost was £3600 which was for both my kitchen and my utility, and included an oven, hob, extractor and dishwasher. Each appliance was between £100 and £200 cheaper that the equivalent in the B and Q kitchen brochure. Installation will be £2300.
Added benefit is that 2 years interest free credit!

Howdens vs Ikea kitchens - which is best overall? Any advice?

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