which fitted kitchen? Ikea, Wicks, B&Q or homebase?

irishwench69

rachelandgromit wrote: »

My Wickes kitchen is coming on Saturday - so excited! I had out B&Q, Wickes, Howdens, a couple of independent firms, Kitchens Direct and also went to Ikea. Wickes won for me, quality was really good. Guy in store who came out and did design was really honest and upfront about things (no hard sell). I was really impressed with the quality and they have been really good with changing delivery dates. Had a text yesterday confirming delivery between 7am and 10am Saurday! Hope they don't come at 7am!!!!!!

Pretty much snap!

We considered / got quotes for:

Kitchens Direct / Moben
MFI (RIP)
Ikea
B&Q
Homebase
Couple independents (including ones who'd use howdens)
Wickes

Wickes were the best in terms of quality and value for money. I wasn't bothered about installation service, as my OH fitted ours (clever guy ), and this did impact on the overall customer service (they suddenly became a lot less available after we declined their fitting service )

But in terms of price and quality for the kitchen, perfect. Just be prepared for a couple headaches in terms of availability of your consultant, their customer service, and possibly delivery. Maybe was just our store, but the communication between local and central was non-existent (this isn't just kitchens though, think it's a wider wickes problem!)

We went for a light oak shaker style and light coffee cream (mottled) worktop.

My OH's parents have gone for an ikea kitchen (they are going for a high gloss white finish on the cupboards), and they seem happy with it.

I didn't think ikea's finish was that good (certainly not for the shaker / wood styles), but it obviously works for some people! The gloss ones looked better than their shaker styles......

We got floor tiles, appliances etc elsewhere (don't do appliances or tiles from wickes, they'll rarely be the best deal! Especially tile installation - wickes prices are £^**)(_£"$ )

Good places for appliances (used for both kitchen and utility room):

Jual domestic (excellent value and service - got extractor hood and chest freezer from there)
Screwfix (good value splashbacks and sinks)
http://www.toyourhome.co.uk/ - good wine fridges
https://www.fitmykitchen.co.uk (good sinks, fittings and bins)

Also:
Water filter from here: http://www.uk-water-filters.co.uk/own_tap_water_filter.html (absolutely brilliant, esp if you're in a hard water area like us!!). Such good value for money, simple to install, cheap - just brilliant

Floor tiles were special offer from B&Q of all places(!) (£10 / sq mtr for large scale (60cm sq) tiles that look and feel like nat. stone )
Also got mixer tap from there (also special offer)

HTH and good luck with getting your new kitchen!

IW x

sam280597

I had mine from wicks, it was a fab service and a good price.
i love ikea but found the kitchen service a bit confusing... pretty easy with me though!

cadmus

dont worry so much about where you buy the kitchen from , its absolutely imperative you get decent fitter. . you could spend a small fortune on a bespoke kitchen only for a cowboy to throw it together and it will look like a kitchen from hell.
im a time served cabinet maker and have 26 years experience with a niche kitchen company. its all about attention to detail ..... level and plumb cabinetry, professional worktop joints , seamless mitres to cornices and pelmets etc etc
its these things that will tell you if you have a good fitter.

smileygiraffe

Ikea are briliant. We bought a kitchen for our new house recently, I put most of it together myself with a little help from my boyfriend. it looks great and we've had no problems so far. it's a lovely satiny black finish with a white counter top. love it!

After trawling through the other stores, Ikea was the obvious choice for us because of the price. At the time we thought we would probably be moving elsewhere and renting the new house out in a couple of years so if it needed replacing before then we'd replace it with something better but the Ikea kitchen has really surprised us in so many ways. Ikea every time!

leestanway

Hi

Don't know much about Ikea, Wickes or Homebase but would avoid B & Q.
We've just had a B & Q kitchen fitted and although the units are OK the installation was a nightmare of poor communication, wrongly delivered items and once you've paid up front it's very hard to get any dedress

we_are_always_skint

ikea 100%

we had wickes before and it was such bad quality only lasted about 6 years, the downside was at the time our nearest ikea was about 70 miles away so the day after our baby came home from nicu off we went and had to pick every single item then go through every bit again to get it delivered. took about 3 hours lol - but my OH fitted it in one day + night and hes an estate agent lol so it couldnt of been that hard as i do all the diy in our house the cupboards are alot deeper than the other brands as they are boxes so go all the way back to the wall, the only downside to that is where you have pipes you have to make a cut out but i still would do that as i know people who've bought b+q and cant fit their plates in the cupboards :O

fantastic quality and cheaper than the others too - plus apparently if you buy from bristol ikea they pick it for you so you only have to drive round the corner and its waiting on a trolley :O wish id known that as i would of gone there instead of croydon

good luck - hope he lets you have it

oh we went for adel in white which is like a semi gloss one

topbargainhunter

Ikea, every time, all their stuff is amazing quality and reasonably priced. My FIL is a joiner and he is amazed at the quality of their kitchens, wardrobes etc.

Furniture I've bought from Homebase, B&Q etc has always been a disappointment, rickety and cheap looking, but I've never used Wickes or Howdens.

peters2080

I had a bathroom and kitchen fitted in March by B&Q and it was awful. I'd neved use them again - abosolute waste of money. Shoddy workmanship isn't the word for it - and I got no help when I complained - not even an apology!!

sarah1972

topbargainhunter wrote: »

Ikea, every time, all their stuff is amazing quality and reasonably priced. My FIL is a joiner and he is amazed at the quality of their kitchens, wardrobes etc.

Furniture I've bought from Homebase, B&Q etc has always been a disappointment, rickety and cheap looking, but I've never used Wickes or Howdens.

My Oh is a kitchen fitter and he and his work partner refuses to install an Ikea kitchen because he says the quality is so poor its not worth the hassle.

Funkyfarmgirl

Hada fire in my kitchena dn we replaced it with a b&q kitchen had 35 units and other bits all arrived the day they said and had no problem with anything but i did fit it myself