Kitchen recommendations

eattothebeat

We're going to extend our kitchen to incorporate a kitchen/diner and will need a new kitchen. Any recommendations beyond IKEA, Magnet, Homebase, B&Q, Wickes, Howdens...am I missing any others? We don't have masses of money to spend on the kitchen but I would like a good quality one. Thanks in advance!

GH

Our neighbours have just had a Schuller kitchen installed and it's VERY impressive. If you contact http://www.inhouseuk.net/ they'll let you know where your nearest stockist is.

phill99

I fit alot of Howdens kitchens and have never had any problems with them. I've fitted a few Magnet Trade kitchens and again, no problems. Both of these are rigid carcasses and, in my opinion, are a better product than flat packed.

If you order stuff from B & Q, its normally a six week lead time. If something is damaged, or they send you the wrong bit, expect to wait another 6 weeks to get it exchanged. Howdesn and Magnets stuff is all ex stock so exchanges are not a problem.

Remember, however, that the critical issue is your fitter. You could have a cheap kitchen fitted by a highly competent fitter and it will look excellent. An expensive kitchen fitted by a wood butcher will really p*ss you off.

Try and source a local independent fitter whose work you can check and who can give you references. His advice in terms of kitchen quality etc will be invaluable. Also get him to manage the other trades as he will know what is neded from whom and when it is needed.

themull1

I got mine from MFI so that doesnt count, but my brother got a lovely shaker style from Wickes, it looks dead expensive, but was only a couple of thousand.

CKdesigner

Hi All

We do Schueller kitchens and yes we think they are excellent value for money and absolutely light years ahead of the other brands you have mentioned.

With all due respect Phill99 Howdens and Magnet trade are at the lower end of the kitchen market and I think cannot be compared to the likes of Schueller and some other German makes. I am sure if you were given a job to fit a Schueller kitchen you wouldn't want to go back to Howdens or Magnet! :-)

CK

cddc

At the bottom end, Wickes/Benchmarx (same kitchens) have the best quality cabinetry for the price point. Benchmarx are trade only and come pre-assembled, Wickes come flat pack.

German kitchens tend to be more expensive but are undoubtably better quality.

Avoid Homebase and B&Q IT kitchens like the plague though! Cheap, but cheap for a reason.

As Phil says, fitting is key! Get some recommendations for fitters.

eattothebeat

thanks for the messages so far. Never heard of Schueller before ate these expensive?

davidjwest

phill99 wrote: »

If you order stuff from B & Q, its normally a six week lead time. If something is damaged, or they send you the wrong bit, expect to wait another 6 weeks to get it exchanged. Howdesn and Magnets stuff is all ex stock so exchanges are not a problem.

Not true, we had a B & Q kitchen installed recently and there were a couple of faulty doors, the fitter got them exchanged by taking them back to the local store who changed them straight away.

However, we did have to wait 3 weeks for a replacement worktop after the fitter had decided to put a joint right next to the sink that we were unhappy with.

Agree 100% about your comments about getting a good fitter though!

Our fitter was a friend of a friend who charged ~£180 a day for him and his assistant, we thought that was cheap at the time but it took him twice as long to do the job as he quoted and so the bill for fitting came to around ~£1,000 in the end, we could have got a professional fitter for less probably.

What's your budget OP?

phill99

davidjwest wrote: »

Our fitter was a friend of a friend who charged ~£180 a day for him and his assistant, we thought that was cheap at the time but it took him twice as long to do the job as he quoted and so the bill for fitting came to around ~£1,000 in the end, we could have got a professional fitter for less probably.

I've said on this forum before that people shouldn't agree work on a day rate basis. Its easy for a tradesman to string a job out if he is on a day rate. I would always encourage people to get a fixed price. If the job then takes longer than expected, then it doesn't cost you anything more.

eilidh_s

I got a fantastic Ikea kitchen for peanuts when I built my house last year, my only issue was that there was a few bits that they didn't have in stock when I bought it and they were delivered a few days after the rest of the stuff arrived. Then a few days later some more came, and then some more. They didn't cost me any extra, but they wanted me to pay for them to be sent back so I said nope and ebayed them! Made enough to cover the original cost of the delivery. Woop! As for fitting, i built all the cabinets and my dad and my brother installed them and the worktops. It was as easy as pie and saved me a fortune on a professional fitter.

Meepster

eilidh_s wrote: »

I got a cheap Ikea kitchen for peanuts

Edited for clarity...