German Kitchen recomendations

martin1959

We are looking for a slightly better kitchen than B&Q or Howdens, and Magnet with their stupid pricing structure is infuriating.


We have seen Kube Kitchens who say they are German, but cannot find any reference to them in Germany, only from Ireland where they seem to be sold by one Company. They also have two outlets in UK, both near us where we have seen them.


There is also an independent kitchen retailer near us who has recommended German makes Beauformat and Cube Purista. He has also recommended a British company, Mackintosh (OmegaPLC).


Can anyone give me any thoughts on any of the above and how they would compare to Howdens etc, or indeed any other makes that would be worth looking at.


We are looking at a high gloss kitchen, L shape 2.5m x 4m with an island. Budget for units only (no worktops, fitting or appliances) about £6-7k.


Thanks

cddc

If you are looking for something better quality than Howdens, anything from Omega is unlikely to be much if any better at all in my experience.

You pay a premium for a German kitchen, and though they are without doubt manufactured to a higher standard than a UK made one, a good UK made one should give you 15-20 service, if well fitted, and will most likely cost you considerably less.

I will leave it CK and Ryder (MSE's resident German kitchen experts) to give you guidance as per the German brands, though Bauformat is a long established and well thought of brand. I have no knowledge of the other two you mention.

Ramona123

There is a site in German (similar to Companies House in the UK) that allows you to see if a company does actually exist and is not dissolved etc. Search for buergel and you should find it.

SuzieSue

Have you looked at DIY Kitchens? Lots of people on here have been recommending them recently and I am about to order a kitchen from them. There is a table on their website where they compare themselves to Howdens and Magnet.

martin1959

Thanks.


I have looked at DIY kitchens and they have had good reviews for their cabinets which are supplied fully built. The only thing I am not sure about is they source all their doors from PWS and I am not sure of the quality of these doors. Also they appear a little limited on the extra such as wire pull outs and corner options.


A lot of their ranges do not have curved doors which we would like for an island, and their two man delivery at about £300 is a bit pricey, and we would have to factor in a weekend in Yorkshire as we would not buy without viewing.


I think we would rather pay more and get German reliability as it is likely the last kitchen we will have and the cost of the units are only about 50% of the overall kitchen cost, so to scrimp on these would be a false economy (in my opinion)

ryder72

Hi martin1959

I have looked at the Kube website and I cant identify the make. It is an entry level German kitchen though, most likely Nobilia or similar.

Nothing wrong with entry level German products provided you pay the right price for them. There are some companies selling basic German products as premium offerings so watch out for that.

Bauformat is very much in the budget German brand territory so expect pricing to be keen.

martin1959

Thanks Ryder,


I have been informed that KUBE are Nolte kitchens.


Other local German ranges we have looked at are Beauformat and Rotpunkt, and are currently awaiting quotes. Any thought on either of these two?


Cheers


Martin

ryder72

All entry level brands. Nolte/Rotpunkt are poor value for money. Are you in Ireland?

Ramona123

Hi,

You mention that you are after a German kitchen? To be honest with you what makes a kitchen "German" is the "functionality" fancy wireworks, hinges and soft close mechanisms. German kitchens tend to be quite blocky in appearance so just design your kitchen "blocky":-)

PWS are a distributor of doors and these doors are of a very hight standard and these are the front of all Second Nature Kitchens, one of the best brands around.

With regards to kitchen units, these are technically all 'unbranded'. Units are made by the kitchen manufacturers with whatever brand name they choose to give them, usually to a very high standard and not much usually differs in their construction, albeit the price if you go to a DIY chain in the highstreet rather than shopping around online.

So, units, you can get them anywhere, Second Nature doors are great. Germans rock and making cool wireworks and the internals of a kitchen (Blum for example).

Also remember that, there is no such thing as a "Second Nature Kitchen". The second nature part is only the doors. I hope that helps you all.

martin1959

Thanks for your post, but I cannot see the point in a 'Second Nature' kitchen, when they buy the doors in from PWS and whoever supplies them provides the cabinets.....what actually do Second Nature actually provde.


Sounds a bit like Trigger from Only Fools and Horses when he said...I have had the same broom for 20 years.... it has had 4 new heads and 3 new handles.....


I would rather buy a car from a manufacturer, as opposed to from someone who buys all the parts in from various places and assembles it in his garage.


I wish I could buy a good solid British built kitchen that is reliable, stylish, and reasonable value. But the reason I have been driving BMW's and VW's for the past 15 years is that the Germans know how to build something that lasts.


Apologies if I am missing the point you are making

ryder72

Ramona123- you have just demonstrated how little you know about kitchens and Germans.

1. A French car designed to look German doesnt make it German. Same applies for the kitchens. OP wants a German kitchen for its build quality.

2. Blum is not German. Its Austrian. Nor is Grass, one of their biggest competitors.

3. Kessebohmer is one of the bigger wirework manufacturers but there are some good ones from France and Italy.

4. PWS supply mainly foil/vinyl wrapped doors under the Second Nature/Metric/1909 (or similar) name. They may be the best foil wrapped doors around, but thats like saying a certain type of flu is the best to get. The correct thing to do is avoid it in the first place. Foil and Vinyl wraps should be avoided in the same manner.

I wont say any more.