Thoughts on new kitchen suppliers

toptoptopper

Hi all,

We're planning a kitchen extension in the next year or so and I'm rather perplexed at the amount of suppliers to choose from. I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have on quality and value based on personal experience. Ideally we don't want to spend more than about £10-15k on the kitchen (including granite surfaces/island unit) but might be prepared to spend more if the quality/longevity is significantly improved.

So far, my thoughts are:

Ikea - love some of their stuff but all builders I've spoken to have advised against because of lack of cavity at the back for pipes etc and non-standard sizes. A shame because value wise they're great and quality ain't bad (in most people's opinions)

Homebase/B&Q - next... really not interested in taking this route

Wren - builder said he's only ever had problems with them so couldn't recommend. Prepared to be swayed though...

Howdens - originally was absolutely set on them, but lately have read lots online that ultimately they're fairly cheap / average quality and builders like them because of the potential for mark-up. I really don't like their discounting system either as it just seems bizarre.

Magnet - not keen on their flimsy backboards and the only kitchen I like of theirs is ridiculously expensive. Plus my parents had issues with panels warping over time which puts me off

Omega/Chippendale/Mackintosh - the current frontrunner for me in terms of quality, but I fear when we actually get a quote from them I might need picking up off the floor! The sales guys in my local showroom (Ebberns in Hemel) were very quick to be negative about Howdens etc - although it kind of worked as I seriously started doubting them after my visit! That said, they seem to be knowledgable if slightly snobby.

Benchmarx - after viewing a small kitchen display in a local builders merchants I won't touch them with a bargepole. Quality was seriously questionable, drawers came out on an angle and weren't rigid, drawers squeaked when pulled out etc etc. Definitely decided against.

Masterclass - only found out about this supplier today. Again, can't really find anything online about how much their kitchens cost but a 'home' magazine suggested they were at the cheaper end. Really interested in any experiences people have had with them.

Parlour Farm - similar to above. Know nothing about them but their kitchens look nice and some positive comments online

diy-kitchens.com - was initially very excited about the supposed high quality and amazing value, but despite lots of great reviews there's a big questionmark over aftersales and not being particularly quick to remedy damaged items. My builder was quite nervous about me going down this route - plus they're up north so not local at all

Any advice / personal experiences with suppliers would be greatly received!

Thanks
Tim

MX5huggy

The IKEA thing is crazy especially in a new build, design it properly with your services in the right places you will have nothing to go in the cavity it's just wasted space.

CKdesigner

Hi toptoptopper

Firstly welcome to the forum.

You certainly have been doing the rounds!

I would have to agree with most of what you have said. In very basic terms national suppliers of kitchens sell their products showing big discounts, I believe good design, quality products and proper customer service get lost in these companies.

As the owner of an Independent Kitchen Specialist company I would have to recommend you investigate this supply route. This is where you should find good design, better quality products that are value for money and decent customer service. This will never Always be the case, but a well established specialist company that can show you well fitted quality displays, have a portfolio of previous work to show you, has good online reviews from previous customers and has the majority of their customers come to them via recommendation will always be a good company to trust to do your kitchen.

Good luck with your project.

CK

toptoptopper

Cool - thanks for the advice! Any other thoughts welcome...

onomatopoeia99

Some experiences ...

Magnet & Southern - My parents' kitchen came from there and though it's over 25 years old, you wouldn't know it to look at it in terms of wear and nothing about any of the units has failed. Some of this is doubtless down to my mother's approach to cleaning, nothing stays dirty for more than a few seconds it feels like (my home is rather different ), so no damage to the chipboard or laminates, Dad installed the kitchen himself.

Omega - I have a CRM kitchen (self installed) and the units are robust, lots of adjustment on everything so it all lines up and so on (I admit it took me a while to figure out lining up the drawers in the four-drawer base unit). It's been in less than a year, but would happily have another from them.

My previous home had a homebase kitchen which I installed as well, the units are nothing like as nice - they were flat pack and the wall units had hardboard backs. Once attached to the walls and each other they are sturdy enough though. When I sold up about a dozen years after installing it there were some signs of wear (handles, hinges). I'm methodical and precise when DIYing, so don't take shortcuts or skimp / under-engineer - consequently I take a lot longer than a professional installer to ensure I've done things right (a professional will generally get it right first time without massive planning due to their experience, I need ... longer in the planning stage to make sure everything goes right first time), but it means failures are down to the product rather than a DIY installer not taking care. So, IMO OK if on a tight budget (we were), but the difference in quality is noticable.

KECbythesea

Following with interest. About to get quotations and visits from masterclass (sigma 3); second nature/pws; omega/burger/baumhof supplier. Had Howdens out and they just don't have a style I like.

Davesnave

I had a local independent. They make their own carcasses and buy in doors, fittings etc. They worked-out similar in price to Howdens higher range, but I also got an excellent discount on Neff from them (Avoid Lamona and other non-brands.)

They had their own fitters, so it all went in very smoothly and efficiently, apart from the holes left by the Germans failing to make ovens for much of the year!

wymondham

diy ditchens. 100% happy with their service and the quality of their products...

TrixA

I'm following this with interest as we're in the same boat. The builder we'd like to use says he normally works with Magnet, but having looked on their website they didn't seem very good value for money. I had a look in Homebase and actually thought it wasn't too bad from a design/look perspective and very affordable too, although I don't feel well qualified to judge the quality.

One piece of general advice I had was that it's not worth spending too much on a kitchen unless you're planning to be in the property for a long time as when you're selling most people can't tell the difference in quality provided the design and layout is good.

arbrighton

We went to a local independent- make own carcases and imported the wooden doors, but laminate top at my request. Not the cheapest but well fitted, seriously speedy and tidy fitters and good after service- e.g. a join in the work top bubbled and was replaced etc (i did have to argue with customer care bloke that it was not unreasonable for the join near the sink to perhaps get wet but given the replacement is fine a year later, I was obviousy right)

LOts of compliments on it and I enjoy spending time in there. For what it's worth, it was cheaper than the quote B and Q gave me, was meant to check but never got back to me so....

beaker141

wymondham wrote: »

diy ditchens. 100% happy with their service and the quality of their products...

+1 from me too - I had 1 drawer with the wrong handed side extension - they just couriered me a replacement no bother.

On a like for like Howdens were nearly 3k dearer.