New kitchen - help!

almwales

My partner and I are in the process of buying our first home together. It is a 1930's terraced property and the current kitchen is rather tired. Once settled we plan on carrying out some building works and refitting a new kitchen. The budget for the kitchen will be around £10-12k.


Does anybody have any helpful suggestions to steer us away from potential pitfalls - who are the best kitchen suppliers? Are there any suppliers or stores that should be avoided? Is going independent always better than using a chain such as Wren/B&Q/Howdens etc.?


Any help would be very gratefully received.


Thanks

moneyistooshorttomention

Do NOT use Magnet.

Opinion of them - unprintable. Moreover - they quoted me a price that amounted to somewhere along the spectrum from 2.5 to 3 times the "real" price AFAIK.

Am still checking out places currently - but Magnet are definitely "no-goers" imo.

phil24_7

Get the main players (Wickes, B&Q, Howdens etc) to do you some free plans.
Get copies of these if possible, if not try to remember what they planned.
Mix and match the plans to get the best of all of the designs.
Get a quote from diykitchens or what you want (if style and sizes work for your needs)
Get a quotes from local joiners/kitchen kitters/chippies to instal said kitchen.

This is what I plan to do in a couple of years.

almwales

good luck with the search - let me know if you find any deals worth mentioning!

forum_posts

Check these threads for info

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2978264

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5571544

no1catman

Browse on-line, and in person with B & Q, Homebase, and Wickes (after doing a search here on Wrens you'll quickly ignore them).

Notice, any difference in dimensions of their units - I seem to remember those from Hombase had greater depth. Get an idea, what sort of style you would like. Also, look at their work tops, you don't have to have the units and the work-tops from the same place. You may have a local distributor for 'Laminates' e.g. in Cardiff we have Llandaff Laminates - http://llandafflaminates.co.uk/products/worktops/laminate-worktops/

- used them for a Homebase kitchen about fifteen years ago, and new work-tops for a kitchen restoration three years ago (different house).

Oh, and have a wander around a couple of Tile places as well. Because of the size of the wall, I chose two shades of bathroom tiles to use - even the project Manager when it was finished said 'wow'.

Have some ideas on what you would like, before you start talking to 'designers'.

goodwithsaving

Find a couple of good builders and see what they envision, they may think of things you don't. List your wants, prioritise and then see how much and what you may have to compromise on.
A good fitter is worth the money but won't be cheap. I wouldn't go for an 'all in' company. Howdens may match DIY Kitchens quotes, then just get a good local fitter.
Also budget for electrics, flooring, plastering (if needed).

FreeBear

no1catman wrote: »

Browse on-line, and in person with B & Q, Homebase, and Wickes

If you like anything from the range that Wickes do, they can be had quite a bit cheaper from Benchmarx. If you are looking at the flat-pack fit-it-yourself stuff from Wickes, some of it is also available from Travis Perkins for quite a bit less.

I would second the suggestion to get a couple of designs done by Howdens/Magnet/B&Q/etc - Just watch out for silly things like draw units next to a doorway and wall units blocking light from a window.

moneyistooshorttomention

Latest potential kitchen firm been in now and I can see there is a difference between "kitchen designers". Previous ones have been "plonk box A here and box B there". This one I think (fingers crossed) may actually be a kitchen designer instead of just calling themselves one and did come out with half a dozen suggestions about "Maybe if you do this like so and that like that etc..." and I think things he's said have helped me realise why photos of so many kitchens round here don't look as if the kitchen is "finished" and I've not been able to put my finger on why.

So some "kitchen designers" won't be (probably the majority of them) and I think there might be a few that actually really are. But telling the difference is problematic - as both call themselves "kitchen designers".

Rain_Shadow

Eye level ovens are far superior to floor level ones.
Deep pan drawers are a real boon.
Pull out larders don't work as well as you'd think, apparently.
You probably don't need a wine cooler.
Taps can be phenomenally expensive but still just deliver water.
Flexible tap hoses are great but I was advised (and heeded) against retractable ones.
Try and draw your own plan first. You probably have more idea about what you want than a 'designer' will.
You can't have too many electric sockets.
Get plenty of lighting.
Buy the best appliances you can afford if you are planning to stay there

moneyistooshorttomention

Re the eye level ovens - that does rather depend on size of kitchen.

If it's a large kitchen - then it's possible to sacrifice a bit of work surface to have one. If it isn't a large kitchen - one may go short on worksurface to have one of those.

A friend of mine has recently had her kitchen refitted (not a large one) and tells me she regrets having an eye level one (because of this loss of work surface) and advised me not to do so. My kitchen is medium size I'd say - and I'd like one - but will have an under the surface type one in order not to lose work surface. I shall have rather more work surface than I do at present - but I could do with having even more if there was the space for it.