New kitchen

trailingspouse

Shop around. It's the only answer. Using Howdens and a local fitter might be cheaper than elsewhere, but if they don't stock the kitchen you want they're no good. Try all available options, and make sure you're comparing like with like (in so far as you can).

For our kitchen, it went like this -

- local independent kitchen shop - nice guy, kitchens were almost but not quite what I wanted. Very expensive.
- Magnet - again, units not quite what I wanted, but their designer came up with some good ideas for using the space in our small kitchen. But again, quite expensive.
- Tesco - wouldn't talk to me unless husband present. Thrown out by the seat of his pants.
- Homebase - saw my perfect kitchen on display at our local store. Loved their design (you have to take the measurements to them, they don't come out), and extremely happy with the designer who had the patience of a saint. We used their fitters, again extremely happy - so happy, in fact, that we got them back to fit our utility room.

It's all down to research - you're likely to have a kitchen for a long time, so it's worth spending a long time thinking it through. Make notes, start a file, do a mood board - whatever it takes to get it right.

ETA - and you can reduce costs by doing the demolition bit yourself. Hire a skip, and get physical. It's very therapeutic.

Grouchy

Thanks for the additional responses, all useful.

I will definitely shop around no matter which route I choose.

Popped into Magnet but didn't see anything I liked in their range really, I find them all too fussy with too many gadgety bits. I want it clean and simple. I may ask them to suggest a design though. It seems that they (and other high street providers) seem to offer the brand of appliances they have only, whereas I want to choose my own. Might be tricky.

I am also looking into getting the doors/drawers replaced as this may be an option as the units themselves are in good condition. So it would be doors/drawers/appliances/worktop and floor (which is a mess and needs replaced). Has anyone gone though route? And is it significantly cheaper/quicker? And what sort of companies would do this partial refurb? Or do you just employ a kitchen fitting company who have multiple expertise at hand?

Thanks

Doozergirl

There's nothing tricky anout choosing your own appliances. Just don't buy them from the retailer if they don't have what you want.

It's only a problem if you are expecting them to do absolutely everything for you, when most posts suggest finding your own fitter.

Moneytalks-minewalks

You can pick and choose.Just units just doors full units no worktop kitchen no appliances it dosnt matter. But my advice even tho it seems cheaper to just do doors panels and worktops it's a false economy it normally actually takes a fitter longer. Adding extra labour and other then appliances your buying the most exspensive parts of the kitchen doors panels and worktops plinths cornice pelmet the units are actually pretty cheap. It still needs to be taken off the walls most times if you have panels in between units so why not dig a little deeper initially and have a toatally new kitchen.

Moneytalks-minewalks

Plus if it's not there units the doors can be awkward to make fit sizes also can be a huge problem in between sizes like 350mm units and so on some companies do this on purpose I think so they don't match.

Doozergirl

My in laws did replacement doors. It doesn't look good. Doesn't quite fit (doors are slightly too small and you can see the carcass contrasting against the doors) and there are compromises around the room where they had items that the door specialist (whoever they were) don't do.

We have replaced doors before where we knew exactly where the kitchen had come from and so there was no question of an exact fit.

usernameisvalid

My first kitchen was magnets, bought trade, with loads of discounts and the only trouble we had was they sent the wrong work top, and a week before Christmas I had to suck it up

This kitchen, which is near enough my dream kitchen is an IKEA self build and I'm really happy with it. Because it was so cheap we could splash out on granite worktops/splash backs and porcelain floor tiles

Best of all was the IKEA kitchen team were fantastic in helping with the design. We spent more time designing it then we did building it

cyantist

We used a kitchen broker (free service). Told him exactly what we wanted and he recommended somewhere that was about half the price of wickes (for way way better quality), and not that much more than diykitchens would have been. There was also the advantage with this company that they made a cupboard to our exact specifications, that we wouldn't have been able to get somewhere like diykitchens.