Wren/Magnet vs independent kitchen

pinkshoes

So the time has come to finally update our 30 year old kitchen.

Having spent the day visiting Wren, Wickes and Magnet, we are now wondering about independent kitchen shops.

We want cheerful coloured gloss units (not grey or white! Perhaps blue or orange...) which Wickes and cheaper chain stores do not seem to do.

Wren prices seemed extortionate (£11k including a quartz worktop for a large kitchen with island, but no fitting included - we will do that ourselves!) although Magnet were a little cheaper.

Wickes could do a nice handleless gloss kitchen with island and nice quality worktop for around the £6500 mark which seems much more reasonable, but not in a colour we particularly like.

I am a little worried that an independent shop will be eye-wateringly expensive, and as we have to take the kids with us, I don't want to waste my time if it is going to be out of our budget.

Has anyone got any experience using independent kitchen companies? How do you suss out their price range? Are they generally cheaper or more expensive than chain brands?

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated!

I have about £8000 and this is a large kitchen that will need about 16 units.

Doozergirl

I really don!!!8217;t think there is anything wrong with going to an independent kitchen provider and telling them that you have £8,000 to spend.

The clients I really enjoy working with are the ones where I can tailor to their budget and get as much as possible out of it. There is more tha one way to skin a cat. If they can!!!8217;t do it, you!!!8217;ll get a quick reply rather than waste hours on design etc. but I do think that people can work well to a budget.

I don!!!8217;t think you need to worry about being ripped off when you already have a couple of prices.

cranford

I fitted my kitchen about seven years a go and after looking at the sheds went to an online company. They do have a showroom if you live near Leeds but they will send you samples of the doors. I went to them because at the time they supplies wooden doors , the units were already assembled (unless you ask otherwise), the units come in a variety of colours and the plinths, cornices and pelmets were reasonable.
Take a look at this site to compare with other suppliers:
http://www.diy-kitchens.com/about-diy-kitchens/price-and-quality-comparison/

SuzieSue

cranford wrote: »

I fitted my kitchen about seven years a go and after looking at the sheds went to an online company. They do have a showroom if you live near Leeds but they will send you samples of the doors. I went to them because at the time they supplies wooden doors , the units were already assembled (unless you ask otherwise), the units come in a variety of colours and the plinths, cornices and pelmets were reasonable.
Take a look at this site to compare with other suppliers:
http://www.diy-kitchens.com/about-diy-kitchens/price-and-quality-comparison/

Yes, do a search on DIY Kitchens on this forum and you won't see a bad review. I bought from them because of the recommendations on here.

You will have to find your own installer but using the likes of Wren is a big risk anyway as you have no idea what the fitters will be like (do a search on Wren on this forum and you will see all the bad reviews).

pinkshoes

I've just been having a look through DIY kitchens, and they seem great but they seem to only have pale and traditional kitchen colours.

We're looking for our units to be quite a bright/dark blue rather than anything pale.

I'm thinking there must be companies that just make the doors, so would supply us with gloss coloured doors??

We are fitting it ourselves.

(I appreciate the colour is not everyone's cup of tea, but we like it and have no plans to sell our home!)

SuzieSue

pinkshoes wrote: »

I've just been having a look through DIY kitchens, and they seem great but they seem to only have pale and traditional kitchen colours.

I would ring them and see if what they say.

Richard_Overton_2911

pinkshoes wrote: »

I've just been having a look through DIY kitchens, and they seem great but they seem to only have pale and traditional kitchen colours.

We're looking for our units to be quite a bright/dark blue rather than anything pale.

I'm thinking there must be companies that just make the doors, so would supply us with gloss coloured doors??

We are fitting it ourselves.

(I appreciate the colour is not everyone's cup of tea, but we like it and have no plans to sell our home!)

They do a "Bespoke painted" which means you can have any colour you like so if you like Farrow & Ball "Elephants breath" they can match it or Ford "Mars red" (which most people call orange lol). Or you can send them a sample of the colour you like..

bris

There are other sellers that aren't obvious to the consumer.


In your local industrial estates there at timber and builders merchants that deal mostly with the trade. A lot of these do their own kitchen ranges that they usually sell to their trade customers. They are competitively priced.


They do sell to the public so maybe phone a few of your local trade centres and see what they do.

ratrace

have you tried looking on ebay for any used or ex display ones

we bought one from ebay for £1,000 all in, fitted it ourselves

11k is a lot of money for a bit of wood to store pots and pans, not trying to be harsh but trying to save you money

pinkshoes

ratrace wrote: »

have you tried looking on ebay for any used or ex display ones

we bought one from ebay for £1,000 all in, fitted it ourselves

11k is a lot of money for a bit of wood to store pots and pans, not trying to be harsh but trying to save you money

We have had a look at ex display ones but as we spend so much time in the kitchen we don't mind spending £8k on something we love.

It is also a big kitchen (16 to 18 units!!) so quite tricky to find an ex display that size. The size and the island add to the cost as £3500 will be for the worktop!!

I just find it annoying the variation in cost for basic units with shiny doors that all look similar in style.

vansboy

Glossy, orange and affordable, got o Ikea

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/kitchen-products/cabinet-doors-fronts-panels/j%C3%A4rsta-door-high-gloss-orange-art-60321965/

Use their on line planner and see how you can change your design to fit in with budget, as it will clearly price everything for you.

VB