Mid range kitchen providers

badger09

casper_gutman said:

badger09 said:

Very pleased with the quality of the units but one caveat: don’t buy their cheaper Lamona brushed/mat? steel sink unit. It’s showing scratches after a short time. 

I think scratches are inevitable with stainless steel, to be honest, to the point where the initial finish is just a temporary placeholder. A steel sink only really starts to look like itself a couple of years in, basically when the entire surface is all scratches. I don't know why they don't sell them pre-scratched!

 

Hmmm. 

We inherited a Franke brushed SS sink in the kitchen when we moved here Feb 21. It’s now at least 6 years, gets more use and looks much less scratched & worn than the 1 year old Lamona 

Belenus

J_B said:

We used these folks

https://www.masterclasskitchens.co.uk

We also chose Masterclass about 6 years ago and the kitchen still looks new.

You need excellent installers for a decent kitchen but Masterclass units are very good quality at a sensible price.

casper_gutman

badger09 said:

casper_gutman said:

badger09 said:

Very pleased with the quality of the units but one caveat: don’t buy their cheaper Lamona brushed/mat? steel sink unit. It’s showing scratches after a short time. 

I think scratches are inevitable with stainless steel, to be honest, to the point where the initial finish is just a temporary placeholder. A steel sink only really starts to look like itself a couple of years in, basically when the entire surface is all scratches. I don't know why they don't sell them pre-scratched!

 

Hmmm. 

We inherited a Franke brushed SS sink in the kitchen when we moved here Feb 21. It’s now at least 6 years, gets more use and looks much less scratched & worn than the 1 year old Lamona 

Exactly. Wait until the new one is six years old, then compare.

sheilavw

So Howdens came a week last friday to check measurements and asked me to go in last Monday after work about the price match. He double checked all the measurements and the original plan, showed me the appliances etc. He said that he would ring Tuesday. I left my email address because I get poor signal at work. I have heard nothing. So I went in originally to get the plan/price week before Easter. A second time to drop the homebase quote off (3k cheaper), the Manager came here to look at my kitchen, and I've been in a third time. So unsure if they actually do price match? I assumed that I would have heard by now. The fitter would prefer the Howdens over Homebase because the units come ready assembled.

Rosa_Damascena

sheilavw said:

So Howdens came a week last friday to check measurements and asked me to go in last Monday after work about the price match. He double checked all the measurements and the original plan, showed me the appliances etc. He said that he would ring Tuesday. I left my email address because I get poor signal at work. I have heard nothing. So I went in originally to get the plan/price week before Easter. A second time to drop the homebase quote off (3k cheaper), the Manager came here to look at my kitchen, and I've been in a third time. So unsure if they actually do price match? I assumed that I would have heard by now. The fitter would prefer the Howdens over Homebase because the units come ready assembled.

Don't be scared to barter hard.

The reason I discounted Howdens early was because the "designer" didn't care about what he was doing. I gave him a gift of a footprint and he came up with something my little niece could have drawn.

Mrs_F_2017

Also don’t be afraid to play around with your own kitchen design. We went to all the usual kitchen suspects and got designs from Magnet and Wren - wren was badly design and magnet was OK but neither were how we wanted our kitchen to be.

DIY kitchens have a good free online planner - I used that to create my design exactly how I wanted our kitchen to be and meant I could play around with different possibilities. 

I’m not using DIY kitchens but a local company and the finished product should be installed over the next few weeks. They came and did measurements etc and suggested a few design tweaks but it’s essentially the kitchen i designed. 

plumb1_2

sheilavw said:

 fitter would prefer the Howdens over Homebase because the units come ready assembled.

Howdens do sell flat pack, except for draw packs.
I bought 2 howdens kitchens this year which where flat pack, much cheaper than the standard ready assembled, I have the time to assemble them,most probably your fitter doesn’t as time is money.

casper_gutman

I would expect a fitter to charge more for installing flat pack units than pre-built ones. Is yours not?

sheilavw

hi he's quoted on the howdens pre built. I would prefer the howdens, quick delivery, not 6 wk wait. I will have to ring them if I don't hear today

Rosa_Damascena

sheilavw said:

hi he's quoted on the howdens pre built. I would prefer the howdens, quick delivery, not 6 wk wait. I will have to ring them if I don't hear today

Does 6 weeks significantly skew your plans? I lived with a kettle, microwave and fridge in a tiny space for over 12 weeks last summer and survived. (I don't cook at all btw).