Finding a new kitchen on the cheap, any suggestions?

FlaatusGoat

I'm trying to get a new kitchen, and I took my measurements to Wickes. I quite liked the design, but looking at the quote I'm pretty much able to find everything individually a LOT cheaper (the tap on my quote is £220, can find it for less than £180) likewise for the appliances but we're talking £000's!  This makes me think the whole kitchen is probably pretty overpriced. I'm still tempted to go back to the in-house designer and tell him to take off all the stuff I can find cheaper but I'd imagine that will go down like a lead balloon. Should I go elsewhere? Surely I do better £/?

trailingspouse

People regularly buy kitchens without appliances - so that shouldn't be a problem. But it would be worth going to other suppliers and getting like-for-like quotes before deciding that Wickes is overpriced - kitchens (like everything else) have gone up a lot in the last 18 months.

Have you thought about just replacing the doors? If you like the basic design, and there's nothing wrong with the carcasses, more and more people are doing that. Change the tiles, put down new flooring, paint the walls - and wham, new kitchen.

ThisIsWeird

Who will be installing the kitchen? Yourself/an independent joiner/plumber/sparky hired by you? Or an all-in service by Wickes (or whichever other supplier you go to)?

For the former options, then feel free to source all the bits from wherever the cheapest sources are - it shouldn't matter to the installer. For the latter, an all-in supply-and-fit service will most likely cost you more, but you should have much better warranty and protection. In essence, it should mean that if anything goes wrong with a unit, or sink, or tap, or electrical appliance, the warranty should see it repaired or replaced including labour.

If you source your own items, then expect to have to pay a plumber or sparky to remove and replace them, whilst you go back to the supplier to claim for the part on its own warranty.

mi-key

For what they are, most kitchens are massively overpriced. Kitchen units are not high quality and are mass produced ( unless you go for bespoke solid wood ). Likewise with taps and fittings. People think if they are paying £180 for a tap it must be something special, or paying loads for door handles.

If you look at this listing https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for a £180 tap.

I bought this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364168670458 for £14. The quality is fine, and you can bet they were probably both made in the same factory in china anyway. It works perfectly with no leaks, and looks the same. 

Appliances from kitchen suppliers are also very expensive compared to what you can get from other suppliers, and you get less choice. Apparently Ikea appliances are made by the same factory that make Beko, but Ikea charge 3 times as much for them. 

The best way I have found is to keep the existing carcasses and change the door fronts, and just buy extra / different basic carcasses as you need them.  Avoid very trendy work surfaces ( like high gloss white, which you will spend the rest of your life cleaning constantly ).

Also think about what you really need for your lifestyle. Do you really need a halogen hob with touch slider controls or are you quite capable of turning a knob and paying half the price? Do the downlights need to be controlled by your phone, or would standard ones do.

 

mi-key

Someone posted on here recently about the high cost of their Ikea kitchen. One of the items was £1000 for a fridge / freezer cabinet. £1000 for one MDF cabinet to hide the fridge !  Fine if you are spending £25K+ on your kitchen, but it's really not needed Do you really care if you can see your fridge when you are in the kitchen.

I visited a friends house recently, and her father had spent over £50K on his new kitchen. Was all white gloss, white marble tiles, touch screen apppliances, hidden mood lighting and water boiling taps. Yes, it did look nice, but a £15K kitchen would have looked just as nice and been just as usable. The ironic thing being the house is only worth about £250K