Advice on buying an MFI kitchen, please

Bean_Counter

Many thanks for all your response.

Our strategy has been to look at four people:

1. Howdens because people seemed have a good experience with them (on the whole) and we have a fitter lined up

2. MFI because we really liked the kitchen

3. Ikea because I like some of their design ideas

4. Small local designer we stumbled across (no experience of them but interested to hear what they have to say and offer a different perspective to the mainstream stores)

By tomorrow we will have seen all four and be able to move forward from there.

All comments have been great and MFI seem to be slipping from 1st to last at the moment (despite having the only kitchen we like so far.)

welshblob

majjie wrote: »

IKEA kitchens are not "absolute top quality" but they are very good value for money. They're great for white kitchens, or if you don't mind the white carcasses showing through between the doors. I don't think that looks very good ... especially for timber doors, or in modern open plan kitchens where the kitchen is the main living room of the house. Only you can decide how much it matters to you. They also have fairly limited unit sizes - but also have some unusual ones - making the kitchen look more interesting.

I completely agree and there are certain ranges of kitchens in Ikea that you have to wonder why nobody has mentioned that you can see the white carcasses. I'm not sure whether the doors are too small and exacerbate the problem as I think B&Q kitchens have white carcasses but I don't think I've noticed a problem with their range. I mean how much effort would it have for them to put some colour matching edging on it even if it's sold as an extra? This jars with what usually is very good quality and design by Ikea.
Also, as with other things in Ikea, they are designed for whats the norm in Sweden and not the UK. By this I mean all the base units go as deep as possible whereas the UK standard is to leave a 2" gap to allow for your services to run behind. This is good for using all the space available but could mean extra hassle for your fitter who may have to rerun certain services at skirting board height or within the units themselves.
Cheers
Rob

Jaydee36

I would NEVER EVER deal with MFI again. I order one set of 3 small draws to match her current wardrobes on the 4th January and was told they would be delivered the 18th January which was great. Except the day before a message was left that the front of the draws were out of stock but the rest of my order would still be delivered the next day. I would have to phone back 8th February for delivery of draw fronts. I phone on the 8th and evenually after 45mins ringing different no. I got told I would receive a phone call with 48 hours not including weekend so by Wednesday no one had rang I had to ring them again. I have evenually got a delivery date for the 4th March.

I just think if they can't even delivery one small set of draws without a hitch what a nightmare a full bedroom set/kitchen delivery would be like???

Dick_here

Their delivery to us was missing 3 items, one of which was the gas hob. No warning, no apology, nothing. The fitter had to source the missing parts from Howdens himself, and that was an MFI installation (luckily for us).

majjie

Howdens do have a big advantage over MFI, in that they keep stuff in stock, so ... even if they don't deliver everything at once ... it's usually not too much hassle to get the missing bits.

As I said, though, the two aren't connected anymore, so you can no longer get all the same kitchen ranges from both of them. (I think Howdens stop supplying MFI altogether this summer).

Just as a matter of interest Bean Counter ... which kitchen was it that you liked so much in MFI?

Bean_Counter

majjie wrote: »

Just as a matter of interest Bean Counter ... which kitchen was it that you liked so much in MFI?

Hi Majjie,

It is the Schreiber Phoenix. We are looking for something different to the standard beech units that we have at the moment and both really really like it.

Still undecided but going to see MFI on Saturday (armed with many questions thanks to you guys!)

bikertim

Howdens no longer supply MFI .They are now getting their kitchens from Italy.If you want to buy from a big chain I would recommend Wickes

welshblob

bikertim wrote: »

Howdens no longer supply MFI .They are now getting their kitchens from Italy.If you want to buy from a big chain I would recommend Wickes

I have to say I am always impressed by the wickes kitchens I have seen (not the takeaway range). Surprised MFI are getting them from Italy I'd have thought it would be better to get them designed over here and made in China. A company the size of MFI should be able to set that up.

Rob

majjie

Bean_Counter wrote: »

It is the Schreiber Phoenix. We are looking for something different to the standard beech units that we have at the moment and both really really like it.

Nice door Bean Counter. Horizontal grain - very up to the minute!

If MFI are getting their kitchens from Italy, that'll be why - because they're going for modern veneers and high gloss finishes. I don't think the Chinese are good at those. Solid wood is more their style.

Howdens in any case will be supplying some of MFI's kitchens still. It was part of the sale agreement that they continued to do so until summer 2008.

Is Howdens "Studio Sicily" (note that hint of Italiano!) anything like MFI's Phoenix? It's difficult to tell without seeing them in the flesh.

The only other door I know of (so not a comprehensive list!) that looks sort of similar, and is in roughly the same price range, is "Essential Dark Oak" from Symphony's Mirari range (http://www.mirarikitchens.com/go/coll/metropolitan/essential_do.php). If you can't find something you like it might be worth asking them for details of your nearest retailer. It's not high gloss though.

Whits

As usual, there is loads of !!!!!ing about MFI :rolleyes:

Just to clarify, Howdens was a part of MFI but has never supplied to them. MFI was sold off as it was 'losing money'. However, Howdens was set up using MFI money so it was obvious that it couldn't make a loss.

MFI have set up a new distribution centre so will obviously have some problems to begin with, what the OP has to ask themselves is in the grand scheme of things, can they put up with some hassle for the kitchen they really want?

I know I am biased as my girlfriend is a kitchen designer for MFI, but it annoys when people say they are crap. My GF has sold over £200,000 of kitchns since january and she tries her hardest to give the customer what they want.

At the end of the day, the person you deal with is creating something that you have to live with, so if you're not happy with them, walk away.