Travelling On

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Noella, my DH worked for an online kitchen provider as a designer while he was doing his post-grad degree. He came out of that with some interesting insights, albeit, a few years ago. If it helps here is a quick carcass summary.

Essentially there are three types of carcasses - bespoke, made to measure (normally beyond the means of most of us), ready-made carcasses - an example were the Schreiber kitchens that MFI sold (now owned by Sainsbugs and sold through Argoil) and the third were flat-pack. Back in the early days of pick and mix kitchens the carcasses were often made of chip-board with laminate stuck to it on the cheaper ranges. This meant they were particularly susceptible to water damage and the interior walls/floor would "blow" (expand with water and lose structural integrity). Nowadays they all use MDF (maximum density fibreboard - same principle, better glue) unless you go top range bespoke, solid wood.

Most people go for the convenience of a ready-made design and generally the fronts and handles are the bits that distinguish between the kitchens themselves. Disappointingly, trim panels are more basic (and can ramp up the price) and are more limited in the ranges.

If your friend had really good fitters, you should consider asking them if you can have their name and insist that this team fit your kitchen (even approach the fitters independently - they are rarely employees of the kitchen company).

I intend uplifting my kitchen in the next year or so and I am considering getting my DH (an engineer by background) to make some bespoke trim to apply to the existing cabinets, and we will rub down the doors, paint them and put on new handles. The cabinets (Schreiber, from MFI) have really stood the test of time (14+ years).

Another little top up for DH's post-grad time was assembling flat-pack furniture and odd-jobbing (card in newsagent's window and then personal recommendations) - he sourced packs of the standard and specialist fixings and hinges, which let him upgrade or rectify shortcomings in the flat-pack stuff provided (or correct the things like the back-to-front panels that people were ending up with after trying to do it themselves - several calls from people in tears, pleading for help, usually against a tight deadline).

"Which?" magazines regularly do a kitchen supplier review and your local library will have these, or a £1 1-month trial gives you access to the reports online (just remember to cancel it). This will tell you about the quality of the product and their customer service, not the quality of the fitters - and is where Wren did poorly in 2017 - Wikipedia is a good source of background info in this regard.

Anyway, I hope that helps in your decision-making.