Just finished our kitchen extension - recommendations and who to avoid!!

[rak5a]

Just thought I would pipe up to say that we just finished our kitchen extension with a Kit Stone (Neptune) kitchen and we love it (pictures on our my profile). We compared everything from Kit Stone to Handmade Kitchens Direct to English Rose, etc, etc. Finally ended up with KS and have been so pleased with the result. The quality is extremely good (I often find myself staring at the inside of the larder in awe) - I know they are more of a mass market company but I found the service good and the quality great. All the units and island (minus a boiler cupboard which our builder had to make in a bespoke size) came in at £13k (incl sink and taps). The only thing to pay special attention to is that their integrated dishwasher cupboard only fits the dishwasher they sell (it is a special blooming size, which we were not explicitly told!). It is in the terms and conditions but we missed it and it's been a palaver to get the cupboard "bodged" to fit the standard size dishwasher we had bought.

We got our worktops from a company called Worktop Envy. We had Unistone Bianco for the main tops and polished Carrera marble for the island. They were very well-priced and the people were nice but we had to have the fitter back twice to attend to poor seams where the upstand met the top, and still we're not completely pleased with the finish on that. But I think you get what you pay for a bit...all in our worktops were £3200 fitted.

For the taps, we got the Perrin & Rowe set that Kit Stone supply. They were running an offer so we got the sink and taps "free" (although given the undiscounted price of the kitchen, I don't really perceive them as free). When the taps were fitted, the rinse attachment was faulty. I called KS who gave me Perrin & Rowe's number. I called them and have never experienced more appalling customer service. They started to tell me that they would email me a diagram and then talk me through how to take the rinse unit apart to see if it was a faulty seal. I declined and said I would prefer to simply send the rinse back and they could either repair it themselves or send me a new one. Without going into boring detail, it ended up being a 45 minute call with me being told by two separate people that "they don't work that way" and they point blank refused to exchange the faulty unit. Despite repeatedly insisting that it wasn't even legal for them to refuse to replace the unit, they simply ended up putting me in tears. I then called KS who were appalled to hear this and organised themselves for a replacement rinse to be couriered out to me the next day. Keep in mind that this was a £429 set of taps!! So, without reserve, I would never buy anything from Perrin & Rowe ever again and I would strongly advise anyone against this company.

On the other hand, I have a huge recommendation for Samsung. We bought all the appliances from 365 Electrical online and when the fridge was installed (10 days after delivery) we noticed a small dent on the door. I thought this would be our tough luck as it was our builder who signed for it and no one checked it thoroughly when it was delivered. However I called 365 and they gave me a number for Samsung. I rang them and without any questions, offered to either replace the door, replace the fridge entirely or give us 20% cash compensation. We opted for a new door and within 2 weeks, an engineer came and swapped it out with no fuss. Honestly, the best customer service EVER!

Sorry to have gone on a bit but I found tons of helpful info on Mumsnet when we were doing the project and hope that maybe some of this might be helpful for someone else!

[wonkylegs]

Glad it's all worked out
I'm about to start my kitchen replacement and I'm nervous on it all coming together.
I' glad you got your faults sorted but For future reference though - your contract is with the people who sell you the item not the manufacturer and if there is a problem they should be dealing with the manufacturer not passing you the phone number. So your kitchen company should have sorted the tap and 365 should have sorted the dent.

[IloveCheese11]

Thanks so much for this post. We are starting along that route quite soon and it is really useful to hear of other people's experiences. I'm glad you are so pleased with it all. Happy cooking!

[Pinkje]

How do we see your profile pictures?

[rak5a]

Wonkylegs - you are correct and in the case of Perrin & Rowe, it was true that Kit Stone held the responsibility. However, instead of starting with that route, i.e. "Thanks for calling but please go back to the retailer", they insisted that I fix it myself under their instruction and were so unashamedly rude and unhelpful. I cannot even think back to that hideous 45 minute phone call without getting upset! As for 365, there was actually no responsibility for them to do anything as our builder signed for the goods as checked, but had not checked them properly. The builder was actually prepared to take responsibility and replace the fridge (shocking!). I was only calling 365 to see if they sold replacement doors and they were kind enough to suggest I first try Samsung and from there it really was just incredibly great customer service from start to finish. Unreserved praise from my end!

Pinkje - I actually don't know how you see the pics on my profile. I assumed you clicked on my username but I see now that doesn't work. Anyone else know??

[Pinkje]

Can see your photos now - lovely, lovely, lovely. I want the same polished carrera for my kitchen but for the sink and hob area. On the island I want grey corian. I'm seeing a kitchen designer next week - thanks for sharing.

[OnePlanOnHouzz]

beautiful room and furniture ! thanks for sharing !!! :-)

[kmini]

Lovely room! You have great taste. Thanks for all the tips...very helpful.

[Tabby1963]

It's a super kitchen, rak5r, I love the colour scheme too.

[BetterWithCheese]

Wow-your new kitchen is gorgeous! We're still years away from our kitchen extension but I love gathering ideas so your info is very helpful

[Halfacent]

Good to see things have worked out. Incidentally, another vote here for Samsung Customer Service. Our warranty had run out. They still repaired as a gesture of good will. Will definitely buy the next fridge freezer from them. Saved us £700

[Eastwickwitch]

Thanks so much for the feedback. Your kitchen is so lovely. Did you use the standard kit stone colour?

[Rona1402]

Georgeous kitchen. Where did you get the lights over the island? Looking for something similar.

[rak5a]

Eastwickwitch - it is the standard Dove Grey (which really looks more sage green/grey in our room). We couldn't afford the "paint package" to choose a different colour!

Rona1402 - the lights were bought from Achica and they are made by Lamp Gustaf (Colby pendant). We love them - they are very good quality and finish in real life.

The bar stools are from Ikea and not meant to be two different sizes - who knew they made two identical stools, with one 20cm shorter! We now tell everyone that one is for adults and the other for the kids (until the replacement arrives...)

Table was also from Achica - don't remember the brand but it extends to seat 10, is solid oak and was about £400. Bargain!

The oak dining chairs were bought used off ebay and I re-covered the seats. All in it was £120 for six plus fabric. Big bargain!

I really don't know what I'm going to do with my limited free time now that I don't need to scour the internet for fixtures and fittings every night...

[ihatethecold]

Lovely picture.
Can I ask what order did you do things in?
Planning,builders etc.
how many quotes did you get?
Was your estimation accurate?

Thanks

[lpa]

Hi, what a lovely kitchen!
We're starting our kitchen extension in Jan and hopefully, will have more space, an island and still looking for a nice 10 seater table.
If its ok to ask, what were the rough costs for the extension, the kitchen please?

[Mandy21]

Can I ask what dimensions (roughly) the main part of the room is (I'm trying to visualise whether our extension will look as big and lovely as yours ).

Its lovely!