Anyone had a new kitchen on the last couple of years?

[ColinRobinsonsfamiliar]

Can you tell me about it?
Did you get different companies in to measure up, price up, give you a design?
Was it painful? (As in, they stayed for ages…)
were you able to take pictures and measurements into a showroom so they could do it there?
Who did you go with in the end and why?
How much was it all in?
Theres some good interest free offers but I don’t know where to start.

Thanks.

Hopeful bump..

B and q. I love it.

I.got measurements of my kitchen and few ideas of layout from fitter then went into b and q and they did the drawings. Couple of tweaks then ordered

Very painless

Magnet were very good. We sent photos and measurements beforehand. The designer did a 'mock up' and showed us the colours etc. in store. Then came round to double check our measurements.

Back in for final look (we changed a couple of items) then ordered it.

Really pleased with it and took out an interest free loan (via Magnet/Barclays).

Very straightforward.

Both. We went to magnet (excellent service), b and q, homebase and IKEA.

We measured and they put it up onto computer.
IKEA had amazing tool for this.
Once you have been through that a few times, you get confidence and we then looked at DIY kitchen and eventually went with them.
We really loved it. . excellent service. Anything damaged etc was replaced by courier

Thanks so much!
What about cost, I have no idea how much it’s going to be.

IKEA. Loved it. Few companies came out, but theirs was the only guy that actually listened and made suggestions. Quality (three years in!) is fantastic. We had our own fitter, but friend went with them last year and had IKEA fitters and they were fine.

The only thing we did was get customised worktops so there was a slight gap at the back for pipework, but again, that was their suggestion too.

Designed by wren, units from b and q, breakfast bar solid oak from another company, counters from Howden and fitted by ex Howden fitters. Total about £12 000, but we knew fitters and that was cash, v pleased with it

We've had our kitchen a year. We went with DIY Kitchens and we're absolutely delighted with it. I did the design on their online planner. I really took my time with the design because we won't be doing it again anytime soon. We went for a solid wood shaker, in bespoke colours.

A colleague recommended a friend who had done work for her. He did my bathroom in the summer for £5k and then I had him back to do my kitchen for £15k. He measured it up and designed it then we took a trip to the showroom to pick doors and taps etc in person. The Howdens kitchen was £8k with appliances and flooring. The rest was fitting, lighting, plastering, new boiler and all new radiators and internal doors (including door frames which were more expensive than I thought they'd be) in each room.

Most of the really messy jobs were done in the first week (cutting in to bricks to move electrics) and it took almost a month to be finished - part of that was waiting for plaster to dry to put cupboards up.

I faffed about with this and in the end we kept existing kitchen but had it professionally painter plus new worktops, sink and floor. Looks smashing and didn't cost us the £15,000 we were quoted.

In terms of finance I got a low interest loan from First Direct which is manageable at 200 a month, I over pay it so will have it gone much quicker than the 7 year term.

Howdens : designer came over and measured up. Their suggestions were not great. Then we got to go to the showroom to look at her designs, look at cupboards etc. she let us take two doors away to test the colour at home. I really hated the opaque pricing set up (you don’t get a price. You builder gets a price, which depends on how much they use Howdens, and then the builder gives you the price, which is the amount from Howdens plus whatever the builder fancies).

we went with a local kitchen maker who were amazing at the design and had doors in a colour I absolutely loved. It was approx £12k for everything including flooring, ripping out old kitchen and replastering, knocking an existing window out and sticking a double door in. I think it would have been £2k cheaper with standard colour doors

i tried DIY kitchens but wasn’t confident about ordering all the bits.

dealing with the kitchen designers was a bit annoying but I would tell them I need to head out in an hour to give them a deadline.

We had a new kitchen fitted last month. Started shopping around and getting quotes before the summer, Wickes were the most expensive, 19k including appliances and fitting (fitting and extra works came to nearly £4K), really over priced for a fairly small kitchen. Then tried Magnet who created a great plan but were £15k.

In the end I used Howdens with a local fitter, electrician and plumber, came to £12k including everything, good appliances, flooring.From the fitters perspective he preferred Howdens as it went through his trade account, but I preferred it too as the show room was local, when an end panel was damaged it was replaced the same day as they had it in stock, and the staff were very helpful with layout suggestions etc.

Better to do things separately as it saves money. Wickes kitchen quotes £16k all in including fitting but part of fitting quote was an estimate so could be more until fitter comes out to assess e.g. if electrical work is more than estimate

In the end just bought the units, tap and sink, had 10% through work so saved £600 on units.

Had independent quotes from fitters and one fitters used to fit wickes kitchen. £6k fixed quotes which includes replacing electrics as they are old.

He recommended three places for worktops amd splashback and managed to get quotes for quartz for £2.5k including fitting. Wickes quoted £3.5k so saved £1k as we went direct. That place supplies wickes anyway.

Appliances again through work discounts so saving money there.

It is a bit extra work but wheb your saving over £3k its worth it.

We had a new kitchen fitted in October, used Homebase, gave them the measurements and they did the design. Very pleased with the quality, all items arrived, as ordered, no damaged items. Would recommend.

Cabinets were £8k, appliances were £1.8k, quartz worktops were £3k.

The cost will vary but once you get going to places you will get a rough idea..then put into DIY website and that will give you the base line price...i'e what it should be.

Howdens - but a different experience from PP - designer came spent ages discussing options.

I wanted something a bit different and he was happy to work out how to achieve this - we got the design and price in about four days, they recommended a couple of kitchen fitters - we went with the one who seems to get our vision more, excellent experience, I love the kitchen - approx 25k (we replaced everything) our utility was done at the same time, would happily recommend.

The kitchen depot

Just finished ours, mid range Howdens, around £17k finished. That’s units, all
appliances (mostly bought separately), worktops, plastering, fitting, flooring, electrics and plumbing etc. It’s not large, roughly 3m square with low ceilings and a chimney. Awkward to fit and the fitter had to bespoke some units. He’s a good carpenter though. Took 2 months but starts and stops due to trade availability.

We had quotes and designs from 3 companies, but we already had a fitter recommendation. Howdens were the best design and we had used Howdens before so went with them.

We visited the store to look at some
options and walk through the CAD but them
came out 3 times to measure as it’s an old cottage with wonky walls and a tricky space and I wanted them to have the responsibility!

The old kitchen was horrific and had to be done but it ended up costing more than we wanted-we were aiming for £10-12k but everything has been more expensive than we wanted. Hey ho. We took extra borrowing on a mortgage to fund it.

We used Wren. I’d not use them again.
nothing bad bad but quality (their middle range) isn’t great, designer was useless, I had to question him a few times about various things! He originally told me that they didn’t do wall corner cupboards!

Ikea this year. We used online planning and had a couple of online consultations and follow up emails. We used Ikea installers because 1) we used Ikea's 0% finance for the lot and 2) the quotes we got for others were less competitive. A lot of installers don't like Ikea kitchens. Years ago, we'd have done it ourselves, but it was quicker and easier to have someone do it. We got someone else in to do the tiling. Very happy with quality and the drawer options.

Wren.
They came measured up. Was quick. Discussed options.

Emailed designs in 3d.and prices

Delivered. They didnt fit it

One damaged item called them they delivered it the following morning 8am.

Yes. I got a Howdens last year. I have used them (various branches in different areas) six times (I used to flip properties). I saw the kitchen I have at a friend's house. She had moved in three years previously and it was put in by the sellers and it still looked great.
I measured my kitchen and did the plan as I know what I wanted and am used to it. The designers at these places tend to not be very well trained. The benefit of Howdens is they are all over the place and have everything in stock, take back what you don't use and you can pick up bits and pieces. The downside is they only sell through a trade account and the discounts depend on your builder and how often they use them, though it's not more than a few hundreds difference in my experience. I sourced my own worktops.
Telling you how much is pointless as it depends on so many factors. Size, style and whether you buy their worktops snd appliances. I'd say it's a decent mid range kitchen, though it has cheaper range. The one I got was factory assembled and was a Which? Best Buy.

I have a friend who makes all his money from fixing dodgy Wren kitchens.