AIBU to think buying a new kitchen is a nightmare.

[SaucySpider]

So after a few years of saving hard I am about to embark on the journey of buying a new kitchen. But why is it so difficult? I've read so many reviews about the major suppliers i.e. Wren, Magnet, B& Q etc that aren't fantastic. Then the other type of supplier such as Howdens or Benchmarx require me to do everything through a tradesperson (I don't have one yet). What experience do you have that you can share with me. I'm tearing my hair out already.

Google kitchen fitters in your area. Get one to come out and have a look. They can then point you in direction of Howdens or other similar (my experience of Howdens was that they were happy to deal with me as long as I had a kitchen fitter's name lined up).

Get one company out to do measurements and a plan. Then make further appointments with competitors to compare.

You can do it!!

Mine was seemless - went ot Wickes, got NHS staff discount. They were brilliant.

Watching with interest - in same position. Bewildered by choices and what's actually suitable for my kitchen.

I want Kirsty Allsop. I love the way she goes into the houses on Love It or List It and immediately can see the potential and the solutions.

Get a good fitter first. They will help and know the best places to go in your area. Many of them will fit various brands of kitchen. We went about it the wrong way-finding the kitchen then using their fitter and he was awful. Speak to a few fitters until you get one who seems good and who you can talk to effectively.

Our plumber was also a fitter for Howdens. He was great, and gave a big discount on Howdens list prices. Kitchen now 10 years old, still looking good as new.

So suggest you do as others are saying - find yourself a good fitter first.

Go to Ikea! They sort it all out.

I second the suggestion of getting a good fitter first. Mine took all the stress away from the proccess, and really was the key to a stress free proccess.
I used Wren to plan the kitchen and buy the units from (I bought the white goods sink and ovens myself online). They price matched from another leading supplier, down to the last penny! I was very impressed with their service which wasn't pushy at all (as I'd been warned of)

Are you planning on doing it yourself eg flat pack from b&q or getting someone in?

Avoid Magnet. Their after sales service - abysmal

What I think is a nightmare is - one thread, IKEA is great, Howden’s is a rip off; next thread, howdens are brilliant ikea awful to fit; next thread Wren is best don’t touch magnet.. etc etc.

Ikea will come to your house and plan your kitchen. It was free last year when we had it done (not sure if that was a special offer).

I’ve had 2 ikea kitchens and I’d say that at the cheaper end of the market they are very good.

Go to an independent kitchen shop in your area and get them to take you through the whole thing, I found this much more personal service than somewhere like b&q so was much more reassuring. Slightly more expensive maybe but still reasonable

The next person who says ‘Ohh lovely, how exciting’ might just get my full wrath🤣. It’s just a bloody living nightmare.

I’m about to go into a swimming lesson so can’t go into details right now, but I’d stay away from all the ones you listed (for various reasons). They can be good for getting plans drawn up though 😉

DIY kitchens (online) are nice kitchens & good value for money. They have a fab showroom (just the one though, but I think you can see some of the kitchens they do in other showrooms).

Biggest AVOID AT ALL COSTS is Wren. Showrooms are great to get an idea of what you might like, but seriously dreadful after sales service.

You’ll need plenty of 🍷

IKEA kitchens have consistently good reviews. What I found that with companies like Howdens and MKM that go through a trade link its a bit smoke and mirrors exactly what the quotes are for, what I found useful when getting my kitchen was to go to B and Q first and got a free design off them and a omplete itemised list of everything you will need with specific prices which other places can match. Also buy your own appliances and taps, builders will try and fob you off with cheaper inferior versions given half a chance, it's amazing the number of people who have shown me their new kitchens and the oven or taps look poor quality and you ask them what they paid for them and they have no idea because the builder got them! I had a builder who put in a sink that looked much poorer quality then I had requested and when challenged the supplier MKM they said the could not discuss specifics as their contract with the builder not me!

Check out any local kitchen places. We went with a small local company that supplied the kitchen and the tradesmen so they did it all.

Urgh Wrens sales techniques were awful and for a £5000 kitchen they wanted to add fitting for £4000
We chose B&Q because the assistant was very experienced and knew how to lay out the units perfectly. After paying a small deposit they then sent out the fitter to check measurements. I had a really good gut feeling from them and they had many years experience (local so I was able to subtly check on them). They did a brilliant job and we benefited from a 0% finance deal. However we did just want a standard layout with no walls knocked out etc. Had we wanted to do something radical or spend a lot more money we would have gone with a local specialist supplier.
If you know a joiner though that is good at kitchen fitting then they’re a good bet and might get a better trade discount through howdens, wickes etc.

We used Wickes and it was a bloody nightmare. Builders were lazy, didn't fit things we'd paid for, the floor needs replacing after 2 years as it's coming apart (it was laid wonky anyway). We still had the old kitchen and rubble piled in our garden 7 weeks after completion. Would never, ever recommend them. We've since had a brilliant joiner in to build fitted wardrobes and I'd definitely recommend using a reputable joiner instead of a firm.

Ask around locally for a recommendation for a kitchen fitter or preferably a chippy/carpenter and go from there.

My Wickes kitchen is designed amazingly, is fantastic quality..... BUT, and a big but, we had to have Wickes fitters because we chose a top scale kitchen (you can only buy their top spec kitchens with their fitters). We ended up sacking their fitters mid job. We also had to fight with Wickes for 19 months to get the work rectified.

Pm if you're North London/Herts/Essex area and I'll recommend an exceptional carpenter to you.

Where are you op?

We found a bloody brilliant kitchen supplier sadly AFTER we ordered from wickes

It was cheaper than wickes but the cabinets came ready built and much better quality. It was an independent place . While there got talking to a couple up from London who came especially. They will design it and while there they feed you bacon butties and tea/coffee/ drinks.

Google DIY kitchens south kirkby, if not go anywhere else next time.

I think the biggest issue with finding out who is ‘best’ is to a significant degree, it’s down to personal opinion and who you happen to speak to.

Most people can comment on the care and customer service each company provides during the process, a fitter will have a good idea of quality from the point of view of installing it and the finish, but not necessarily longevity because he’s not living in the houses he installs them into.

I have heard many people slate Wren, but had a colleagues partner work for them and they loved their Wren kitchen.
Equally I’ve heard many slate B&Q for their service and quality, but my sons grandma has a kitchen from them and it seems great.
Personally I’ve installed two, an Ikea one and a Howdens one.
My experience of Ikea was the service was great, the prices are generally very affordable, the choices are very versatile in terms of storage solutions, but the door choice and colour choice is fairly crap, which for many rules it out because you cant find the kitchen you want. The one I installed had now been in 3 years and is wearing well with fairly heavy use.
Howdens is a bit cloak and dagger with prices, for me it was a bit more black and white as I was using a trademans account (a friend) but doing the installation myself so they dealt with me directly, whereas normally you’d go through the tradesman for prices and adjustments which I could imagine could be a pain. I can make absolutely no complaint about their service though nor the quality of the kitchen. It’s been installed 2 years now and looks brand new still.

We've had Wickes and Ikea kitchens, both were great, never had a problem with either of them but getting good fitters is the important thing. Ask for local recommendations 👍

We did DIY. Flat pack units from Wickes which DH assembled. Paid a joiner to fit the worktop and cut a hole for the sink. Less stress and a fraction of the price.

Ikea is what you need 👍🏻

We got 3 quotes all from small independent places. We had the same people do the knocking down of walls, electrics, fitting, plastering. They do all the project management so no stress. The only thing we arranged separately was purchasing of the white goods & floor.
2 years on we had a few glitches and they have been back to fix them with no extra charge.
Really doesn’t have to be stressful (I had a 22 month old and was 7 months pregnant at the time so good job!)

britishstandardcupboards.co.uk
This company is amazing. So happy with the quality and they come ready made.