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.

We got ours from Ikea. I won't lie, it's a bit of a nightmare as we had a lot of missing items/wrong items that were only discovered once the fitter was fitting it. So lots of phone calls. But now it's done we love it. We recently did the utility room to match, and it was equally a nightmare so proof we weren't just unlucky first time. But again now it's done we're delighted. Ikea is the cheapest and very good quality imo.

I have heard good things about B&Q and Ikea

Howdens is a bit cloak and dagger with prices

^Exactly why I would never buy from Howdens.

I’ve just signed up for a kitchen from Magnet.... am hoping everything will go smoothly. 🙂

How much remodeling work are you having done?

I'd go to Wickes and then check out the quote against DIY kitchens.

I had a DIY kitchen fitted last year and service was faultless and the cabinets are superb. My fitter was v impressed as it was the first time he'd used them. DIY kitchens don't have a hard sell as the price you see is the price you pay - although they do have 10% off every now and again.

Benchmarx require me to do everything through a tradesperson

Not so. I bought Benchmarx and dealt with them directly.

I bought through an independent and it was probably 10-15% more than Wren but about 200% better quality and the fitting was a fraction of the price via an independent fitter the kitchen company recommended.

And the company were very good at listening to what I wanted and then recommending something to suit.

Hertfordshire/Essex area.

My joiner would only do assembled units so b&q, IKEA etc were out. Still took the designs from wren's there and got an estimate. Went back to wren's with the much lower price IKEA price (as flat pack) and saved over £1000!

My kitchen just got finished last month, we went down the route of using DIY kitchens for the units and a local joiner, he organised all the other tradesmen like plumber and electrician to turn up when he'd planned them so I didn't have to run around doing that. Came out cheaper then using a company and he did it beautifully but you need to make sure you get good tradesmen if you go down that route!

We went for a more expensive route by going to a company who supplied the units etc and the fitters. We wanted one point of contact who sorted out the timeframe of each person, so we had builders, electricians, carpenters, granite guy, underfloor heating and flooring all lined up but it wasn’t our job to sort them out.

Maybe we paid over the top but the last thing we wanted was dealing with a variety of people and having issues with delays. We also needed some united specifically made so an independent shop could do this while wren etc could only supply what they have, no adjustments possible.

3 weeks of no kitchen as the whole room was stripped back and re done.

We went to Ikea first with measurements for an instore design consultation to see if we could reconfigure our kitchen, (we couldn't, v small). It also gave us our first quote to give us an idea. Then onto Howdens (luckily I could use works account) who had a designer come out to us later that day. She was great and designed a lovely kitchen, we asked for full quotes including appliances and taps/ sinks. It was expensive especially the appliances. We ended up using B&Q, loved their kitchen, got a discount through work trade account and they threw in a free oven, the customer service was great. The other appliances we bought from AO, tiles from Topps, worktop from worktop express (much cheaper than B&Q and fab quality), sink from Ikea. Our fitter we knew and although he took longer than expected the quality of his work was fantastic, he was a perfectionist.

We shopped around and were lucky to use my work discounts but B&Q were excellent, I'd recommend them.

I used to have kitchens fitted as part of job. Regularly used howden's as supply only. The quality is fine. If you find yourself a decent fitter you can end up with a good solid kitchen.

A family member runs a high end kitchen business, and thinks the quality of Wren and Ikea are not great. If you really want a high quality kitchen, Rational and Keller are very very well made. His design studio will however for a fee of several hundred pounds do bespoke designs that can be taken to somewhere like wickes. It can really be worth considering a service like this if you want something a bit special but the really expensive brands are out of price range.

Do remember also if you get a good fitter they may get a decent discount at places like Howden's that they can pass on. I could regularly get well over 50 per cent off list price when buying for my company.

It's bloody horrid.

I got my kitchen from Ikea, my DP fitted it (yes I'm very lucky)

But it was horrific having it done. It seemed to take forever. So much mess.

I love it now, but I'd hate to go through it again.

We had a really good experience with diy kitchens. It suited me because I had good ideas of what I wanted and am a planner so I quite enjoyed planning it all & ordering each little bit myself.

The thing that really irritated me about everywhere else was the complete lack of transparency re pricing, the constant ‘sales’ etc. With diy the price it said was what we paid. And I believe we got a better quality kitchen than the equivalent priced wickes, magnet etc etc.

We took 2 years (we are very fussy) to find a builder who would undertake our small kitchen project. We had a wonderful designer from Howdens who came to measure and we now have a gorgeous kitchen, cabinets are super quality and it did not cost a fortune. I would first find a good builder/joiner and go from there, ask friends, colleagues for recommendations. We got our wonderful team from checkatrade, we asked for testimonies, etc and we are now thrilled. Last house we used Wickes, who were appalling - quality ok but teams (we had 9 in all as designer messed up the measuring) were dreadful, each one was worse than the last and it took 2 years to resolve some of the problems . Good luck!

Had a new Howdens kitchen in 2003. Units fine and wore very well. Fitters were technically OK but lazy. Typical day was 5 hours. Some days they didn't show at all. So I would go along with others saying fitters are critical.
2017 new house new kitchen. Went to a local indie who organised redesign (v.smart CAD system), units, appliances, granite worktops, fitters, tiler, sparks, plumber. They also tidied up brickwork round existing Aga. Couldn't fault any of the trades. The kitchen quality is superb. The backs and innards of howdens wren bandq etc and even John Lewis feel cheap in comparison. The only downside was being a small company on tight schedules there was limited slack to accommodate the unexpected. Which was the granite company cracked the sink and hob holes in 2 worktops in transit so they had to be sourced and cut again. So a 5 week job took nearly 10 as other jobs began to compete. But I love what I've got and it will be my last kitchen. I would recommend talking to some indies and put your money with a local business. In fact when my company took all the junk away they also took a huge pile of other unrelated rubbish from my outbuildings as a favour because the delay.

Use IKEA's design tool (warning: it's addictive) and/or graph paper and play around until you get what you want, e.g. all drawers on the lowers, wall ovens, whatever.

Use that layout to price up options on DIY Kitchens (they can spray paint to any colour you want), B&Q or whatever. Only thing to bear in mind is Ikea cabinets are 20/40/60/80cm whereas others are 30/50/60; plus Ikea have no service void for pipes so you need to leave 5cm behind and buy a deeper worktop.

Shop around for sinks, taps, tiles, handles, floors. You can get lovely fronts for Ikea cabs elsewhere. But honestly I'd go with Ikea again, I think the online planner is the best one and it's the easiest (if most time-consuming) to order all the components but still go bespoke on some sections.

Then book someone independent to fit it all and have them give your layout a once-over to make changes and fix any snafus/problem bits. Every kitchen company I had come in just designed what they wanted, ignored/overruled my requests, and tried to upsell me on unnecessary crap.

We have a Howdens kitchen. Thought it was going to be an nightmare but they provided a list of fitters and I just got quotes direct - was really easy. Also stuff is always in stock so the fitter and nip back a get things as they go. Plus Howdens gave us a free dishwasher & hob as the salesperson needed to meet their end of month target so if I paid early (deposit already paid)

sdaisy I wish I'd found diy kitchens before we ordered ours from wickes. My got one unit from diy and the rest from wickes and the quality of the diy kitchens one is far far superior.

My dp fitted the kitchen himself. Just wish I'd found diy first tbh. They were so good and friendly. The experience of going to their showroom was lovely with no hard sell at all. And yes very transparent pricing. I'd travel next time.

Find a kitchen fitter first. You can use their Howdens account but deal with Howdens direct, for planning and pricing, if the fitter agrees that you can pay the Howdens price, rather than the fitter adding a percentage. (which they might agree to if you do all the planning and ordering, saving them a job).
Fitters like Howdens because they are ready assembled. They hate IKEA because they are flatpack, usually have bits missing from the order, and the cupboards go right to the back of the wall, so the services (water and gas pipes) have to all be run along the floor rather than behind the cabinets.
IKEA are good value. And have more space in the cupboards because they're deeper. Howdens are good enough quality and last well. Our neighbours just had a Wickes kitchen they are happy with (but get your own fitter).
Final advice - don't get a wood worktop! And get deep drawers instead of cupboards if you can.

I bought a bespoke one from a local kitchen joinery company and they were fab (and comparable with the quote I got from a regular kitchen company).
The bonus was also my slightly odd shaped kitchen has no filler bits as everything is bespoke.
They even came back and adjusted something a year later when I felt it didn't work quite as I thought it would and didn't charge me for it.
They are now doing a kitchen for a client and it has been smooth sailing compared with another client who went for magnet (who frankly did a shit 'design' that didn't really work - I told her to go back and get it sorted but it was such a faff)

It was so stressful, I ended up going ridiculously high end to avoid making those kind of decisions but the service was seamless.

I had a new kitchen in 4 days including a quartz worktop which was cut to size.

My fitter was brilliant too - PM me if you want his details - based Essex but will work anywhere in London/Home Counties.

I also thought the magnet units she got were shit quality compared with the IKEA ones we got for the utility (and almost identical design) seeing they cost about 4x the price.

MaisyMary
Wishing you luck. You'll need it.

Yes, what NoMoreChickens said - our builder forwarded invoice from Howdens to us, so he made not a penny from the kitchen, just the fitting. Also, beware of paying the first price - DH found alteratives of everything and Howdens matched the price, we saved 45% off the original price.