Should I dump Wren Kitchens

[Maidenmum]

We have had a kitchen planned out by Wren but it seems like we could get similar quality at about 2/3 of the price from DIY Kitchens or Ikea.

My husband isn't sure that we should leave Wren but it seems like a big difference in money for little to no quality difference.

Has anyone used any ofbthese company's who can confirm who I should go with?

AIBU to dump Wren ?

My experience with Wren was awful and we had to change to another company as Wren completely mislead us on timings and prices and their customer service once they got the sale was horrific

Had a diy installed about 6 years ago and it still looks great. Can’t fault it.

DIY get way better reviews than wren. Definitely dump!

I’ve read that ikea units don’t have much space at the back for wiggle room.

Our kitchen is from DIY kitchens. I designed it using the planning tool and they and our builder checked over. I can't speak for Wren but I believe the build quality is better on DIY kitchens and I love mine.

We had a good experience Wren but it was supply only. Good communication, delivered on time etc.

We used Howdens. We were warned by other kitchen companies their quality was poor. We bought one of their dearer ranges and it still looks good 10 years later.
I have heard mixed reports about Wren. Have a look on trustpilot.

I had a good experience with Wren, looked into kitchen diy years ago but it was too much to go wrong in my opinion ,plus their units came flat packed unlike Wren’s that come already built.
Take your DIY quotation to Wren if it’s for similar style, they’ll be lowering the price

Have had a couple of ikea kitchens and been really happy with them. Always fitted it myself though so can't comment on their fitting service

The only thing I wished was different is the upstand behind the sink isn’t tall enough but I ordered an online custom made glass splash back from a different company which looks good.
Also if you order any extras the delivery is expensive.

Wren supplied and fitted ours...we were really pleased and couldn't fault them.

My kitchen fitter refused to fit Wren ( quality) or IKEA ( weird sizes). He fitted us a Howdens and it's very good with no issues.

The DIY Kitchen we had wasn't flat pack. 8 years on and it's still looking fantastic. The customer service was excellent too
I have only heard bad things about Wren.

Wren quoted £40k for their true handleless range including quartz worktop, fitting and appliances. I bought the Luca J handle kitchen from DIY Kitchens, sourced my own quartz worktop, better appliances and a 5m antiqued mirror splash back, and ended up spending £25k in total.

My Wren kitchen and the quartz installer from them was great. However loads of the doors were damaged on delivery due to poor packaging (tbf it was super easy to tell them on the app they were damaged and get new ones sent foc), and I'm told the installers they use are rubbish.
However my builders were impressed with the quality of the units and the planning of the units was perfect and I literally don't have a centimetre of wasted space. It looks incredible and a year on I am still very happy.

Which? did a test of kitchens (quality, ease of fitting, pricing etc) and IKEA & DIY Kitchens came out at the top end along for self-build. John Lewis, Magnet and Howdens were the best for supply & fit. Wren was right at the bottom end. Google the test and see how it all compared.

Interesting!

someone I work with had two days off this week for her Wren kitchen. Had to change the days as they are running late.

she showed me the pics from them and another company. The cheaper company looked much better IMHO but she went with wren for whatever reason.

now has a whole kitchen sitting in her house while they are late with fitting it. I'd be fuming, the amount she's paid.

I suggested ikea but I've never done this. I have noticed that people say ikea is good but I suppose sorting out your own fitter etc is a pain.

We had an excellent kitchen from Howdens. Cabinets come fully assembled and the planner ensured I got exactly what I wanted. It was at third of the price of similar from B&Q at the time, whose planner couldn't be arsed to let us know he wasn't coming.

We had a terrible experience with Wren, I would NEVER recommend them. The shop sold us a worktop that their fitters couldn’t fit but for the guarantee to be valid it has to be fitted by their fitters…….

They refused to escalate my complaint, I ended up having to detective style contact the MD to get any resolution. The final result was still not what we wanted and it bugs me every time I walk into my kitchen!

Our IKEA kitchen was very disappointing, after about 5 years the cupboard doors had defects and one had gone a different shade of cream (not in direct sunlight or near heat).

Watch this op 2024 kitchen unit review. They compare Wren, DIY Kitchens, Howdens, Magnet & Wickes with a very in-depth review on everything.

DIY Kitchens came first by the way and I would 100% agree!

My Howdens kitchen was fitted 15 years ago and looks exactly as good as the day it was fitted, honestly!

Another vote for Howdens. Their ranges and colours have grown hugely in the last five years and are good value and quality. ‘Supply only’ usually works out best so that you can choose your own fitters based on recommendations, and I’d recommend shopping around separately for your white goods and worktops and visiting worktop factories to see the full range on offer.

The have terrible reviews. Also if the kitchen doesn't last they won't replace like for like so it ends up mismatching, something in the t&cs I can't remember the details.

I had a bathroom fitted by Wren - do not touch with someone else's bargepole