New kitchen planning

[Queenofheart]

Hi all

We’re about to redo our kitchen and have a B&Q planning appointment this weekend.

However, I keep seeing ads for other companies all claiming 50% off/cheapest prices ever etc🙄 Before I start approaching a few of them for plans and quotes, I wondered if anyone’s used a kitchen planner they’d genuinely recommend who didn't charge the earth.

I'm looking for decent value rather than luxury, and preferably without aggressive sales tactics, can anyone recommend? Thanks

We settled on DIY Kitchens who generally get very good reviews (after a tonne of research) - their online £30 design service was brilliant and their two showrooms are well worth a visit and zero pressure. Wren and IKEA seem to get quite bad press..

I have seen mixed reviews about B&Q, however the kitchen we've removed is theirs, and it was 20 years old, still in reasonable condition! It's a bit of a minefield admittedly - in our experience a lot of the 'kitchen designers' for the suppliers aren't designers at all, and just want to sell units/extras etc without any real thought to actual design.

In the end our was a bit of a hybrid of several appointments, and then DIY ensured it fitted the space, and added all the other bits like plinths and end panels/filler panels etc. We saved thousands compared to Howden's, for a better spec kitchen with better appliances.

I also do not like Howden's pricing model. Their quote went from £27k, to £16k to £13k when asked to price match, so not transparent at all. DIY literally itemise the cost of each unit/handle/closure/upgrade etc which I liked. Good luck!!

Check out DIY Kitchens (not meaning B&Q btw)
Showrooms nr Doncaster and now Oxford I believe; we got a fab kitchen from there

Oh Wow, thank you so much for that details info, it's very helpful, I've seen DIY kitchens online too, I'll definitely give them a shout now and get them to give us a plan/quote, thanks :)

Thank you ... a previous poster recommended them too so I am definitely going to give them a call :) thanks

I’ve just had my kitchen redone with Wren and honestly they were really good, the kitchen design is very similar to my old one but with some changes that have improved its usability massively. I know they get a bad press but design, quality and price were all good and the workmanship from the fitter was excellent.

Another vote for Wren. Their virtual reality walkthrough was incredible and really helped me feel confident with the design. You can even open the virtual dishwasher! Also, I had a two month gap between ordering and fitting due to building work, and the price came down in that time because they honour every special offer.

We've recently renovated what had been a derelict property which we hadn't lived in beforehand. DH's cousin is a carpenter and kitchen fitter who advised strongly against wren! I see posts above praise them, but many other kitchen threads don't! Neighbours had Howdens. Bits were missing and they wouldn't rate them overall. We went to multiple high street places. I think it was Wickes that had a supposed 50% off weekend- yet the price was still much higher than expected. Some companies came to do free measure and provided a basic floor plan.

After months, we went with a local, independent man who worked from his home provided a multitude of doors, handles, internal drawers options etc. Reading on MN, I've heard good things about DIY kitchens. I'd be reluctant to use any high street supplier now though. Maybe check on your local nextdoor.com for any local suppliers.

I ended up using 2 designers from the same place (due to a delay in our work unrelated to the kitchen) and person 2 was much better than person 1 and came up with a great design Vs person 1 went with the easiest option for them and was very inspiring. This made me realise a lot will vary based on the individual rather than supplier.

My fitting was very difficult (small local franchise) as the fitter couldn't believe my Victorian terrace house didn't have right angled corners and apparently had "never seen that before" (in an area where every house in a Victorian terrace). We had endless snagging to resolve afterwards and they were useless. When asking for feedback think about reviews of the fitting too.

My actual kitchen is great though and has really lasted. Solid pre assembled cupboards which look as good as new nearly. Worth thinking about what the fitter needs to do as part of your design. Pre assembled units are easier.

Cupboards are generally cheaper than drawers if you need to trim the budget a bit.

Wren employ people to improve their name online. The posters on this thread might be genuine, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Keep your B&Q appointment, get some other appointments booked in (other places) really think about the design & features, look at the plans '& the mock ups, then buy from DIY.

@JanuaryJasmine you might be right, but I am definitely not employed by Wren. I used a local fitter/supplier in my last house and was very pleased with them. They quoted for me new house, but Wren listened better, improved on my ideas and in the end, after all the reductions, were more than 40% cheaper.

We took ourselves to the DIY kitchen showroom in Oxford. We stayed overnight and made two visits. I followed the FB page and read lots of comments about quality and colours etc. We used a kitchen fitter who was very familiar with their kitchens and he helped fine tune our ideas. We’re absolutely delighted with the quality of the kitchen. It went in without a hitch and looks lovely. Definitely worth a look.

I'm pleased you had a good experience. Unfortunately it's such a rarity j personally wouldn't take the risk, but finding a good fitter is difficult.

I don't suppose your fitter works in the GU46 area does he?

what DIY kitchen did you choose?

@JanuaryJasmineNot in your area sorry. We went with the shaker style Norton in mussel. The doors are painted wood so we thought if we want to change it up later on, we can repaint. The walls are painted in F&B Slipper Satin - matched. All fairly classic and we’re bringing in colour with accessories. DH wasn’t sure about walls being the same but it really looks good. Have a look on the FB page and ask questions. People in there are so helpful. We’ve had lots of compliments on the colour. DIY is top of the Which kitchen list for quality and value with no discount gimmicks.

Oh I'm very familiar with DIY & their kitchens, I'm always recommending them. I was just curious what you'd chosen. I like the Norton. It's probably what i'll put in here.

just need to find a fitter in this area that's good!

I would definitely get at least one quote from a local kitchen company if you can too, maybe get some recommendations from a local facebook group - you’re more likely to get an idea of what the fitters in your area are like. Smaller companies I have found (not always of course but generally) have more scope for personalisation and less overheads /glossy marketing so prices tend to be cheaper with a higher level of craftsmanship.

We used a 3d kitchen planner software which makes a model either based on a blueprint you can upload in there or you can draw it yourself. It was pretty easy to use and we had a rough idea of what we wanted, so didn't really need to hire a designer. If you are willing to work on the whole planning yourself, that could be a good option.

I’m certainly not paid by Wren, their kitchen process was the easiest I’ve had out of three kitchens I’ve had replaced over the years. I’ve no reason to lie about that.

Do they really?! Well here’s another one to testify how completely SHIT they are…

Another vote for DIY kitchens. We designed our kitchen ourselves, and although we attended a Magnet appointment, they didn't come up with any other ideas and were more expensive. Tried a Howdens fitter, who was more expensive as well. Went to Oxford to have a look at the DIY showroom. Our independent kitchen fitter was fab and we got a massive dream kitchen including lots of drawers, which we could have never afforded with Howdens or Magnet. Loved playing on their design tool too!

We had designs from Wren, Howdens, Wickes and Magnet. Wren were streets ahead of the rest on design, nothing was too much trouble, they refined and refined, properly listened to us and 5 years down the line we are so pleased with it all. We only sourced the units and two appliances from them, bought the sinks, worktops and other appliances elsewhere and used our own fitters. There was one damaged item but we logged it on the Wren website and a replacement was couriered out the next day. The units are still as good as new.

My fitters would probably work in your area @JanuaryJasmine but as you think I'm a bot then you won't be interested.

Having a DIY kitchen delivered this week so I’m hoping it lives up to its reputation. Their customer service is great if you have any problems or questions.

We worked out the layout we wanted ourselves (lots of cut out cupboards and fridge etc. moving around squared paper. Really thinking about what we would have in each cupboard and drawer and what should be near each other). Then we had a joiner fit a second hand kitchen (from rehome) into it. He topped up with Howdens carcasses which I thought were awful in comparison, wouldn’t do that bit again). I guess bespoke, but it looks amazing. We like the layout we created more than any of those generated by kitchen design appointments which just felt salesy.
now got to do the same with our garden-

So a couple of people didn't have a horrible experience, it does not outweigh the thousands who did. Feel free to read the many threads here or on other platforms.The issues are mainly with supply but they are also known for things like putting a drawer set where there's something like a gas meter.

DIY are a superior quality cabinet, but as long as you are happy with yours 💁🏻‍♀️

We're having our kitchen revamped atm using a local company who design and build on their own premises. They don't use subcontractors; that and the flexibility they offer is why we gave them the job. The problem with Wren and B&Q et al seems to be that while they do the design work, they then hand the actual fitting of the kitchen to subcontractors - which probably why reviews of these companies tend to be polarised.

I have friends who both had a new Wren kitchen; one was really pleased with hers and the other had endless problems and has ended up with a kitchen which, frankly, isn't great. Her experience was that Wren's customer service was awful.