choosing a new kitchen

[3littlefrogs]

I have saved up for a seriously long time and have the plans for new kitchen.

I can have the fairly expensive kitchen that is included in the plan, or I can purchase a kitchen elsewhere and fitter will still fit it for me. (The kitchen is a bit too expensive, but I could stretch/borrow a bit).

I like a wickes kitchen that has 40% off in their sale, but am nervous.

Are Wickes Kitchens any good, or will half not be delivered and the remaining half drop to bits?

I was told, years ago, that most kitchens are made by the same manufacturers, and one is generally paying for the name/brand.

Does anyone know anything about kitchens?

I have waited 15 years to be able to afford this and don't want to get it wrong.

Thank you in advance - all advice gratefully received.

PS spoken to DH, he says Hacker kitchens are good, though he thinks Schuller are better (but then he would say that!)

He has seen some Wickes kitchens with decent doors but thinks the carcasses are poor quality and recommends you get the German kitchen.

It might be more painful financially but I reckon it will be worth it.

We had one done recently and you have my sympathies. I don't like B&Q or Wickes kitchens. John Lewis have good ones but, dear oh dear, you pay. I think local and small is the way to go.

I have just finished stroking my brand new MFI solid oak worktops

We had a terrible experience with MFI many years ago...and swore I wouldn't go back. But they did the best cheapo version of the £25k kitchen I really wanted. The guy was great, chucked in ALL our appliances without us asking! So it cost £6.5k instead. Our builders fitted it. MFI's fitters may have been quicker, don't know if cheaper.

Just a word of warning, when you order, they don't always tell you the delivery might not come in one go..a few crucial bits were missing so i had to ring and badger to get it delivered quicker.

Thanks all. I reckon I will go with the german kitchen. I went to see one that the fitter was putting in a house locally and it is really good quality. It might be a bit more expensive - but it has to last the next twenty years at least, as I will not be doing it again if I can possibly avoid it.

Interesting reading on how some of you faired, and what you seek. Working in the kitchen industry myself, it is curious to see other peoples experiences. Some good pointers to note though, are the necessaries ;

Ask the basics questions.
Is the kitchen flatpack or rigid (does it come already assembled or flatpack).
What thickness are the carcases (the standard today is around 18mm, but many flatpacks are 15mm).
Are the units guaranteed or the doors (I know certain companies only guarantee the doors and not the units).
Delivery time, how long and how long for ordering replacements?

MFI are notorious for taking lengthy delivery times. They are also guilty of not supplying all of the kitchen at point of delivery.
Howdens are a trade only company and you won't be able to buy direct from them, unless you are a tradesman. However, they are the ONLY kitchen company that keeps kitchens in stock. Their big plus is that they can supply it tomorrow and replace any damages immediately.
Wickes similar to MFI but possibly better quality.
Moben expensive and lacking.
Magnet, improved quality, with improved prices however don't be fooled.

With all the above, price is the big variable. You can argue with them all and they will all budge and give a different figure daily. It's amusing.

However, MFI are gaining some good feedback from their german product. Unsure exactly what, whether it's Kuche or something. I need to discover myself what it is people are praising, but at the end of the day, you need to discover what it is you want - price quality or installed today.

I bought mine from MFI - BIG mistake! Ordered November 206, installation commenced February 2007 - still not finished ! I picked them because they seemed to do a good kitchen/installation package - really not the case! Terrible customer service and SO slow (although to be fair, asisde from not being finished 21 months after ordering, the kitchen is actually very nice).

Chris, you make some good points, esp about arguing on price with people like Magnet. DH read somewhere that someone had done a price comparison on a few standard base units and Magnet's RRP was more expensive than Poggenpohl! Their perpetual half price sale, 'free' appliances (never free, cost is added to the kitchen mark-up) and negotiation are the things that bring the price to a reasonable level.

Personally I don't think the advantage of stuff being in stock is a huge one (apart from replacing damages) - most people spend months thinking about their kitchen, so why the big deal about having it done next week?

One final point of advice, make sure the kitchen company does a proper measure before you order. One of DH's competitors does a quick measure first to do the design, then get the fitters to do a proper measure after the kitchen is ripped out This means the customer is left for weeks without a kitchen while they wait for fillers etc to be ordered. Needless to say he doesn't get any recommendations.

Hi all, we purchased our Schuller kitchen from our last house from North East kitchens in Aberdeen however we have also heard about Malo kitchens and when we spoke to them they offered us our new Schuller kitchen at a great price and when we visited the showroom it was stunning, lots of flowers, wallpaper plants, a real designer finish to a showroom that made it feel like it was not a showroom, and we also received a bottle of champagne about a week or so later.

Could not recommend any higher, www.maloproducts.co.uk

I realise this is an old thread, but was wondering how people with Schuller kitchens are faring? We just booked ourselves in for slot at KDCUK. The Schuller kitchens look fab online but worried about the price, especially after the £15k quote we got from John Lewis for one of their essentials range (minus appliances).

Most of the kitchens that you see in the high street (including John Lewis) can be bought at a fraction of the price online from someone like DIY kitchens, Kitchen collection, Unitsonline, national kitchens. Ready built with good quality carcases.

I recently bought a house and the kitchen needs replacing. I would like views on Howdens and also on a cooker, extractor fan and oven.

Hi, I need help/advice! We've had a burst pipe under the ceramic tiled floor of our kitchen, which was laid onto Marine ply, now soaking wet, so we face having to remove and replace the lot...the floor will have to come up, and so will the cabinets and my beloved granite top.

On the plus side, the insurance have agreed to pay. The kitchen is quite small (only about 10sqm) and it has 5 doors (to hall, dining room, pantry, gas cabinet and garden) plus a huge window, I don't have a utility so washing machine (and dishwasher) take up under-the-counter space, and therefore space for my gazillion kitchen gadgets/recipe books is VERY limited.

To make a long story short: when we put in the current kitchen I had chosen IKEA because the hanging cabinets were 11cm deeper than any other brand I could afford (in fact than any other brand full stop, at that time at least!), and between 15 and 30 cm taller than other brands, PLUS they had this clever feature of a hidden plinth drawer on the base cabinets (I have installed three, and they are VERY useful).

Fast forward 13 years, and IKEA have now discontinued Faktum, changed their range to METOD, and the new cabinets can't have plinth drawers as they no longer have adjustable feet but actually sit straight on the carcasses (and that in itself can't be a good idea!).

So I am now negotiating with insurance, who are willing to replace like for like, to see if they will allow me to change brand in order to obtain a kitchen that has the same functionality of my old one...but I can't find ANYTHING like that (or indeed anything I actually like) that will allow me to absolutely use every spare inch of the little space I have in the most efficient way!

Do any of you know of kitchens with these features that can be bought in the UK? I have looked at the usual suspects as mentioned in the thread above, and can't see any. I have also booked myself in for a free consultation with John Lewis, but that's not for another week and I am having sleepless nights worrying about this... Can anyone help?

I live in a traditional 1930's semi. Small kitchen and living/dining room which have been knocked through to make one long room. I want to put a wall back in to create a lounge then knock through into the kitchen to create a kitchen diner and extend if possible. No clue at all about costs.
Any ideas how much roughly I need for everything ( not including the actual kitchen). So add a stud wall, knock down what could be a load bearing wall. Get rid of existing conservatory and extend out about 3m x 5m? There are already patio doors into the conservatory so in effect the hole is already there. I have been trying to itemise to work out if it is cheaper to just knock through and have a modern conservatory or actually extend.

Am half way thru my new kitchen. We got quotes and designs from both Howdens and Benchmarx but neither quite did it for me. I went to independent local company who stock a German made one and it's beautiful. It's the perfect shade of off white, gorgeous cornicing and so much better quality. The Benchmarx/Howdens quotes were both about £7,000 this one was just under 9 but has actually worked out cheaper in some ways. The lights were all included and fitting for cables so easy the electrician has reduced his quote and it was so easy to fit so did the fitter. Check out the independents you never know. I also sourced worktops and appliances myself. We have gone for Mirostone £1,400 fitting included it's been fitted and is being polished tomorrow kitchen company quoted us £4000 for their equivalent!