Help! kitchens.....my brain is hurting

[raisinbran]

So confused and unsure. Once the walls knocked through we will end up with a big kitchen diner totaling 40 sqm.

Fancied Ivory high gloss units, big island and quartz work tops. Quotes i have had

John Lewis 25k Alno range Maia work tops
Local company 20k Maia work tops
Kitchens Direct 14k Maia
Ikea 5k ex work tops ivory not available so would have to be grey or white high gloss. However could have great worktop.

Your opinions please should I opt for Ikea and then could afford Silestone and tile floors or play safe with JL and have vinyl flooring.This will be the for ever house.

The whole house is being renovated before we move in so any savings would really help to fund other rooms.

I'd go with a local company over John Lewis. I think the important thing with kitchens is the quality of the fitting, so make sure you talk to the people who actually fit everything, not just the guy in the showroom.

How would you know that the local company is better than John Lewis. John Lewis much more likely fix any problems quickly and with no fuss. Unless you have a solid recommendation about the local company I would go for John Lewis.

Personally I wouldn't put an IKEA kitchen in a forever house especially one that size.

Fiddledee, no to ikea, is it because the lower quality would show up? I dont want to be disappointed with my new kitchen.

I am am normally a play safe kind of person but concerned I will over pay as a result of this. It would be really helpful to reduce the budget as we will be in danger of going way over or settling for 2nd best in other areas of the house.

The builder has good references,however he suggested Howdens but I didn't like the high gloss in their show room. Saw an amazing kitchen in Porcelanosa think I am trying to get a 50k look for 20k! Must stop dreaming and get back to reality.

I think if Ikea units are fitted well and have an expensive worktop they look as good as any expensive kitchen.My neighbours have the white gloss in a very large house - and it looks stunning.I don't think you should pay a fortune on the kitchen and then compromise on the rest of the house tbw.We have fitted Ikea in our utility only, because our kitchen is an awkward size and shape and we needed units made custom-made to specific sizes.We ordered our kitchen from Pineland and it is surprisingly good value.You do not have to spend loads of money to get a good look.

Ooh I think I might be having the high gloss from howdens ! (out of interest, why didn't you like it ?)

A friend of mine has an ikea gloss kitchen & it's fab & my mum is just about to have hers fitted, although not high gloss.

I think this forever kitchen is a bit overplayed, so imo I would go to howdens (!), or Ikea in your case & have the worktops you want...think what you could do with that spare £20k - it's a no brainer for me.

Also agree with teta that you don't have to spend loads of money...

I am sure I read somewhere that Which rated Ikea kitchens as the best.

My friend and I are both looking for new kitchens and it has been awful I think the kitchens cos get away with it because most people do not do it very often so they hope you will just forget! Lots of angry people saying they will never go near such and such co again but the firms know they can get away with it. They got you the first time and that is all they care about:We have been getting same firms and comparing notes: independents much better as they have to be With JL etc kitchens only part of their buslness and big firms paying salaries etc so have costs re this getting new kitchen should be a pleasure

no which rated the john lewis kitchens the highest rating. Ikea got the best value rating

We've just been to Magnet today for a quote but I wasn't impressed with the design or their units, tbh (we're also looking at cream gloss!). Our builder suggests Howdens or Magnet so we're getting quotes from both - he won't fit Ikea (odd sizes and quality I think).
I think after a while once you've stopped inviting people round to look at the new house/rooms the qualities of eg a 10K vs a 25K kitchen may stop being so apparent.
We're currently lost in the whirl of worktops (how much?!) and wondering what we can best do for the money.
Looking at yr question I would say the local company. Not the cheapest but better value than JL?

On another note, the majority of kitchen cabinets are made in the same place.

Might be worth seeing if you have a Benchmark near you, they are the trade arm if Wickes.

Builders don't like Ikea ( because they are too lazy to cut any holes to run pipes ) as Ikea units go flat against the wall as no pipe chase at back ( but therefore bigger inside)

Speaking from bitter experience - Ikea units are fab but the worktops are complete rubbish and the appliances are awful.

Our worktop arrived dented and cracked - despite being a cutom order - and now, just over 3 years later, is chipped and peeling. Getting a replacement or refund was a total nightmare and I ended up in tears to customer services more than once. In the end we had to Google for the directors and randomly e-mail them before anything got sorted.

We bought a dishwasher, hob, oven and microwave from there too. The oven took 6 months to be delivered, the dishwasher was repaired and then replaced and last week, I had to have the microwave fixed too.

Delivery was a nightmare too and we ended up borrowing a van to go and collect the bits ourselves rather than waiting for months so I'd suggest going stright for the pick-up option if you do choose to use Ikea.

I agree with Seb 1.All builders prefer to order through Howdens because they get a massive rake-off.Ikea units are not difficult to fit and are much better value than almost any other company.I really resent lining my builders pocket rather than my own.I have just orderd oak worktop and it seems really good quality for the price - though i will see how it lasts.However i am impressed enough to consider ordering it for the rest of my kitchen.

We had an Ikea kitchen but I had the worktops from B&Q (I think) and it meant I could have a range cooker.We went for Ikea becasue the unit sizes were in round numbers and the kitchen is a round number when we measured it.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

My builder told us to go and consider magnet so i have been this weekend and they appear to be more switched on with the layout which looks really good on the cad design, so I will wait to see what the price comes in at.

I also went back to Howdens and may reconsider, the first Howdens branch I looked at, the cupboard doors weren't straight but it may have been more to do with the fitting. I am worried that the cheaper high gloss doors are foil and not laquered.

Ikea are currently offering every third kitchen appliance free ( not just the cheapest). I have whirlpool in my current house and they are fine, every little helps.

At the moment I am still undecided but really want the silestone worktops. I am sure we can live on bread and water for a while..........

you could get a hand-built kitchen from a local carpenter for around £25k

Alno kitchens date very easily in my opinion.

Got for a handbuilt and you can re-paint every few years to give the kitchen a new feel.

i suggest unpaintedkitchens - have website and two showrooms. brilliant products and low prices. we had ours installed by a builder who was stunned by the quality. much cheaper than your suggestions

Thanks. We're in a similar position. Ok, overthemill, do you paint the 'unpainted kitchen' yourself?

I would go for an IKEA kitchen, with a decent fitter, decent appliances (not necessarily IKEA), lovely floor and lovely worktop.

Also, don't get IKEA handles for the doors, source them somewhere else (to ensure your kitchen isn't immediately identifiable as ikea, if you care about that kind of thing.....).

Also, I would avoid the gloss and see if you can go with perhaps something matt (am guessing everyone will hate the high gloss look in a few years time and you will be desperate to rip it out, whether it is JL, IKEA or whatever.....).

Hi ppl

We are in the same position. We are planning to get an extension. and redo the kitchen. We went to magnet. moben and B&Q and ikea. Some look the same despite the costs. esp the gloss finish ones dont show any difference at all. Our builder, whom we have known for awhile but only had to use now, made us vist a kitchen he did. the kitchen(around 8 units), we were told, was from Howdens and it had cost £8000( after a trade discount of £3000.This is including the hob, oven and and extracter, not sure if there was dishwasher. It looked nice.But not sure If the price will be apparent after a while though. Guess you have to go for durability and quality.Hope this is helpful.But i do think that after a ceratin price it stopps being apparent.I would say max8k to 10k. Even the 8k kitchen didnt look that to be honest.

we have a white gloss ikea kitchen, fitted v well by our builder in our large kitchen. it looks fab. we got black granite worktops and spent the cash we saved by using ikea on great sinks, a lovely range cooker, american fridge etc. i'm really happy with it.. it's now 2 years old and still looks really good. I owudl say don;t dismiss ikea as their units and range are really good.

It really, really depends on the quality of the fitters.

Ours are ludicrously expensive units, but what really makes the kitchen special is how beautifully the fitters crafted everything to our (decidedly wonky) room.

Whichever option, take up references on the fitters.

Okay if it was the for ever house I'd not get anything made of chipboard full stop.

It doesn't last, I just took out our old Magnet kitchen, high quality in 1984, not reduced to a mouldy, rusting, ill fitting monstrosity that was unfixable and uncleanable.

I've fitted solid wood and a soild wood worktop, ceramic sink and ceramic floor tiles. I know that this stuff will last and if it does ever want fixing or bits replacing it won't be unworkable. You can always work with wood.

I'd consider a vinyl floor but only a very decent one, otherwise it would be tiles I'm afraid and make sure they are the sort that clean easily.

You are probably onto a saving using ceramic tiles sourced cheaply (ebay job lot, or discount warehouse etc) than a decent quality vinyl for that square meterage.

Just my thoughts, yes it will be pricey but it'll last, you'll only be ripping out something cheap in a few years so it'll be a false economy iyswim.

Our tiles cost £74 (plus cement, grout etc), as they were end of line - that's 11 square metres so times by four and it's far less than good vinyl I reckon. Second hand sink from kitchen fitter, so barely used and a tiny chip, v reasonable from ebay. Worktop also from large company on ebay, really about a third of full price in B&Q or somewhere. Four metres for about £150.

If you shop about, it can be done so cheaply. Take your time, get the cooker and sink done, plus floors and walls and then you have your blank canvas to add to gradually. that's just the way I'd do it - if you want it all finished quickly, you'll spend more! I have some freestanding bits in the meantime. It's brilliant.

Sorry, now reduced to, not 'not reduced to'! I hate magnet kitchens as it was so bloody hard to get rid of! They just bunged in a LOT of glue and silicon iygwim...it never really did 'fit' at all.