How much did your kitchen cost? (how long is a piece of string? ;)

[jamaisjedors]

I'm interested in hearing how much or how little your kitchen cost.

We are struggling to get quotes - 2 people came out and never got back to us - I'm guessing they couldn't make enough money from us.

1 has just quoted 14,000 euros (incl. a fridge, hob, and fan and fitting) but that seems really excessive to us as there will only be about 3 base units and 4 upper and laminate worktops.

My mum thinks that is reasonable and that we are being tight.

So?

Jamaisjedors, my Mum has just signed up for a new kitchen in France. The new kitchen will cost her 14500 euros. All new appliances will be Bosch and the list includes an oven, a fairly powerful induction hob, a dishwasher and a 'hotte' (the English name escapes me!). For this price, she will also have a granite worktop. The initial quote we were given was 21000 euros. We ended up changing some options to get the price down but they gave us a fairly decent discount. There were four of us for the negotiation and I think that helped. My Mum's kitchen won't be super massive but will be a decent size anyway. Note: tiles are not included.

I think your quote is very high.

As an aside, a friend of mine in France still has just had an IKEA kitchen installed for 3000 euros including a few appliances, about the same size as my Mum's.

My Mum's kitchen designer seems great and really helpful. He is based in Cholet but has in the past sold and installed kitchens in Caen... if you are interested...

Thanks for the details RatdesPaquerettes (great name!).

Yes I think the quote is ridiculous.

We are getting the kitchen designed by someone online in the UK www.advancedkd.co.uk/

to make sure everything fits and then we will do as much of it as we can ourselves.

The design is the hard bit, the kitchen has 3 doors and a window and a big radiator and no-one has come up with something we like yet, but we are getting there with the above designer and hopefully the local carpenter and IKEA too.

It has totally put us off going to any other kitchen companies because they just seem to "make up" their prices.

I'd rather fiddle with the IKEA 3D tool and get my quote straight off and know what I'm paying for.

Link: www.advancedkd.co.uk/

BTw , did your friend use the IKEA fitters?

18,000. Including wall knock down. Howdens kitchen, all appliances, new ceiling / electrics / flooring / tiles.

Jamaisjedors, yes, they did use the IKEA fitters and were very pleased with the ones they got. Apparently, they were meticulous and made sure the worktops were absolutely level.

I think you can get IKEA to send you somebody to do the design. You have to pay for the service but I think it is deducted if you proceed to order your kitchen from IKEA.

If there are any 'foire internationale' near where you live, I would recommend you attend one. There will be some 'cuisinistes' there and they can spend time with you discussing your requirements and produce a draft design for you including a 3D view of your kitchen. Just make sure you have all your measurements including windows, doors and a rough idea of what you are after.

We attended the Foire Internationale in Nantes and sat down with 2 kitchen designers and eventually signed up with the second one. We spent 2-3 hours with each though. They typically offer sizeable discounts at these events as they will often sell a few kitchens. However, they will not give you much time to mull over the offer.

I think that firms might be a bit reluctant to come out and visit you to do a design but if you take your measurements to them (you may want to make an appointment in their shop to make sure they have time for you when you visit), they will go to great lengths to produce a design for you. The only thing is that until you sign with them, they do not give you a copy of the design to take away.

I would recommend that you also go with another person/possibly two to confront your ideas and be more weighty in the negotiations!

Best wishes and thanks for complimenting on my name!