I have fallen in love with this kitchen

[middleagedspread]

www.tomhowley.co.uk/kitchens/contemporary-shaker-kitchen/

I suspect it might be beyond my budget though.
Any comments?

[primallass]

If you buy Ikea carcasses you need to be good at DIY because they take hours to put together.

They really don't. We've fitted three now and I just build the units in front of the TV.

[SamanthaJones]

I copied a Plain English kitchen and did the whole thing for £12k. You really wouldn't know it wasn't PE.

I got a local joinery company to make the carcasses and cupboards and a carpenter to fit it. It's quite similar to the OP

Will link

[SamanthaJones]

www.annesage.com/blog/2010/07/brace-yourself-kitchens-from-plain-english-design.html

Mine looks the same as the blue / grey one

[middleagedspread]

Samantha those are stunning, which is yours?

[SamanthaJones]

Mine isn't in there but is a copy of the blue one from Plain English

[sybilwibble]

Brugmansia - difficult to judge cos we put in a very big kitchen. I believe I paid about 30-40% of what I would have paid from Martin Moore or Plain English or similar brand. I would highly recommend them. You can pm me and I will happily tell you more if you're serious about contacting them.
hth

[excusememadam]

Hi-We're drooling over Plain English too, but the prices!!
Would seriously like to have the details of your guys.
BR

[excusememadam]

Sorry
That was a message for sybilwibble!!
BR

[Yas333]

I hope MoreBeta sees this. Can I ask which wholesale company your fitter friend uses for kitchen doors Also can I have his contact details

[Purplehonesty]

Ooh that's the one I fell in love with too but couldn't afford. It's sooooo beautiful!
We went with an ikea kitchen in the end as we wanted a local carpenter to make a similar version of the holy grail kitchen but couldn't afford that either.
Never again, ikea kitchen was such a faff and half of it was damaged

[Donkeywork]

I had to add to this thread as I have been having a Tom Howley kitchen fitted and am trying to find places to review them online. As yet Tom Howley have not finished my kitchen. The whole experience has been a nightmare from design to fitting there have been so many mistakes. Now 6 wks after the fit started I can't get them back to finish! They have damaged my house and refused to pay for redecoration, the fitters are exhausted and very annoyed at the company. We are now at the point of legal action. DON'T USE TOM HOWLEY, you will regret it.

[Eastwickwitch]

Gosh Donkey that is awful.
Just shows all their marketing is just, well, marketing. TH kitchens look so gorgeous too.
Let's hope someone from the company reads this & resolves your problems.

[floppyflapjack]

Gosh Donkeywork that really is terrible! I hope your kitchen is complete now. Our Simon Benjamin fitters were in and out in a week and they were really pleasant so I feel like we were really quite lucky now... 6 weeks is a long time.

[SidandAndyssextoy]

Can I ask a question of anyone who's used Handmade Kitchens? Do they negotiate on price at all, or are their prices straight off the list? I see they have a half price sale on at the moment! which seems to be a fairly frequent occurrence, but do they do deals on top of that? If they are a rare kitchen beast that actually charges the price they publish, I don't want to insult them by assuming otherwise.

[BitOutOfPractice]

Think long and hard about n island. 2 friends of mine who have them say they spend half their life just walking round them to get anywhere

[KMAP76]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to share my experience with Tom Howley in case anyone is thinking of using them. PLEASE PLEASE STEER CLEAR. They have been an absolute nightmare to deal with- they have left us with a half-finished kitchen, damage to our house, they have pushed the wood at the back of the cupboards so hard to make them fit that they have buckled. Their customer service has been the worst I've ever had to deal with- 6 weeks of silence to confirm our installation date despite my husband and I calling daily. Final plans sent 2 weeks before installation instead of 2 months- nothing professional about them whatsoever. If I had the benefit of hindsight I would go Martin Moore time and time again- or a similar more affordable option but never, ever Tom Howley.

[loopy7979]

Hi KMAP76, hope you don't mind me asking but which Tom howley store was this with, we're just about to place an order worth the Esher branch and reading your entry has made me very nervous! Thank you!

[Donkeywork]

loopy7979 our order was with Esher. Don't do it. Worst company ever!

[jemmamum]

That kitchen looks gorgeous. Just thought I would pipe up as my husband and I run a local family run bespoke kitchen company in Bedford.

I would definitely advise you to get quotes from your local kitchen companies, you may be suprised and what's more if you decide to go ahead you are supporting a local business in your area.

Our company actually provides kitchens at a more competitive price than the highstreet versions, although we only offer solid, 5 sided cabinets and soft close hinges. Also, certainly in our case, being a local company reputation is everything to us, so we will go over and beyond to ensure you are happy with your kitchen and tell everyone about it.

We recently provided a quote to a customer which was comparable to the Tom Howley kitchen she liked, except all the doors were hand made and hand painted and our quote was actually 10k less.

Anyways good luck with the kitchen

[HANDLESHOP]

I agree with the comments on using IKEA cabinets, then source some decent quality doors. If you look for FIRA approved doors they have been tested as regard moisture and wear and tear. It as this point we usually get involved when clients come to us and purchase handles. Just make sure that your handle holes are not pre-drilled otherwise you are stuck with retrofitting the same size again.

The last comment about getting local quotes I totally agree with. Usually the big suppliers like Magnet and John Lewis will subcontract the installation which is then marked up. If you go with a local company that uses their own fitters the cost saving and attention to detail will result in much better value for money.

My final tip, is go for high line cabinets and separate drawer units. It makes for cheaper cabinet prices and it's easier to see into the cabinet when there is no drawer at the top.

[mandy214]

Handleshop I've seen several recommendations to get IKEA units and then high end doors - but can't seem to find companies supplying high end doors (or even where to start looking). Any suggestions?

Thank you.

[lambbone]

All this is so useful as I am about to embark on a big refit - but my problem is that I am enlarging the kitchen by knocking through into a downstairs loo (and moving the loo elsewhere - we are not going in for a free standing loo in the middle of the kitchen) so I'll need a company that does building works and kitchen fitting.

Has anyone used a London/Surrey company that does this?