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Original poster

Recommendations for a cheap kitchen

43 replies

Curlyfrizzball · 17/02/2015 18:22

Hi. We are hoping to get our kitchen redone and are on a tight budget. Does anyone have any recommendations of who to buy from? There are a lot of discount kitchen websites out there, but I don't know if they are trustworthy or not - if not, which of the big companies would you recommend? We are no good at all at DIY unfortunately so will need to get someone to fit it all for us as well, but will probably try to get a local company to do that.

OP posts:

Marrou · 18/02/2015 18:46

What sort of cost are you thinking of? Magnet do a 'simply' range which is much cheaper than their other ranges and offer credit over four years with nothing to pay for the first year. You could save up for the first year while no payments are due to help with the payments over the four years.

SmellTheGlove · 18/02/2015 19:03

We are also on a tight budget, and after quite a lot of research are going with Benchmarx, which is a trade only outfit similar to Howdens, ie you will have to get your kitchen fitter to buy it, although you go in an plan it all yourself. I haven't been into plan mine yet as we are not in the house yet so can't measure up (completing in a few weeks). I've been researching kitchen fitters on Checkatrade so will probably get a couple of them to quote (and see how much of their trade discount they pass on to me!) I'm also buying appliances separately, having checked out best buys in Which?!

Ramona75 · 19/02/2015 13:21

Have you tried looking at DIY Kitchens? Their kitchens are below and are just as good as any of the high street sheds like B&Q and Homebase. Even when they have no sale on, their prices are still lower. probably because they have no overheads as they sell online. Delivery looks a little expensive but still works out cheaper though.

www.diy-kitchens.com/kitchens/

It's worth pricing up before you commit to anyone.

annedawso · 20/02/2015 08:00

DIY-kitchens reviews are great, they have a facebook page where people post completed kitchens. According to Which the best kitchens are Ikea, overall they beat John Lewis. Although JL scored higher for quality Ikea won overall because of the amazing value for money.
It is so difficult to decide who to go with.

MaCosta · 20/02/2015 08:03

We've recently done our kitchen and went for ikea. It was very cheap and we've had loads of compliments on it. I was wary about going with ikea since the house is high value and in a very up market area but with a few adaptations there is no way anyone would know its ikea.

VeryPunny · 20/02/2015 09:01

IKEA. Cheap and a which? Best Buy.

TeddyBee · 20/02/2015 09:16

Ikea. You can return anything you don't use too, which saved us loads.

limesoda · 20/02/2015 09:28

Ikea. We have a reasonable budget and Ikea offers everything we need, and allows me to afford silestone, a quooker tap and nice tiles. I couldn't believe how cheaply you can get a whole kitchen if you use their worktops etc.

SmellTheGlove · 20/02/2015 09:30

Now I'm dithering about ikea again! The only thing that is stopping me, and this might sound crazy, is that the worktops are I believe very slightly deeper than standard, and even though it's only about an inch, I've got a tiny galley kitchen and an inch or so on each side makes a difference! If any of you ikea kitchen owners have got a tape measure handy could you measure your worktops?!!! I know they have the measurements on the website and I did measure in store too but they didn't seem to match! I will measure my benchmarx worktops again!

SmellTheGlove · 20/02/2015 09:33

Also, Could I put a benchmarx worktop in an ikea kitchen do you reckon? I'm set on wood effect laminate and the ones in ikea looked quite plasticky? Sorry to hijack thread OP!

PerpetualStudent · 20/02/2015 09:35

We just got a Howdens kitchen, worked out cheap for us, our plumber is on their trade books, but we essentially fitted it all ourselves (though, like me, you might find the cost to your patience while your DP is watching hours of kitchen fitting videos on YouTube is too high!)

GoooRooo · 20/02/2015 09:37

Another vote for Ikea. I've had a Howden's kitchen in the past and had an Ikea one fitted when we moved in here - the quality was just as good in my experience although there was much more swearing from DH

MaCosta · 20/02/2015 09:46

We have solid black walnut wooden worktops on an ikea kitchen.

In the utility room we didn't spend the extra money and simply used the ikea walnut wooden worktops. They are not solid wood, they have about 7mm of wood on the surface. Enough that you can still sand it and oil it in the same way as the solid wood ones.

The ikea wok tops are 62.5cm deep.

My ikea kitchen is MUCH better quality than our previous howdens kitchen.

J0YFULJ0YFUL · 20/02/2015 14:09

To those of whom have had IKEA kitchens fitted... can I ask, did you fit them yourselves or get a workman to do it?

If you did fit them yourselves, was it easy to do?
PerpetualStudent - how did you find it?!

I'm OK at DIY but am wondering whether fitting a kitchen might be a step too far!

MaCosta · 20/02/2015 14:29

We had ours fitted but we constructed the carcasses first (very easy) to reduce fitting time and cost.

TeddyBee · 20/02/2015 14:32

I fitted mine with our joiner doing the worktops as I hate jigging and have carpal tunnel problems. I've done three now, all fine.

mandy214 · 20/02/2015 18:22

I think there have been a couple of threads on here about the difference between IKEA and other kitchens. The new range (well, launched a year or so ago) is slightly different sizes to "standard" kitchen sizes - so the cupboards are deeper, and so their worktops are slightly deeper than "standard" laminate worktops (but you can get deeper worktops from other places which can be cut down and I think on a previous post about IKEA, you'll have less of a problem if you're having solid wood worktops as they come in more sizes than laminate).

I had an IKEA kitchen in my previous house and loved it. It was very good. I have a DIY Kitchen (put in last year) in this house and I love that too - more choice on cupboard finishes / doors than IKEA and independent fitters (who normally install German kitchens) commented on the quality. The customer service was slightly hard work (when we needed a door replacing) but I would recommend. It is certainly better quality than the likes of B&Q and other high street sheds. Slightly more expensive than IKEA.

RaisingSteam · 20/02/2015 19:44

If you are on a tight budget your fitting might be the biggest cost. Can you find your fitter first and ask them if they have a preference/recommendation? When I was doing ours I looked at kitchen fitters forums a bit and there was a lot of moaning about cheap flimsy flatpack incorrectly designed so they had to bodge them. Ikea seem to be either loved or hated by fitters. DIY kitchens are a good price for the (very solid) quality but you have to put the design and order together yourself.

If you are unsure about design/layout you might be better going to a showroom (they aren't all posh/bespoke) who will design for you. Make sure you have an itemised quote so you can check you aren't being ripped off £500 for some pull out unit or fancy feature.

obsessedwithinteriors · 20/02/2015 20:03

Pretty much decided on DIY Kitchens over Ikea? Anything to consider before I hit order? Did anyone bother with the drive to see their showroom? Feel somewhat nervous ordering without ever seeing it - will order a sample door, but not the same.....

OnePlanOnHouzz · 20/02/2015 20:42

I have low ceilings so used ikea tall kitchen cabinets as wardrobes ( as Pax were too tall ) and I fitted them myself - did drawer packs too ! It's not like a complete kitchen - no plumbing involved - but was easier enough for me to do !!
Re DIY kitchens - I've planned quite a few for people and they never said a bad word about the product afterwards - so that's all positive ! Hope that helps too !!

lemisscared · 20/02/2015 20:46

you could paint the doors. replace the knobs. get some wooden worktops fitted. if you shop around for the worktops surprisingly cheap and so long as you use the right primer it will work really well.

mandy214 · 20/02/2015 21:02

I went to the showroom but it wasn't massively far away. It didn't change my mind - just reinforced it because the kitchens looked beautiful and good quality and the staff were very helpful.

InsertUsernameHere · 20/02/2015 21:18

I went to DIY kitchens showroom just cause I wanted to check they existed! Would agree with sentiment above - good kitchen, great options, customer service a little hard work but fine in the end. (I'd rather that than gold star customer service and second rate kitchen). They have been the subject of other threads too. I'd use again.

frazzeled · 20/02/2015 21:30

We got b and q kitchen (cheap one - and they often do 2 years 0% credit to pay it off), sourced work tops elsewhere (lady on b and q said it would be cheaper - it was), and then got a local builder to fit it. He was doing other work for us, and it's not perfect (couple of slightly wonky doors) but a fraction of the price of b and q doing it. We also spent a long time researching appliances as b and q will price match other offers. Saved a fortune in cooker/hob/extractor. You need to take price comparison stuff with you And they will do it in store when you order. Good luck!

obsessedwithinteriors · 20/02/2015 21:48

What a relief to hear about DIY. I thought they were pretty transparent that they ask buyers to post pics of the kitchens and they left their comments unedited - a few grumbles about parts not arriving and having to chase, but as sad here, no complaints about the quality.

What about 'extras' though? I was hoping to have a wine rack thingy cut in and a cubby hole for cookery books. I presume you'd buy extra material and ask the carpenter/kitchen fitter to do it?

Did you also buy the hob/cooker from DIY?

Many thanks for feedback.

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