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Original poster

Howden's Kitchens -Which range?

44 replies

TiredMummy2015 · 01/10/2015 16:28

Our builder is steering us in the direction of Howden's for our new kitchen.
I was planning on going to DIY Kitchens but the lead time is 4 weeks and Howden's only needs 3 days.

We get 80% discount. I've only looked online so far and nothing is jumping out at me. I can't really see any difference between Tewkesbury and Burford??

OP posts:

RoganJosh · 01/10/2015 16:33

The Tewkesbury is solid wood, the Burford isn't.

yomellamoHelly · 01/10/2015 16:41

In the flesh Tewkesbury looks much better, but obviously costs more.

Just warning you to think carefully about how you put your kitchen together. Recently visited someone's house about two weeks after our new (Howdens) kitchen was fitted to find they had the same kitchen. Ours has green splashbacks. Theirs has an upstand and pink painted "splashbacks". Same downlights, same worktop lighting, same treatment of floor, similar table to the one we want, everything (though obviously in a slightly different configuration)!

Not overly upset about it, but did make me laugh.

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 01/10/2015 17:25

Does anybody know what kind of price difference their is between the two?

A kitchen from DIY Kitchens was going to cost around £3,000. I'm thinking even with an 80% discount Howden's is going to be a lot more?

OP posts:

ElsieMc · 01/10/2015 17:40

I have the top of the range Howdens wood one, painted cream (they call it white). The original price was £6,400 but I waited for the sale when it was £4,800. Our fitter, who works for them, negotiated it down to £4,500, basically so I could afford to pay him!

You certainly wont be getting a one-off customised kitchen, but then of course you are not paying for one. Lots of units are very similar any way. You can ring the changes with worktops etc.

A good fitter is important and I have been told that my kitchen looks as nice as much dearer ones in our town. This was from my mobile hairdresser who gets to snoop in plenty of houses!

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 01/10/2015 17:47

How do you know which ranges are top of the range and which are basic?

OP posts:

RoganJosh · 01/10/2015 19:39

We went to the showroom to see door samples which helped, but basically got three quotes, one of all the ranges we liked.

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 02/10/2015 07:12

Oh good so you can see the kitchens before you buy?
My husband seems to think there will be a bigger choice of unit sizes than wickes where we first looked?

OP posts:

swillows · 02/10/2015 09:46

If you have Howdens brochure - open out the front page and the flap attached to it - there are pictures of all their doors. Apparently the cheaper ones start at the top left and it runs down to the most expensive ones at the bottom right.

I didn't like all the cloak and dagger nonsense around their prices and our builder didn't have an existing account with them so was getting no discount. We went with Benchmarx and are very pleased (they also only have a lead time of a few days).

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 02/10/2015 10:45

I haven't seen a brochure only their website. They weren't being considered but our builder has suggested them as their turnaround is so fast. I don't have time to wait for DIY kitchens or the other places that take a month or more to deliver.

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mummytime · 02/10/2015 11:00

My local Howdens pretty much has everything in stock. They ordered fresh for me, and it took a few days (and the designer did that to ensure I got new units which hadn't been standing around for days). It cost me about £10K, and I paid extra for independently sourced Granite, and my flooring is from another supplier too. But I have quite a big kitchen.
In total it probably all came to 3 times that but we had a lot of wiring, a door moved, thorough redecorating and new appliances (not Howden's).
I'm pretty pleased - and the good thing about Howden's is if there is a mistake or something is forgotten - it doesn't take any time to get it replaced.

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 02/10/2015 11:11

What's their design service like?
We had Wickes design something and it wasn't bad but I wanted mostly pan drawers. They couldn't accommodate that many because the sizes they sold wouldn't fir. So I ended up with quite a few of those tiny 300cm cupboards that aren't very much use.

OP posts:

swillows · 02/10/2015 11:33

We had a design done by Howdens which we felt was the worst of the three we had done. Took what we said at face value and came up with no suggestions of their own.

We then went to Wickes just to browse - their kitchen designer was very sweet and got chatting and without pressure said she'd happily do a design for us. She was brilliant and I thought it was the best design as she talked us into things we thought we weren't prepared to budge on. Unfortunately they didn't have any units that we liked.

Took Wickes design to Benchmarx and said 'copy that' which they pretty much did. We have ended up with a bank of 3 x 3 90cm pan drawers which is fab - soooooo much better than cupboards.

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 02/10/2015 13:07

What is Howdens range of cabinet sizes like?

OP posts:

RaisingSteam · 02/10/2015 13:31

With Howdens make sure you get all the "upgrade" options so the decent drawers, hinges etc.

This is the brochure - see P 10 for cabinet spec.

If you google "howdens kitchen technical specification" and the range name of interest eg Tewkesbury, it will take you to a PDF showing all the details and cabinets. Personally I think their choice is VERY limited compared to say DIY kitchens but of course you have your time constraints. That is a very short time to procure a kitchen and all the appliances etc that isn't even planned yet - are you sure you know what you want?

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 02/10/2015 14:01

Yes, have been thinking about it for a while. Knew what I wanted to do with the space but as it's an awkward shape I wanted to see if a) a designer had any great ideas that I hadn't thought of, and b) what it actually looked like in 3D. Only appliance needed is a new oven and hob.

Didn't expect we'd find a fitter to get it done this year but now we have found some, and we know they are good, we don't want to miss the boat.

OP posts:

ElsieMc · 02/10/2015 14:53

We went in and had a look and they generally have their best kitchen on display. My dd works for a homeless charity and they use Howdens cheapest kitchens for their rented properties. If you have a nearby store, go in and have a look and get a feel for what you will get for your money then compare with other companies you are considering. You will certainly be able to tell their top end range from the bottom.

We got someone out from Howdens, he designed the kitchen and priced it up. It was the poorest design of the three so don't expect some wonderful revelation. I just got it altered.

The best design was from an independent kitchen company who, when they found out I had an estimate from Howdens, wrote to me saying I would regret it insinuating their merchandise was of an inferior quality. You certainly will not get a show room experience, but rather grumpy men in a warehouse. The plus is you won't get the hard sell.

I haven't regretted getting mine.

mummytime · 02/10/2015 17:27

My designer was good, but I once had one of their other ones come around, and he was so useless we didn't go ahead with the kitchen at the time. It's worth asking around to see who others will recommend. I mainly have pan draws, and they seem much better than cupboards.

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 03/10/2015 13:04

Well Howdens came around and he was worse than rubbish. If I hadn't already got ideas then he wouldn't have added anything. Everything Wickes designed this guy said couldn't be done. I asked if Howdens had a smaller range of cabinets which he denied.
I'm unsure as to what I'm going to end up with as he seemed to think everything " couldn't be done".
Wickes designed it so my freestanding fridge freezer had a top box above and I had an oven and microwave with cupboards above and beneath.... Howdens guy couldn't see that there was room.
I think I'm going to end up with those silly 300cm cupboards that are no use for anything.

Howdens apparently don't do tambour fronted dresser units either which I really wanted to make the most of an awkward space.
I was quoted about 6k which is way more than I'd want to pay for a rubbish design.

So what's the deal with benchmark? I may try them next.

OP posts:

swillows · 03/10/2015 16:58

I took our architect measured plans to Benchmarx and she did a design from that (in conjunction with the Wickes design) but then also came out to the house to check the measurements to make absolutely sure all was ok.

We have a large kitchen and paid about £6,500 in Benchmarx. Our Howdens design had been about £9k for an incomplete kitchen design (too long a story to bore you with here!) When I told Howdens that we were going with Benchmarx because they were cheaper, they said they would never be beaten on price and then came in £20 less than Benchmarx. What's the point of that??

Benchmarx say they are trade only but they just called my builder, said 'are you happy that we deal direct with your client?', he said yes and then had no other involvement with them - we did the design direct with them, got the cost direct from them and even paid them direct. I am sure if our builder was a long-standing trade account with them, then we would have paid far less but you reach a point where you are like 'enough already'.

It is definitely going to depend on the designer that you deal with in any place but I get the distinct impression that Howdens lack any flair or inspiration....

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 04/10/2015 08:03

Well the "designer" we saw had no flair at all.
I've just worked out that if our builder has an 80% discount that they are claiming our £6,000 kitchen is actually worth £30k!! That's with no appliances, work tops or any extras. That's crazy!

I'm in a real quandary as we need the kitchen to be finished by mid- Nov and so cannot go to anyone who has a long lead time. This rules out DIY kitchens who would come in at half the prices given to me by Howdens or Wickes.

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Spickle · 04/10/2015 09:42

We are being steered towards a Howden's kitchen by our builder too, except that our builder is designing it with my ideas and specifications in mind. He has given me the brochure to look at and took us to see a Howden's kitchen that he recently fitted in someone else's house - was the Glendevon Flint Grey range - which looked fab. Our builder also fits kitchens on behalf of a well-respected Kitchen Company near me and tells me that their kitchens are usually in the £30k+ range and he says I wouldn't be able to tell the difference!

As you say, lead times are short and that is our problem too. At the moment the old kitchen is still in situ, but will be going very soon and I need to make up my mind!

WorktoLive · 05/10/2015 11:17

I tried to go to Howdens and they were shit - rude, obstructive, ignored me for ages when I went for my design appointment. If I hadn't interupted them, I might still be there now.

Designer was hopeless. A man in his early 20s who had clearly never used a kitchen by himself in his life. Ignored everything I said about what I wanted and come up with a totally impractical design.

I didn't really like any of the units anyway and I think they lost interest when it transpired that they couldn't supply a piece of worktop big enough for the island I want. Their suggestion - make the island smaller .

Original poster

TiredMummy2015 · 05/10/2015 11:37

I'm waiting for the designs today. I'm not convinced that what I would end up with actually has anywhere to put things.

I have Benchmark coming out later this week. So i shall see if they are a bit brighter with their ideas.

I did feel like for Howdens it was about what they sold that would fit in the space rather than what I needed.

OP posts:

worldgonecrazy · 05/10/2015 11:49

I tried Howdens - recommended by my builder too, but that's because they get a bigger discount than they pass on to you, so ignore any rubbish about "discounts". Go for whatever the bottom line is, not the deal you think you're getting.

Our Howdens designer was worse than rubbish, she waltzed in, made a couple of measurements and waltzed out, without asking me what I actually wanted or needed from our kitchen. Her final design included all the problems that the John Lewis designer had steered me around and found solutions for. We went with John Lewis and ended up with a better design, a much better quality kitchen and much better customer service.

Frostycake · 05/10/2015 11:51

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but

www.reviewcentre.com/reviews258986.html

I have a Howdens kitchen and it's rubbish. Poor build quality and the appliances are terrible without exception.

Avoid if at all possible. They are available quickly and cheaply for a reason.

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