20k wren kitchen vs 40k SieMatic - worth it?

[KimKatCourtney]

Massive dilemma as both will look nice but the quality of the SieMatic seemed so much higher. The difference will stretch us quite a bit as we already are spending £45k on building work to convert the cellar for the kitchen so we will have to get a loan or finance the rest. Head vs heart - help me!

Look bavk at the Wren thread on here, hopefully someone will post a link. There are a million reasons NOT to use them.

I only know one person IRL that is currently issuing legal proceedings against them.

Here you are.

Read the very last post.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1734578-Wren-kitchens-Yes-No-Good-Bad?pg=12&order=

Thank you. A few people recommended them and I took a very reluctant DH who has his heart set on SieMatic

I would not touch Wren with a barge pole.

If you want to save money take a look at diy-kitchens. With good quality appliances and quartz worktops you could get a very good finish.

We looked at Siematic and a few othrr too brands as they are all near us - went to an jndependent shop that sold Kuhlmann a smaller german brand - very similar to Siematic look and finish and all the same interior fitments available - approx 10k less for same spec - looks lovely still after 5vyears

Would you consider something like Howden's as a midway compromise?

DH is doing most of research and wasn’t v impressed with the staff at Howdens which put him off.

That's a shame. We have a Howden's kitchen and its excellent. We contracted builders and they got it through trade so we didn't deal with Howden's at all, just picked it from a catalogue IIRC.

Avoid Wren at all costs.....it's not worth the heartache....took best part of a year to get our issues resolved and the help of a friendly solicitor

Wickes/Benchmarx kitchens are great quality.

I wouldn't touch Wren.

We looked at wren kitchens but they all looked so cheap and nasty and plasticky we decided against it. There has been some really scathing threads on here about them which might be worth a read.

The staff and Howdens and Benchmarx are there to deal with trade, they are not sales people.

I’ve got a Benchmarx kitchen and am very happy with it. Used my own fitter. Extra bits were taken back and refunded. I needed a couple of doors that we hadn’t accounted for and they had them in stock so I could get them straight away.

The other big bonus is that the units are delivered built. It saves so much time.

Have you thought about getting a second hand one? We got our basically new nolte kitchen including all appliances from a seller through them for £5k. Weve moved house now and currently remodelling and will definitely be doing the same again.

I always buy through Howden and have got a good deal on good kitchens. The only person I know who bought a Wren kitchen had problems.

I think we have decided to go for the SieMatic we are only going to do this once!

Don't rule out Schueller or Hacker- mid price German but great quality.

It really depends on the value of the house. Over spending on the kitchen is bad news if you want to sell an inexpensive house. You simply won’t get the money back. If your house is worth a bit, you intend to stay there and get the full value out of the kitchen, you have made the right decision.

I'm sorry... £45k for a kitchen?

I obviously live on another planet

(ignore me. Just... )

@iwantmyhatback I agree. Our Howden's kitchen was £10k and that included totally replumbing & rewiring the room & painting etc. The only thing kept was the floor and door. £45 does seem steep.

The £45k is to convert the cellar into the kitchen and all the work that requires.

I have a SieMatic kitchen and regret every penny I spent on it. They are very very difficult to work with once you've signed (they're really nice until then). The quality control is terrible... They literally installed the wrong colour in my kitchen and spent 3 months insisting it wasn't wrong. Then they came, took one look and admitted they were wrong. That was the easy part. I found them infuriating in their customer service, their support and their willingness to correct mistakes. I would VERY strongly recommend, for the money, finding another provider unless you have a huge amount of time and energy to devote to forcing them to own up to their mistakes. There are equal brands with much better quality and much better service.

If you get bored of your kitchen in 8 years you won’t feel so bad ripping out a £20,000 kitchen.

When I did my kitchen a few years ago I got quotes from the brands you mentioned.

Then based on the recommendation of a friend I went to see a local bespoke kitchen company.

They were utterly brilliant and the prices similar to SieMatic.

The big difference was they built all the cabinetry to order so the design wasn't compromised by standard unit sizes. It's also all solid wood (most companies make the unit carcasses from cheaper alternatives and reserve the expensive products for elements that can be seen).

Awkward spaces were transformed into useful features (a recess for a huge chopping board for example) and really practical advice like having a power socket in the tall cupboard in the utility room so I could store my dyson out of the way in there and keep it charged).

The only downside was the amount of choice I had! Literally any colour, any handle, finish, appliance, worktops etc

The design service was very personal and the fitting excellent. Nothing was too much trouble.

As a small business, word of mouth and recommendations was a big deal for them, so they went out of their way to provide excellent service.

They came back after 2 weeks to check for any snags (i didn't think I had any) but they spotted a couple of minor issues and rectified them (a draw that wasn't closing quite a smoothly as they felt it should was one).

A month later my DM was so impressed she ordered a new kitchen from them!!!

So sorry for the long post, but I'd definitely consider visiting a bespoke kitchen company. You've got the budget for it and I think it might be an eye opener about what you can get.