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Mereway / John Lewis kitchen, or DIY or other?

14 replies

Caprimulgus · 21/09/2018 10:25

Hello all Smile

I'm looking at traditional wooden kitchens - which all seem to be sold as 'Shaker' style, whatever the design. I want a fairly classic, plain style, which I might term 'elegant farmhouse' (no pillars, scrolls etc), to complement an Edwardian house. I'll probably choose off-white painted but it could be a natural oak finish.

The Mereway English Revival Shaker is a good example of what I'd like - though, pricy. Their Newbury looks like a lower cost way to do something similar.

Also looking at Second Nature's Milton (in-frame but chunkier, less elegant), Lyndon (similar but not in-frame) or Cornell (more elegant but a bit fussy - risk of random pillars).

Having searched previous threads, I now know that Mereway supplies John Lewis, which is helpful for looking up ratings of the products. We have a local independent who sells Mereway. Another one who sells Second Nature. I've also now come across DIY kitchens and my mind is slightly blown by the likely cost difference. But, I'd need to find an awesome fitter, as we need someone able to liaise with our builder.

To the point - on every thread where Mereway is mentioned, a kitchen expert comes on and says 'yes, fine but, for the price you can get something much nicer'. They then talk about German kitchens - which are modern, not what we want.

So my question is, for a traditional English wooden look, are there other companies I should be looking at?

Ideally an English Revival equivalent (in-frame, solid wooden doors) for less (one answer is clearly DIY KItchens). Or, better quality for the same price. Any thoughts or recommendations?

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Caprimulgus · 21/09/2018 12:38

If anyone knows about Harvey Jones or Burbidge too, that would be interesting (though I think this might be entering another price bracket).

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Caprimulgus · 21/09/2018 20:13

Bumpety bump!

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CGID · 21/09/2018 20:48

We got a joiner to make the doors in solid oak, this way we could choose the rail and stile widths and he could custom build end panels etc. He used MDF or particle board (can't recall) for the non visible cabinets and Haeffele hardware. The effect is great eg the same continuous planks with matching grain across or up and down each run. Price ended up a bit less than similar in JL.

Rosita · 22/09/2018 06:31

Look at Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch (sale now on so prices reasonable), Units Online or a local company.
My quotes for solid wood shaker and solid wood door inframe have ranged from 4.5-9.5k from these different places.
I have personally decided to go with the Helmsley kitchen from DIY. For the door itself, you cannot tell a difference in terms of quality. Interiors, DIY review really well. I think the key difference is if you want interior drawers to be beautiful wood etc - this is where the prices can go up massively and you might be better off with a local kitchen supplier, but then that makes a huge price difference.

Rosita · 22/09/2018 06:34

I meant to say, Units online do Second Nature and Burbidge.
I’ve looked at all of them in the flesh and come to the conclusion that DIY gives me the high end look I am after (similar to Harvey Jones Arbor kitchen or Devol) without the price tag.

overandunder9 · 22/09/2018 06:42

We have a Stoneham kitchen that we’re really pleased with. They’re based in Kent but have suppliers across the country. The Edwardian and Lulingstone styles sound like what you’re describing - we have the Edwardian.

averythinline · 22/09/2018 09:04

I am really happy with my diy kitchen - but have one of the cheaper ones - he quality is def better than diy/ikea and i think my freinds cheaper range german (cant rememebr name) and as good as the JL we saw..
dont know about the wood ones... I would order a door sample if you are not able to go to the showroom...its only £6 or something which is not much in teh cost of a kitchen

does your builde rnot have a joiner/know one?..... they fitted ours as part of teh extension which was great as they could sort out the boxing etc as well but they had a carpenter as part of the team...

Caprimulgus · 22/09/2018 21:39

Thanks all, really helpful. I have some looking up to do!

Our arrangement so far has been that the builders liaise with kitchen fitters, so builders do 'first fit' electrical connections etc, then kitchen fitters fit the surface layer. I'm sure we could find an independent fitter, if we wanted to order our own kitchen. So far I've been quite reassured by the idea of using a company who can do all the relevant planning and liaison but, it's not as if I couldn't do it.

I have seen and felt the doors of the Mereway and Second Nature products yes. Could find Burbidge locally I think.

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Caprimulgus · 26/09/2018 10:00

A question about DIY Kitchens. Do they do solid wooden drawers, or only the modern metal / plastic kind with a wooden front stuck on?

I'm looking at their in-frame wooden kitchens (Leeming or Harewood) but, when trying to put a basket of relevant components together, all the drawer units look 'modern' not wooden.

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Caprimulgus · 26/09/2018 13:47

Ah, they tell me they do.

Next question - can anyone offer comments on differences in quality between Burbidge (in frame) and Mereway English Revival?

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Caprimulgus · 26/09/2018 14:03

..and 1909

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Yoyona20 · 12/02/2019 14:45

Hi Caprimulgus, what did you decide to go for in the end? im looking at the same brands are were. diy kitchens will be more my price bracket but i love the look of the 1909 one.

fishseddy · 13/02/2019 10:47

Op I am in a similar situation, and had decided on DIY but am having a wobble after reading about the drawer interiors...it hadn't occurred to me that they would not be wood with DIY.

@Rosita your kitchen is beautiful, thank you for all your help on another thread a few weeks ago! Could I ask if you got a quote for HKD and what the difference was vs DIY? Do you think their 50% off sale would bring them vaguely into the range of DIY or am I dreaming?!

Rosita · 13/02/2019 11:51

Hi @fishseddy, yes I did get a quote from HKC and it was about a thousand pounds more than the total cost of my DIY kitchen in the end. However, I don't believe that when I got the quote it included any of the pullout larders / spice racks / bin units etc etc which I eventually went for and which also made my DIY kitchen much more expensive than it could have been if I hadn't gone for those interior options. I suspect that like for like, it would have ended up being considerably more.
I can't remember if I've said this before, but are you aware that HKC have their own ready made service as opposed to the bespoke option? It works out the same as sale prices but you can buy all year round.
www.handmadekitchens-direct.co.uk/index.html

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