Wren kitchens (or another...)

[WoodenTricycle]

Just starting to think about a new kitchen (have planning approval but work unlikely to start until next year).

Architect said to start thinking about kitchens so trotted off to a Wren showroom which is local to us. A few people I trust are going with Wren so I thought we'd start with them.

I like the designs, slightly hard sell which puts me off but seem to know what they are talking about....design appointment booked in for next week.

However their reviews are mixed to say the least. Mumsnet reviews are pretty bad from about 4 years ago, has anyone used them more recently?

There is a lot of love for DIY kitchens. Is it worth taking a trip to their showroom? We'd have to make a weekend of it and take the children. Might be worth it though especially as we've got time on our side.

We're just outside Birmingham, so have all the usual retailers. What about Wickes?

Any suggestions appreciated.

I know Wren get a lot of bad press but I had one fitted a year ago with absolute no problems. Everything arrived in time, in good condition and the fitters were good.

I was really nervous because of the reviews/other people’s experiences but I went with them in the end because they were one of the cheaper quotes we had and the units were the best fit for our kitchen. The designer took hours trying to get it right and I’m really pleased with the finished product.

we've just had a wren kitchen fitted (actually it's part fitted as being done by our builder)

Our designer was excellent - very patient ( and we changed out minds LOTS of times)

The units seem good and strong, so quick to fit.
we had a minor issue with the sink waste not fitting the sink (we has a composite under mount one) so builder had tp go and get one.

The tap delivered was the wrong one , and when i phoned up she got the correct one sent the next day , plus gave us a free length of the copper profile that i had asked about.

At this stage I'm very happy with Wren.

We bought a Sheraton kitchen earlier this year, from a small builder's merchant, on the advice of our kitchen fitter, who's a good all round one man band and an absolute perfectionist. His advice was, look at these people, their carcasses are really study and they are roughly 5-10% more expensive than Wickes and Howdens.

It took considerably longer to fit than expected, but it ended up being way, way cheaper than the posher independent DH found first, and feels custom-built even though I bought really cheap counters.

It pleases me and DS enormously as two keen cooks (DS is a chef). In fact we kept most of the original layout as we had lived with it for 20 years and knew it worked. It's a big room, with lovely views, and lots of work space: 12m of counter-tops, which is why they had to be inexpensive! The design is very neutral and cleanly modern but not sterile, and yes, I know everyone is nice about a new kitchen, but the feedback has been 100% complimentary.

We decided to go mid-range because we shall sell this house, which has been our forever family home (here for 22 years so far), in the next 5-10 years (the garden is too big and difficult for near pensioners with bad backs and dreams of travelling). We intend to relocate closer to our families and so balancing what we spent with achieving the best property value lift for the spend was a big consideration.

Had a wren kitchen last year and had no problems at all.

We had a magnet kitchen fitted a few years back by an independent joiner. We chose between them and Howdens and he supplied the kitchen at cost price. (Trade account) He advised to go for ready assembled as the money you save in flat pack would be lost in the extra build time.

He says the wren kitchen was the worst he has ever done.

Kitchens are actually ridiculously cheap, there is a massive mark up.