Any advice on Howdens kitchens?

[cherrybug]

We are building an extension and will be getting a new kitchen (L shaped with an island). Our builder wants us to go with Howdens and keeps putting us off other places we suggest (Wren for example).

As Howdens don't have an itemised price list it all seems like a bit of a racket to me, where three different people could spend different amounts for the exact same kitchen depending on the 'discount' their builder gets. They've given us an 'estimate' based on the design they did which seems expensive. Though maybe it's just a starting point for negotiation.

I have also looked at DIY kitchens but just don't know where to start and would be terrified of getting it wrong. We are in Scotland so can't go to see their showroom.

So my questions are - are Howdens kitchens good and how do you make sure you get the best deal with them?

I have a howdens kitchen and it's still looking really good 10 years down the line, the cupboards and drawers still close as they should. The carcasses come already built and are study unlike some flat pack.

Google wren customer services and you might see why your builder is putting you off, yes they have lovely showrooms but the customer see isn't the best. Someone I know is having issues at the moment, wrong measurements were taken and the joiner said it wouldn't have happened with howdens.

I had my friends husband (builder who specialises in kitchen fitting) replace my utility and he used Howdens. He got a decent discount and did negotiate the original quote down by a lot. The units are lovely and as he said you can spend a fortune on a kitchen but its all in the fitting, a very expensive kitchen fitted badly will look cheap...

We had a Howdens kitchen fitted about a year ago.

Although I am happy with the result I would not rush to recommend them.

Although we might just have been unlucky but we had one problem after another.

When it comes to negotiating, I definitely managed to talk them down and also got them to remove things from the invoice that I preferred to source elsewhere. Such as taps, splash backs, etc.

We went with Howdens because we had a tight schedule and they are supposed to have everything in stock but when they delivered more than half our kitchen was missing.

It took atleast 5 deliveries to finally get everything in place and we still had one panel missing in our utility that took months before they finally had back in stock.

The kitchen designer also had some really strange ideas about placement of appliances and took some incorrect measurements right at the start which caused further delays.

That being said, I really do love my kitchen. We chose the Fairford Blue with white upper cabinets.

I had a few builders round when doing my kitchen. One quoted including the cost of the kitchen and he was very expensive and that wasn't including some of the extras I got in the end. Another builder said he wldnt fit a wren kitchen either as they were a nightmare to deal with. He recommended Howdens and I went and picked everything but even with the 40% discount, when u added the other items I was getting elsewhere and the labour costs it was still pretty expensive.

So I thought maybe I should just get a comparison from a company supply and fit. It worked out about a grand or so cheaper and was a lot less hassle. I still got my worktops elsewhere as was cheaper for me to get direct myself. It was a local company I went with and the showroom was nearby so cld easily go along and pick everything out.

I know a few folk though with Howdens kitchens and they are lovely.

I’ve got a Howdens kitchen. Very happy with it.

Our builder really pushed Howdens in 2004. We chose the most expensive solid wood doors, but the quality of the carcasses is terrible. Our kitchen started to fall to pieces about 3 years ago. The flimsy backs have popped out and the sides have worked loose, meaning that some shelves no longer fit. We won't be replacing with Howdens.

we had one fitted a year ago too. I'm pretty sure you can get a better deal elsewhere but overall we're happy but a lot of that was down to the extremely friendly and accommodating joiner.

We definitely managed to wiggle them down a bit on the original quote but the kitchen designed guy was really helpful in being able to suggest what was best etc. There were various issues when the stuff was delivered but that was all sorted out between the joiner and supplier without us really getting involved.
@littlelionroars so did we! We are pale grey with while tiles and teal walls.

A friend who is an interior designer swears by Howdens kitchens, so we got a quote from the, when we had our extension built. However, the quote was about double the price of the equivalent style from Ikea, so we went with Ikea (with a nice granite worktop to posh it up). Money was a factor with us, as we liked how we could pay monthly for the kitchen over 2 years with 0 interest (allowing us to buy the posh worktop). I know some people don’t like Ikea kitchens but we are very happy with ours. Sorry if irrelevant!

Thanks all, very helpful. @littlelionroars your kitchen is lovely - I really like the two tone look!

All our Howdens dealings so far have been remote which hasnt helped. I think we need to go and have a look at their products and then get our builder to haggle them right down!

My builder was pushing for a Howdens kitchen too but I stuck to my guns and went with DIY Kitchens. I didn't like the lack of transparency that you get with Howdens and their pricing. With DIY I could see what each item cost and the overall price of the kitchen vs Howdens came in at £3k under. Howdens initially told me the £7k they'd quoted (just for units) was the lowest they could offer for the doors that I'd selected (I went for their newer more expensive type) but of course they matched the DIY Kitchens quote as soon as I showed them this. My mind was already set by that point.

My builder has also recommended Howdens but after reading comments here I am in two minds! I'm tempted by Ikea but I need good strong carcases - any comments from other Ikea buyers?

My Howdens kitchen is celebrating its 2nd birthday this week and still looks brand new.

My builder would have fitted any brand I wanted, although he cautioned against Wren, who he'd had lots of problems with before. My kitchen was part of a larger house renovation project; all my joinery (skirting boards, interior doors etc) had come from Howdens and I was very happy with the quality, so went with them for my kitchen too.

I used to work for a retailer that sold kitchens, so I've seen a lot in my time. I'm so pleased with my Howdens kitchen.

I wanted quartz worktops and sourced them locally myself. I also sourced my own appliances from a number of different places. This brought the cost down.

I think my kitchen has 31 units in total, not including the island. I was very happy with the price I paid. My own builder's discount wasn't much, but his brother's (also in the trade) was great! It reduced the price by £4k.

Good luck with your project.

I had howdens when I renovated my house, excellent quality, really flexible options and got a huge discount off list as it was my dad installing and they did him a extra special deal! My main contractor offered to supply the kitchen and couldn't get close in price so it does vary a lot. My dad doesn't rate IKEA, b&q etc.

What I find odd is that they are encouraging all students to get tested before returning, great, but why didn't they do this back in Sept before they all started? Would have saved a lot of anxiety when we had that big wave of cases at the start of term.

@tinkywinkyshandbag those bastard students need to be locked in a howdens cupboard.

We had a howdens kitchen in the house we recently sold and loved it. Will definitely be using them again when we get round to adding the extension to the new house.

I'm a carpenter and have fitted a lot of kitchens over the years. I really like Howdens and fitted one in my own house. They are good quality, with good plans to work from, and nice to fit. Personally I won't fit Ikea kitchens as they are a PITA (although I'm an Ikea fan generally).

Price-wise you (or your builder) get the best deal by either putting a tonne of business through them or befriending them. I have a favourite branch where the staff are lovely (and another I avoid as the staff are obnoxious), and I've built a good relationship with them. I have found there is often wriggle room on price. I wouldn't get any appliances through Howdens, and would shop around for work tops unless going for the chipboard/melamine jobbies.

We've just used DIY Kitchens. Fantastic customer service, really couldn't fault them at all. We looked at Howdens, but our fitter had problems with them previously.

We have had Howdens kitchens in our previous and current house and been very happy with both. First one 6yrs when we moved out and looked brand new, in this house is 4yrs old and as good as the day it was fitted. We found them to be a fair balance of high quality and value for money. I also managed to haggle them down a fair bit from their original quote.

Should add didn’t get Howdens appliances apart from integrated fridge freezer. One of the fridge shelves just randomly cracked and they sent us 4 replacements (!) free of charge straight away

We have a 7 year old Howdens kitchen. Excellent quality

U can get an itemised invoice. Your builder doesn't want to give it to u... we had them. Several.

Howdens don't deal with the public, it's trade only so all pricing needs to go through your builder. He knows the pricing.

Don't go for Wren. Awful reputation

DH fitted one for us. Friend in the trade got it for us. I'm very happy with it.

@littleryanroars- absolutely gorgeous kitchen!

We have a wickes kitchen - pleased with the quality but not with the installation as had constant problems with delivery, half of it turned up and the other didn’t arrive for another two weeks.

Originally wanted an IKEA kitchen but wasn’t impressed by their customer service when we went to order so decided against it.

Have only heard bad things about Wren.

@littlelionroars stunning kitchen - love the colour!