Shaker kitchen - Tom Howley or HMKC or...

[NancySpero]

I've been busy planning our new kitchen/utility/boot and really want bespoke shaker. I've had quotes back from Humphrey Munson (nearly fainted), Charlie Kingham, Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch and waiting for appt with Tom Howley. Budget is healthy and we want it to look high end but don't want to spend crazy money (£220k from HM, I kid you not).

Just wondered if anyone has recent experience of the above or has any other suggestions? I did call Higham but he didn't sound terribly enthusiastic. I wonder if they just have too much work on at the moment.

Where are you based you might get better service and quality with a small local independent specialist.
Mine is hand made solid oak, with silestone tops and fairly similar to the TH Hartford range. Local company, fab service, flexible designs as basically he would make whatever you wanted and slightly more reasonable in cost also excellent after service when we wanted to make some changes after 6mths.
Ours was £30k 6years ago and still looks brand new (apart from the clutter and billions of kids drawings)

I've since worked with a couple of local independents for clients and they have been fab.

Some names that jump to mind

Devol
Plain English (£££)
British Standard
Neptune
Sola Kitchens
Naked Kitchens
Roundhouse
Kitchens by Holloways

I agree with a PP though that if you want fully bespoke your best bet is probably a local independent cabinet maker. There are some wonderfully talented people out there and you get someone nearby and more personal attention.

Where are you? We used an independent in Esher very good. Similar to Tom Howley costs, but more bespoke.

I had a good experience with DeVOL - but I would recommend you use their fitters, not your own. Our fitters made a mess of it (even though DeVOL provided excellent instructions, which they did not read) and DeVOL were nice enough to come out and fix it (for a fee obviously, but the fee was very reasonable).

Try Stoneham. Not as crazy expensive as the two you looked at but still fairly high end.

Have a look at Higham, we had a Higham kitchen recently having looked at Tom Howley, DeVOL and a local cabinet maker, we are delighted with the end result.

But yes, I think they are quite busy

HM are great but indeed ££££
We've had Smallbone before and been very happy.
Where are you based? There are lots of great independents around but from my experience many like to work close to home - the really good ones don't have to travel far. I can make some recommendations if helpful.

@LittleOverWhelmed

Also look at Harvey Jones, but negotiate hard. I got 45% discount (cabinets only), but that was probably at their financial year end. I am sourcing my own worktop (about 50% cheaper). Some people also source their own painter (we didn’t). You need them to fit it, to get their guarantee.

Our kitchen hasn’t been fitted yet (being fitted next year), but - so far - have been very impressed by their last customer service. Fingers crossed that continues 🤞

Kitchen being fitted next year - I’m assuming that’s a typo😉

We’re having a HKOC fitted currently and I’m very happy with it. Same construction type to DeVol - I didn’t look at HM but their kitchens on Instagram are gorgeous - you can replicate that with HKOC.

Out of interest what did the £220k include? And how much were the equivalent kitchens from HKOC?

I was going to suggest Higham. I have a second kitchen by them (I moved from the first house) and love it

@PropertyFlipper I have tried to contact you but cannot find you. If you are still on Mumsnet (maybe under a different name) please could you send me a PM? Thanks.