Kitchens - recommendations

[Miriam101]

Would love new units & fridge freezer, but know absolutely nothing about the various kitchen outfits: Wren, Magnet, Howdens, etc. Who's meant to be good? Previous owners used MFI and must say I don't think they did a brilliant job...

I'm really pleased with my Wren kitchen. I used an independent fitter. But loads of people will come on here, saying they are awful.

I was delighted with Wren. I waited for their sale though.

Thanks @Toddlerteaplease why do people think they’re awful? Are they generally regarded as the “bargain” option? I’m glad you and @GreenClock had good experiences!

I think wren have a poor reputation plenty of horror stories on here and other sites. Howden and Magnet pricing can be unclear. I have used IKEA the price is what you pay. I think there is a video on YouTube that compares all the major brands.

I have had a wickes / howdens / benchmarx kitchen.

They are all much of a muchness the key difference was the kitchen fitter.

I’d shop around and go with the best deal then get the best fitter you can find.

Diykitchens.

@Toddlerteaplease me too! I expected to come on and see loads of people saying never in a million years go with Wren. I think it's down to who you have fit it. We had an independent team as I knew there's be some nuances and we ended up having to rotate the island which I doubt Wren fitters would have been willing to. Also team made me a drinks cabinet using spare material and a little unused space!

I went when they had 50% off mid pandemic so was great. Kitchen designer was excellent and helped me think through how the space will be used.

Thanks all- very helpful!

If anyone has recently had a new medium-sized kitchen, don't suppose you'd mind sharing what the total cost was- and how much of that was labour (fitting)?

We don't need any new appliances except the fridge freezer so I'm guessing- hoping- it will be slightly cheaper than the standard....

The problem with wren is it's crap quality at not cheap prices, their customer service is awful and they're unreliable.

I've had b&q, wren and DIY kitchens before now and I'll only go with DIY kitchens now. Quality units and doors, and excellent customer service.

And for your second question. Medi -large kitchen plus utility room was £7500 plus £2200 fitting. Not including appliances or taps.

I have just had a diykitchen fitted cost of kitchen £4500 quite large size with island. My brilliant fitter who was very slow but was a perfectionist cost around £2500. He loved the quality of the kitchen and reckons the equivalent units would have cost around £12000 elsewhere.

Looking for thoughts on Magnet v's Howdens kitchens in terms of quality?

I like the look of the Luna range at Magnet and it doesn't seem to work out too expensive at the moment as they have a sale on.....