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Original poster

Kitchens - soft close drawers?

39 replies

Classicblunder · 22/02/2022 09:16

Bit of a niche question but we are finalising our kitchen design and quote and I can't quite decide on whether soft close is worth it.

It would be an additional £2k to get soft close on all the drawers which seems like a lot! It would be nice for the drawers to extend fully but is it really worth that much?

OP posts:
ExactlyThis · 22/02/2022 09:29

Yea it’s worth it. But 2k is excessive! How big is your kitchen? My entire new kitchen (not worktops) cost 4k! And it’s bespoke, wooden and painted with f&B.

Original poster
Classicblunder · 22/02/2022 09:38

@ExactlyThis

Yea it’s worth it. But 2k is excessive! How big is your kitchen? My entire new kitchen (not worktops) cost 4k! And it’s bespoke, wooden and painted with f&B.
It is pretty big and we are having a lot of drawers - 17 drawers in total. For painted timber, both Howdens and a local independent place are coming in at around the same figure for the cabinets and drawers (12-14k depending on exact options)
OP posts:
theeaimee · 22/02/2022 10:06

i always say to myself, if you are unsure, it is a no. But maybe in the long run, the big splurge will be worth it? If you are spending a lot on a kitchen, you don't want to be left wishing you did get them- if you're doing it, you may as well do it right?

PigletJohn · 22/02/2022 11:29

I wonder how the installers came up with that additional cost

is it a higher grade of kitchen?

Out of interest, the supplier probably pays about £30 for a pair of Blum soft-close drawer runners (less trade and volume discounts)

Plzhelpifyoucan · 22/02/2022 11:34

Soft close are fantastic, would always recommend! But that price is absolutely ridiculous, how did they reach that figure?

Original poster
Classicblunder · 22/02/2022 11:45

@Plzhelpifyoucan

Soft close are fantastic, would always recommend! But that price is absolutely ridiculous, how did they reach that figure?
There are a lot of drawers and it does include VAT but the cost does seem ridiculous. I think we'll probably go back to question the cost.
OP posts:
ffscovid · 22/02/2022 11:46

Yes they're great but £2k is ridiculous. You can buy a pack of soft-close drawer runners in Screwfix for about £10!

Are you / DP 'handy'? You could do this yourselves.

ExactlyThis · 22/02/2022 13:20

For a 15k kitchen, you want soft close. But that price is ludicrous.

skippy67 · 22/02/2022 16:02

Yes to soft close. No to that price! My new kitchen from diy kitchens has all soft close on drawers and doors. The door hinges were £3 each and the drawer ones £7 per drawer.

skippy67 · 22/02/2022 16:04

*£7 per drawer unit.

Chasingsquirrels · 22/02/2022 18:33

Yes, as everyone else says, but price is ridiculous.

If you are looking at Howdens do a pricing exercise on DIY Kitchens for comparison.

NewPapaGuinea · 22/02/2022 19:11

£117 extra per drawer! They are taking the piss and I’d be wondering what else they are over charging for!

pilates · 22/02/2022 19:16

The price does seem extortionate

LoveLabradors · 22/02/2022 21:38

@ExactlyThis where is your kitchen from please? I’m currently looking at Pineland. Thanks

CasperGutman · 22/02/2022 21:53

That price is ridiculous. I think DIY Kitchens charge £5 a drawer for the upgrade to soft close, which is presavly still above the cost to them.

I'd be tempted to tell the supplier you want the soft close runners or you're buying elsewhere. I bet they'll throw them in for nothing.

CasperGutman · 22/02/2022 21:54

presavly? Probably!

Popsicle30 · 22/02/2022 22:01

Also recommend doing a price check with DIY kitchens. We are about to order with them. Howdens came in at over £4k more expensive on like for like.

Tomatel · 22/02/2022 22:22

I have had a DIY kitchen for the last 5 years . It is like new and excellent quality. My builder could not believe what good value it was and, as others have said, the soft close option was hardly anything extra. The difference they make is incredible, especially if you've got massive teenager sons in the house slamming drawers at 2am!

noworklifebalance · 22/02/2022 22:50

Also interested in where you got your kitchen from @ExactlyThis , if you are happy to share

BruceAndNosh · 22/02/2022 23:18

For £2k, I'd expect a trained elf to shadow me, gently closing each drawer after I'd finished with it!

garlictwist · 23/02/2022 06:15

2k? For some drawers that close slightly more softly than normal?? No way.

LoveLabradors · 23/02/2022 08:31

This thread has been an eye opener and very useful - my kitchen quote is £45 per drawer for soft closers and £15 for soft doors. It’s quite a large kitchen so a lot of money. Think I might go back to them and question it!

Original poster
Classicblunder · 23/02/2022 08:35

A quick update - we did go back to question the cost and the kitchen company are not budging. Not very clear why!

But the feature is ultimately not that important to us so we will just not go for it - having thought about it more, every previous kitchen we have had hasn't had soft close and I have never once really thought about it.

OP posts:
Caspianberg · 23/02/2022 08:39

I would question it tbh. Even ikea kitchens only come with soft close drawers now. And they are about as budget as you can get. I would show that to your kitchen company. Our big standard ikea kitchen for holiday apartment was only about £1500 total. It has soft close

Caspianberg · 23/02/2022 08:42

Also check they aren’t charging lots for certain items.
Our new kitchen for main house they wanted £120 per handle! With 22 needed it was ridiculous. I checked the brand, and have bought all the same handles, directly from company for £25 each.

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