New kitchen - recommended suppliers

[GoinSouth]

Absolutely no experience at all.. not in the slightest.. not even a smidgeon.

If we had to have a new kitchen and a new bathroom, (on a small budget) any recommendations of where to go for these - which companies? I.e. just looking online - there's Wickes, Wren, B&Q, Victoria Plum etc. etc. - any experience of kitchen/bathroom manufacturers please? Are their in-house fitters/installers recommended or would you get someone else to fit/install??

I've seen that Wren for example, also offer the option to select appliances with their kitchens - I chose Bosch oven, hob, extractor fan - and a budget kitchen, with installation, came to £6500.

For a small kitchen, how long would it take to install?

No clue - so any advice gratefully appreciated! Thanks again :-)

We went to 2 independents, Howden's and Magnet. Howden's were the cheapest (still over £20K) Magnet was really expensive - even more than the really swanky independent. We went for the Howden premium range. Love it.

Their designer was great. We got designs from them all which were all much of a muchness. The howden one listened and add in some extra bits we wanted.

We used our own kitchen fitter who actually made the most difference, he made some suggestions, changed some stuff round and that was great.

We found our own worktop quartz place as the Howden's one didn't come in a long enough lenght.

We were having an extension built so used the builder's electrician and plumber. #

I think first step is go to a few places and get them to draw you up some plans. Think about what you like and don't like about current kitchen and bathroom.

There's lots of 'what worked in your new kitchen' threads on here.

Our fitter recommended B&Q as good kitchens

We used a local bathroom supplier for our new bathrooms, they drew up a plan and recommended a couple of plumbing firms.

I've had a Howdens and a B&Q kitchen. Both good, it's an excellent fitter that's important!!

Howdens was better overall and their kitchens come already assembled. Spend a bit of extra money on worktops and fittings if you can, makes a difference.

Agree fitter is the most important thing! We were on a budget and eventually went for Wickes, which arrived flatpack and we built the cabinets ourselves to save kitchen fitter time/money. Sourced the worktops, tap, sink, appliances and cupboard handles elsewhere. Kitchen fitter liked the quality of the Wickes cabinets (Benchmarx are the same, they just arrive built) and said he also rates Howdens, to some extent B&Q, but doesn't like IKEA.

DIY kitchens they have a showroom just outside of pontefract good quality the units come ready built so easier to install, you do have to have all the measurements first but we got wickes to come and measure then went down to their showroom for a qoute and used their printed plan to go to DIY wickes for same items was £2000 more expensive then DIY, also allow for rewiring, replastering when you take the units out flooring and a fitter so the £2000 we saved on the units went on the rest of it

Bathrooms:
Wouldn't touch Victoria Plum with a bargepole based on online reviews & our builders experiences.
Victorian Plumbing were OK but delivery was repeatedly delayed & I had to chase them.
Drench were a little more expensive but their customer service and delivery were great - we are using them again in a month or so for our other bathroom.
Look at the makes of what you actually buy too. I went with Hudson Reed taps & shower upstairs. They are pretty good, FIL is a plumber and thought they looked decent quality when fitting them, but after 18 months I've found a few issues - smaller shower head holder not locking into place anymore, keeps sliding down, bits needing tightening up... I'm paying a bit more for better quality stuff downstairs, probably the Crosswater traditional range.

Kitchens:
Had several bad word of mouth reviews of Wren so avoiding. Most of the issues seem to be with the fitting service though so probably OK if you use an independent fitter. Reviews of Magnet suggested they are overpriced compared to similar companies so have avoided.
We're currently looking at DIY, Benchmarx, Howdens and a local independent company who make their own. I'm leaning towards either DIY or the independent as both offer wooden painted doors rather than PET foil/vinyl but undecided.

Another vote for DIY kitchens- amazing units, great price. We didn’t bother going to showroom. Had a design done by an independent and then sent the plans and they fill your shopping basket for you. Fitter was very impressed by the quality- and they all come rigidly assembled so very fast to fit.

I planned the kitchen ,myself, then got Wren to do a 3D mockup. They quoted me £43k for cabinets and appliances, no fitting. I ended up getting my units from DIY Kitchens - cost £9k, not including appliances.

We’re going with Howdens. Based on friends experiences. We could go with DIY but I can’t be bothered with the faff of making sure we have all the extra bits. I’m happy to have our local Howdens see us through - easier to sort any missing bits etc. it’s not cheap but is in line with what I expected. Will be about 21k but that includes Neff hide and slide ovens and hob, a dishwasher and fridge freezer.

We’ve had Howdens in the past through a builder. It was ok and reasonable price. This time we went for B+Q as advised by a different builder. The kitchen is lovely, but it’s very much down to the skill of the fitters! A friend also had a B+Q kitchen fitted by B+Q and they did a rubbish job!

Thanks all... very interesting.

We're on a much much smaller budget than I suspect and can see many of your are... and I forgot, tiling of floor and walls. Walls I'd love to do myself.

Useful information - thank you.

IKEA are probably one of the most budget friendly options, or DIY. You could possibly cut IKEA costs further by using an independent fitter but assembling the units yourself (if you are any good at flat pack) so you aren't paying a fitter to do this...

Tiling can be expensive - patterned layouts take longer & therefore cost more tobgave installed (we have herringbone in our shower cubicle and regular brick pattern on 3 walls - the herringbone area took as long as the other 3 walls!).

Ours was2 double floor units, one corner floor unit, one sink unit, one floor drawer unit , four double wall units, vinyl wrapped ones, cornices plinths 2 laminate worktops, stainless steel sink with drainer and cost £3000

I have just had this Howdens Kitchen fitted in my new extension, the flooring which is click vinyl is from there as well. They have been brill, from design to installation which has taken over a year due to the builders waiting list. I am really impressed with the quality of it too.

We went with DIY kitchens. Fantastic quality and value.

We had a an absolute nightmare with Howdens, despite DH's company having a contract worth hundreds of thousands to Howdens annually (so you'd think they'd have made a bit of effort). We had wrong units, missing units, full size fronts for half narrow width drawers, and then a bill for a piece of worktop we never had - they wanted to come round and inspect our kitchen to make sure we weren't lying. On one occasion, after a catalogue of disasters, one of their managers actually drive to our house to bring a missing piece. The units were good quality, but I'd never use them again.

I’ve just had a benchmarx kitchen fitted; I’d not heard of them but the fitter recommended them over howdens and he himself had a benchmarx kitchen in his own house.
To top it - they came in £2k cheaper than howdens for all the units and worktops - and I’m talking £5k rather than £7k, not a super large space or expensive choice!
Altogether including units, appliances, full rewire and all electrics, replaster and new ceiling, fitting and new karndean floor, it came in at just under 13k. And I love it!

We had a builder we had used before. We asked his advice and he said he uses Magnet trade. So we rang his contact from magnet who came out and measured up
and gave us a plan. We agreed and builder fitted it. I'm not an expert on kitchens and got fed up of the endless decisions! but trusted the builder. He arranged electrician and plasterer

A couple of years ago I got my kitchen redone and was wondering the same thing as you. I found this company who was actually based down the road from me and I'm so glad I went with them. The quality is amazing and it looks stunning. I would definitely recommend them x Good luck!!!