Getting a new kitchen- advice please

[Ichangedmynameonce]

We are beginning to consider getting a new kitchen, will be adding to our mortgage to do so.

Our current one is 15 years old and from IKEA, it's a bit knackered

What do new kitchens cost? Can I get no obligation quotes and designs?

What's the best company in terms of quality and value?

Our current one is from IKEA and has been fine- but it was never well 'finished' IYSWIM, a few irritating gaps at the end of cupboards, worktops slightly overhanging etc.

I'd like to avoid that and I'd like a really 'finished' neat feel.

I'd also like to feel like someone who knows about this stuff could advise us on maximising the space we have and using it efficiently- our current layout has irritating things like dishwasher and sink together in most narrow spot, so you get squashed in trying to empty dishwasher, if someone else is using the sink etc (not massive I know, but if we are chsging it we might as well get what we want).

Would really appreciate ideas, advice and suggestions. I assumed a budget of 10k for average size kitchen but my friends have told me thats tiny 😖 I think we are more IKEA than Poggenpohl, budget wise!

Thank you

Watching with interest! We are about to start a similar process as part of an extension.

You can definitely get no-obligation quotes and plans. We got one from an independent firm.

You can also play around with online planners, eg DIY Kitchens have one. You “just” need to know measurements. We are looking seriously at them and they’re very competitive on price.

We plan to look at Howdens, DIY Kitchens and Benchmarx/Magnet. Get them all to draw up plans, work out who is cheapest and go to the one we like best and see if they’ll match it if that turns out to be somewhere like Howdens who don’t have transparent pricing.

Without knowing the size of the kitchen and what you want to include (appliances, boiling water tap, wine fridge etc) of course it is difficult to say whether your budget is reasonable. But from my experience it is a little low but not unachievable. Most suppliers should do a free no obligation quote and provide a design service. I think the most important thing you need to do is get the design that you like done first and then go from there. To me this is the most important bit and if there are irritating things about the current layout that annoy you there is little point buying new cupboards to replace the ones you have now in the same location and layout.

Thank you both, the info you have given is a really helpful start.

To get a design/ quote do we measure up ourselves and make an appointment?

Also, with Howdens, do we need to have the builder sorted first? My plan had been to get the design and quote and then the builder.

Thank you

We went with Wren, but I gather from threads here that the experience vastly differs depending on who you work with in the sales department as well as their fitters. We had a very good experience on the whole and used their 0% credit offer which took the financial pressure off.

Wren is midrange I suppose, but we knew that going in - we'll be selling up in a couple of years and didn't want to spend loads on it.

Pan drawers are wonderful. As are pull out racks rather than conventional cupboards. Don't have a wooden work surface, gets ruined around the sink if you're not careful and needs annual maintenance (sanding and re oiling)
If you watch these Homes under the Hammer type programs, people on there can spend very little on a brand new kitchen. I'd like to meet their fitters!

My mum recently had a new kitchen from Wren and is very pleased with it. They came and measured up for her and then we went to the showroom to have the plans drawn up.

We’ve had a quote from Howdens plus a fitter and one from a local kitchen company that sorts it all including electrics etc. The prices are very similar but the independent company is what we’re going with and the doors are painted oak rather than vinyl wrap (only £1k difference which in the scheme of things feels minimal).

including all appliances including 2 full sized single multi function oven, dishwasher, fridge freezer, hob and extractor fan, but not washing machine and tumble trigger dryer, it’ll be about £20k. That includes all trades, decorating, lighting and quartz worktop (that’s a big chunk).

Our new kitchen (average size I guess, U shaped) was from IKEA. Units, worktop, oven, hob and dishwasher, plus fitting, came in at about £7k. We found some good local fitters who did everything to a good standard.

We are in the middle of a kitchen renovation as I type. We've got ours from DIY kitchen and so far I'm very happy with it.
I went to both wren and magnet and found their designers just wanted to fill the space they were presented with. There was no attempt to be creative, if you see what I mean. And the price was definitely less at DIY.

It was actually my dad who suggested a completely flip around of the space and I'm so pleased he did. The diy kitchens planner does take some getting used to but once you've got the hang of it, you can design your own plans ad infinitum.

I would recommend this Facebook group. It's got reps from diy kitchens on, and also a few independent designers who offer advice.

I’ve just got a new ikea kitchen. It’s the 3rd one we’ve had and easily the best. The design service is so much better than it used to be.

i had it designed at Wren and it was £21k. IKEA did it for £6k and I splurged £2k on an outrageous worktop that I loved. The 6k includes a fridge a freezer a dishwasher an induction job, an oven and a microwave combination thingy.

all the drawers have lights - feels so so luxurious and really well finished.

I had a drawing done by wren. Had to pay a deposit to them to get a copy of the measurements, but I then used Oneplan to do the design. Then bought from diy kitchens. The wren deposit was refunded no problem. Using an independent designer worked really well for us and means the kitchen is very useable, not just pretty

We used Howdens. 10k is about right. We used a carpenter, a very good one. Kitchen is 3 years old and the fit is first class, no issues at all. So get a carpenter not a kitchen fitter and recommend pan draws over lots of cupboards.

Oh and I sourced handles online and had some open shelves from IKEA so it’s not too generic. I also mixed quartz with solid wood worktop in a different area.

Had a quote for my dream kitchen about 7 years ago.

£36k.

Still haven’t replaced it!

Also we had mostly Howdens own brand appliances as they were integrated and they have been great. Their cheapo dishwasher was under £150 and is in daily and cleans better than the Bosch we had.

@Benjispruce4 what you'd get for £10k 3 years ago & what you'd get now is vastly different.

@Ichangedmynameonce I suppose size is subjective, but I don't think your budgeting anywhere near enough.

My parents bought a used kitchen for their place. Harvey Jones. Solid wood so really customisable (the room is triangular). Came with range cooker, under counter fridge and freezer. £500 plus removal and transport costs. Im
holding out for a bargain like that!

Ours was 8k 18 months ago from Magnet, including range oven and dishwasher. They do the design and book it with a local fitter. Our fitter was absolutely brilliant and the kitchen units aren't flat pack so feel very solid. We did have to negotiate to get that price, I think original quote was nearer 12k.

I'm interested in this topic too! Having got quotes and made a decision back in 2018, the company we chose then went out of business (luckily, before we'd paid any deposit). We gave up at that point but we're now thinking of going around the loop again.

Our current kitchen is a good one but is past its "best before" date now, at 31 years old. It's solid oak, which was the bees knees in 1991!

I've always found the oak very difficult to clean, because it has such a deep, open grain. This time, I'm thinking of something that I can just wipe with a cloth, but I'm hesitating because I want something robust that won't need redoing again in my lifetime - so I need something that's going to last for 20+ years.

Would a slab type of door last that long I wonder?

We had a design from Wren but as PP said, it was like they were just trying to use the space, lots of awkward to reach bits, just crammed in.

We had an extension and no idea how to use the space so went to OnePlan. Karen came up with an excellent design that works for the whole family, probably saved us a fortune and really opened up the space and made the most of the light.

Kitchen from DIY kitchens using the shopping list from OnePlan - bought during lockdown whilst the showroom was closed. Fitter was a local carpenter who commented that the DIY kitchen quality is good and easy to fit. (Beware if you're tight on space though, the units come fully assembled). Carpenter also said Wren kitchens are good.

Looks great and works well. £7k for units and worktop including a small utility, appliances and fitting on top. (Basic worktop)

If I bought a new kitchen now, I would have a full height larger until, with fold up metal racks in a sort of swastika shape (sorry for horrible reference, no better description) which fold up, and which I once saw in a kitchen but don't know the name of. Or possibly narrow pull out ones which can be accessed from both sides. The key being easy access to all parts of the storage without removing things.

Howdens has its sale in October if you can wait. I had the Howdens Clerkenwell put in last year by a builder/carpenter recommended by a colleague. He did a brilliant job. It cost £18k altogether but that was £8k for all the kitchen stuff and all appliances, the rest was fitting plus a new boiler, new radiators throughout the house, new doors throughout and new door frames.

My parents have had the same kitchen put in pretty much and it cost them £6k altogether including fitting as my dad had removed the kitchen first and they had bought several appliances from ao during their Christmas sale.

The quality of Howdens stuff was great and easy for him to nip back and pick bits up as they have everything instock. The negatives were the pricing structure, you don't know how much the stuff you are buying costs as they give the price straight to your fitter to add their bits on. For example I have a square edged worktop and my parents have a rounded edge, there is barely any difference in the look but mine cost £100 more a piece of worktop. The bin cupboard is great but extortionate £140 I think, my parents opted for just a cupboard and then bought the bin attachments from amazon for about £20 and did it themselves.

The favourite part of my kitchen is having drawers instead of cupboards and my corner cupboards have 2 doors that open outwards making everything far more accessible.

How big is it? Our kitchen is big - John Lewis quoted something ludicrous like 50k, Magnet about 25k, Howdens around 15k, IKEA 6k. We went with a local independent place in the end.

Our quote from 2018 was similar! We hesitated over it for so long, the company had gone out of business by the time we decided to go ahead! 😂

We got ours from Wren, cost around £9,000 and we love it. We only have a medium-sized kitchen so obviously the money didn't stretch too far, but we are happy with how it looks and the quality. I'd read some bad reviews online after we'd ordered and thought I might regret it but it all went smoothly and we'd use them again.

I should say we probably spent another £1,000 or so on an electrician to fit some strip lights and a tiler to sort the tiling, but £10,000 all in is about how much we paid.