Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch

Following as I’m in exactly the same boat. Had decided on DIY but seen so many of the posts about the quality of the items and the hassle so having a wobble. Also I’ve seen some of the posts complaining about the quality of delivered items have been removed because they break the ‘post a complete kitchen’ rule which gives me further wobbles. I like that HKOC are so customisable. I emailed my plan to them for a quote but not had anything back. I read that they’re very fixed. So once they’re made and delivered they can’t be adjusted at all. Not sure if that’s true.

I have a HMKOC kitchen and had a DIY Kitchens kitchen last. They are very different propositions so they can't really be compared. If I could afford HMKOC I would definitely go with them because of the difference in quality.

I've not heard of the Christchurch company but I've mentioned in a few of my posts about the fab job that tkckitchens did. The quality's is amazing and they were so helpful. They are a bit like DIY in that they're an online company but I ordered samples had video calls (lots of calls lols because I kept changing my mind) but I love my new fitted kitchen , its been over a 18 months now and I can't recommend them enough! When I bought mine they had an offer where if you sent them your quote from whichever large company they would beat it. I saved about £1700 it was the exact same kitchen I'd seen in wren and had a design plan made Xxx

Long long long lead times for HMKC. I wouldn't let a bad review put me of diy kitchens as there's so many good ones. Didn't he say that there were fixing things anyway, if it was the post I saw too. He'll probably post a happy finished review next month.

My HMKC kitchen looks amazing. Totally bespoke so it looks incredibly expensive as it fits every alcove. Looks more expensive than one 4 x the cost. Height, width, depth are all bespoke sizing within reason and units can be shaped around pillars etc. However i would never have considered DIY anyway as I wanted a breakfast cupboard 1.6m wide with bifold doors and I wanted a bespoke larder and pot ends on island. Visible butt hinges were a deal breaker for me too and oak drawers with dove tail joints. The hand painted finish is so durable and easy wipeable and colour could be changed in future. It can be quite cheap if in the sale especially if you can plan to use wider units ie it is same price for a set of drawers/unit anywhere between 600 wide to 1000mm wide.

HMKC help you with the process and design unlike DIY but there is still a lot of work as you have so much choice. I literally designed my cupboard depths around the things I had to go in them such as glass fronted display wall unit or larder or appliances in breakfast cupboard. By having so much choice it took a lot of time, really worth the effort though as I wouldnt change anything.

The thing i was most impressed about was their after sales - they seem to ensure everyone is 100% satisfied and resolve any queries quickly which seems very different to DIY where if you have issues it drags on for months. People are waiting months for paint specialist to come and look when it is obvious some batches have poor painting with no agreed date to visit to even assess. HMKC resolved things even where it was possibly not their fault.

Just seen your user name. My breakfast pantry is 1.6m wide, 1.5m and sits directly on the quartz. Looks something like this photo but doesnt have the vertical dividers on the shelves. It works so well for tea coffee making, snacks, breakfast, microwave, food mixer, bread maker, sandwich toaster etc for the kids and then shut the doors!