New kitchen do's and don'ts

[ChristmasCrumpet]

We're looking at a property, where we would knock the existing kitchen into the dining room for one large kitchen with a small seating area, more like a sofa with a coffee table than a proper eating space. There is an existing separate dining room elsewhere.

We're looking at the cheapest way to get a decent end result, because the kitchen will then be quite large, probably 25ft by 18ft.

I'd like, but not essential, to have an island, and other than that, the only thing I don't want is ultra modern gloss look. I like Neptune looking kitchens, but also have been looking on Wren and they've got some really lovely stuff.

I was set on Wren, until a builder friend told us they were shoddy quality. So I looked at Howdens and thought they lacked the wow of some of the Wrens, and then found they were expensive, and same builder friend says their customer service is terrible. Magnet seem so so.

Can anyone else recommend a company to use, or share their experiences of the companies I've mentioned?

Thank you x

Anyone?

DIY kitchens were brilliant for us. We went into Wren as they're great for the design and advice but ended up going with DIY - would recommend.

Thank you

Did you essentially use the design/style/plan from Wren and then purchase as close to that from DIY?

Don't go near Magnet. They have a terrible reputation.

If you go with howdens do NOT get their own brand appliances (oven, dishwasher etc). We did and are on our 3rd oven in 10 years.

IKEA, fit your own and save £££

DIY kitchens. Used for my own house and a,so several rental's. Excellent quality, style and price.

Wren the pushy sales staff are awful and no one beat DIY in both price and quality within the usual,set of suppliers

DIY kitchens.

they have a planner on line, and in their show room which is well worth a visit if you can possibly get there. Units arrive built & I've never heard a builder who doesn't like them

lots of colours but you can get them bespoke as well. Price of that varies kitchen to kitchen.

@idontknow54789 @MarieG10 @Pinkpinkpink15

Would you mind sharing the size of your kitchen and the total ball park cost from DIY?

A pic would be amazing as well, although I completely understand if not.

I hadn't heard of DIY kitchens anywhere other than MN, but they seem to get good press. The only physical showroom is Yorkshire though, I think - did you all visit in person prior to purchasing?

We have a Howdens kitchen and it's fine. Although I agree with pp - don't use their appliances. I do think they're quite basic though so if you want to do super clever things, you might want to go with someone else.

It was also reasonably priced. A lot of the price for howdens is from the builder adding a surcharge so that can be an issue.

Howdens kitchen, don't get their appliances though

Gloss doors as matt ones soak up oils from your skin and the fingerprints can't be cleaned off

Do you have to use a high street company? We got declined finance by wren, took the plans to a local company and it really hasn’t been that much more expensive, just have to pay it off quicker as financed ourselves on a 0% card. It’s a hundred times better quality, we could have any colours, and my work tops, any size of unit, all handmade.

We have a Wren kitchen and it's lovely but we did use the premium range AND some of the cabinets came with Howdens labels on them..... so I'm guessing they are much of a muchness.

The most important thing you do is find a good independent fitter/joiner.

Otherwise my other suggestions are
if its going to be dual use is get the quietest extractor fan you can find.

choose your own appliances and think very carefully about how you use the kitchen and where you might want plug sockets, USB ports, TV ariel ports etc.

Avoid wood in any areas likely to get damp/stained.

Yes, we essentially used the design from Wren then brought from DIY. A lot of people say they're much cheaper but we actually found the prices roughly the same as Wren - both came in about £18k for us.

@ChristmasCrumpet my kitchen is tiny. It's 3m x 3m but it has a walk way along the back wall from the outside door to a hallway basically losing 1m. so left with a U shape. Each time I've worked it out (have changed my mind about 'the look' it has come out around £2000 for the cabinets & trim.

plus it'll be less labour as the cabinets are pre built.

Im still renovating other areas & will do the kitchen last as that door is the access door for all the trade stuff and I'm waiting so they don't have to be super careful not to damage a new kitchen.

i live at the top of Hampshire & have been to the show room twice. It's great to see all the kitchens, finishes, colour. The staff are great, very patient!!

they're very good at picking up on bits you have missed that you need.

I've seen a few installed in 'real' houses & I've never heard anything bad IRL or on here (& that's a minor miracle!!)

I've had a few plans & pretty computer generated pictures done by various other kitchen places, they were nice to 'see' the kitchen, BUT hopeless in doing things like placing the fridge in x corner and ignoring the fact that the gas supply was there! Having been told & been provided with a plan of the bare kitchen 😩

We used Ikea and are really happy. Lots f virtual sessions to help design it. We paid for them to do all installation etc.

I was loathe to go with Wren, as I'd heard so many negative stories. I wanted to go DIY kitchens, but they didn't do the interest free credit like Wren.

Now my wren kitchen is fitted, I absolutely love it. I sourced my own appliances, as the wren range is pretty limited. Got my own tap and sink too. Great deal from Wren on the quartz worktop.

Don't use their fitters though. First who came round couldn't measure properly. Wren changed him at my request... To someone who gaslit me and spoke to my builder who was on site rather than me about important design decisions.

As soon as he left, I told my builder I no longer cared about the interest free credit option on the fitting and please could he quote me.

Best thing I ever did (although the balance on my interest free credit cards would disagree!)

So I second PP. If you go with Wren, or any kitchen tbh, find yourself a decent fitter. Makes all the difference.

As others have said the kitchen will only look great if you have an excellent fitter, makes so much difference. Ask friends/family etc. Wren has a very poor rep for delivering damaged items. The main advice is to buy on credit card/finance. If you have an issue the finance company will help secure a resolution. The last two kitchens we have bought in the last two years (for holiday let & B2L) have been from Homebase, good quality all delivered without a hitch. Would recommend.

So one kitchen 10mx7. Includes an island 1.8x 3m. Units on two walls with top notch appliances. Includes all Quartz tops.
Utility is 2x 3 with cupboards and free standing freezers

Circa £17k for all the kit. Fitted several years ago and still in top notch condition.

We went for Howdens they were great

https://pineland.co.uk/services/

We got a solid wood kitchen 5 years ago from this company. The entire units are solid wood. Painted in a colour of our choice (can colour match to F&B etc). Excellent quality and service. We have a large kitchen, including island, worktops, taps, and butler sink. All in it was under £10k.

We've just done a complete house renovation including new kitchen. We went to all the high street stores. Our builders wouldn't touch wren or magnet due to poor build/construction. We found an independent supplier who worked from him home. No show room etc so much cheaper. He had access to multiple companies, hundreds of designs and colours etc. Our carpenter had also fitted kitchens and did a fabulous job. We went to a handle shop and bought our own. Quality handles can make all the difference.

We had the space for an island, but decided on a peninsular. We had 1 set of cupboards go to the ceiling. No dust on top to clean and more space. Get far more sockets than you'd think you need. Consider plinth storage (see pics) if you need more storage. Make use of even small gaps. Get drawers instead of having to bend down to the back of cupboards.

Issues: I wanted a sink with a little basket to collect debris and make it easier to put in the bin. Ours is a butler sink, but I can only think the actual plug hole is far too small! With the basket in it, its very slow to drain, even with no debris in it. With the basket removed, its still woefully slow.
We had a bin cupboard put in for recycling, but we still need a stand alone bin. The bin cupboard has a large gap at the top. Its a waste of space and the flimsy plastic 'shelf' above the bin isn't strong enough to be useful as a shelf.

We went with DIY Kitchens too. Excellent quality and customer service. Lots of bespoke options too. They'll colour match any colour and will customise most units.