If budget wasn't a factor for your new kitchen, would you go with a local independent shop or not?

[LondonGrimmer]

It's our first time designing and sorting a new kitchen, and it's in our forever home.

We've got a couple of quotes in - one from Howdens and one from a local independent trader who does bespoke cabinets (which is great, as our kitchen has funny nooks/walls). Really love his design, but obvs Howdens is cheaper.

We're getting solid timber shaker cabinets (so can re-paint when bored with colour), quartz worktops and luxury vinyl tiles on the floor. Probably get Bosch integrated appliances. Have our own kitchen fitter lined up.

So, who would you go with and why? DH is risk averse and says Howdens in case there are problems down the line (he's worried local trader could to bust, but they've been established for a few years).

Any help or advice appreciated!

@Curlewwoohoo I'm so sorry to hear that, it sounds terrible 😔 Hope it was a while ago now so you're over all the pain.

@Weighnow we took your advice on board this morning... And have paid a deposit with our local independent business, who will project manage it and has all his own tradespeople (longstanding relationship and come recommended by people we know). Yes, we've paid more than going to different people for plumbing (we need our gas hob Capping, radiator moved), electrics (all new lights, underfloor heating), flooring, tipping out + disposing of all the old stuff etc.

@shockeditellyou our total spend won't be far off that amount 😳 Will make sure all sockets are in the right places. Have a technical survey next where the guy will spend around 2hrs here going through all the finer details. Am making a list of questions for him already!

Mumsnet made me do it... Free brochure arrived this morning and it looks and feels so luxurious that it feels like a gift!

I'm thinking of getting a free standing kitchen from the Olive Branch.

It's like bedtime reading for me - not that I could ever afford a proper deVol kitchen in my wildest dreams but I do like to look! (I bought the brass hanging rails for teatowels and utensils though...)

Do let us know what you decide, OP 😊

If we could afford them, then we would use the local company who put in our current kitchen in the mid 80s as it's still solid and (if I gave it a bit of tlc) would look like new.

Just to update you that we went with the local independent company and works have started this week. Communication once we'd paid our deposit has been very poor, so let's just hope everything goes smoothly. We went with their fitters and tradespeople in the end, so that it was all their responsibility (learned on here that if we chose different guys they'd possibly all blame each other when things go wrong!).

Wish us luck!

I’m thinking about a new kitchen and to use an independent or chain, and found this thread. How did it go?

Don't use Capel! Terrible appliances!

Guess what? We went with Caple as local kitchen showroom/company is a Caple one..!

Agree re: terrible. Mostly. But it was half price so DH wouldn't budge. Oven broke within four weeks, but fingers crossed has been OK since. Hate the combi grill/micro/oven/steam thing as it's a Jack of all trades and the grill thing is glass and very heavy (and narrow compared to a normal grill width). Oven is very noisy when you first put it on. Induction hob seems ok, but can't seem to get temps right for boiling rice and pasta, tho that might be down to my pans. We seldom use the wine chiller (knew we wouldn't, esp as I'm now tee-total, but dh insisted on it). FF is mediocre and has an annoying salad drawer which is at an angle when you pull it out.

We had the kitchen fitted in June and July. Was meant to take three weeks but took eight. Comms were awful with the business owner, but luckily the fitters were brilliant and kept us going. Went wildly over budget, as these things do, not helped by kitchen company owner forgetting to include costs such as all new ceiling lights, re-plumbing appliances in a different location which needed plumbing doing, and flooring.

We did at points wish we'd gone for Howden's, but they wouldn't have been able to do the bespoke cabinets we needed due to quirky kitchen layout and certain carpentry bits.

Mostly very disappointed that the brief for a kitchen-diner wasn't fulfilled due to the fact the kitchen showroom owner designed it and the plans he showed us weren't to scale. So we still haven't got a table and chairs in there as dh is convinced it'll look too cramped. Meanwhile, I absolutely hate eating at the table in our living room/dining room.

We are happy with the quality of the wooden kitchen cabinets and the layout though, so it's not all bad!

Thanks that really helps. It is really a big project getting a kitchen done isn’t it. I was thinking about moving to induction to be greener as well😫 Interesting that you ended up going over budget. Maybe I need to reduce mine and keep some reserve…
I am a bit twitchy as some bespoke suppliers have gone in or look like they might go into administration. There isn’t a lot of information about the independents and project managing to keep prices down is my idea of hell!

It is a mammoth task, and very daunting when you've never done it before like us and have no trade experience or trades in the family (well, we have sparkies but they live too far away to help).

We trusted our kitchen guy as he said it was an "all inclusive" price. So we took him at his word. But like I said, as time went on he did a bit of a disappearing at and showroom woman was completely useless and had zero customer service skills. He also hadn't allowed for painting and decorating or new radiator and plumbing. There was other stuff too, like saying we'd get 2 x pull out corner units then only one turning up. Tried to charge us £800 for the missing one!

We ended up scrimping on the LVT flooring as the local guy said the cheap stuff would be fine. It's not; it looks and feels thin and plasticky imo, so regret not borrowing some money and getting Karndean or similar. Also regret not getting Bosch appliances but DH was freaking out at costs, and Caple do now come with a 5yr parts and labour warranty.

I was grateful I wasn't working last summer as needed to be here to oversee things and make lots of decisions most days. Wouldn't want to do it all again in a hurry! We had no tap for six weeks (we don't have a downstairs tap so had to trudge upstairs to family bathroom or out to the garden tap to keep filling jugs and bottles of water, and take all dirty dishes up to the bathroom to wash...!).

Appliance wise, I wouldn't have neff unless I needed his and slide. I've had neff twice, bosch once and much prefer bosch, though I also really like AEG. Of course if I were loaded I would look at Miele or other top end brands.
I would choose an independant over a national company.

I wish we could have afforded Bosch, but the Caple stuff was half price and soooo much cheaper. We needed everything; fridge freezer, wine chiller, dishwasher, double-oven, induction hob and push downdraft extractor fan (huge cost but hob is in island so needed it). So Bosch was out of price range. As soon as we're out of the 5yr warranty though I'm hoping to swap out the top oven/grill as hate it.

Changed from gas hob to induction and love it though. Not only for aesthetics but for keeping it clean and the efficiency - heats up water quicker than the electric kettle.

We've got Neff ovens / induction and Caple everything else - and all the Caple is shit. The dishwasher and the extractor fan are particularly bad, essentially unusable. Their after care is diabolical too. I'd disregard any kitchen company that even considered supplying Caple. They're that bad.

Thanks for the feedback. Appliance wise I will keep my washing machine and tumble dryer as cheap Miele from sales. We have AEG atm for everything else and mostly lasted 10 years plus. I am not keen on fitted appliances as a pain to repair or replace.
I would like to go with Harvey Jones but feel that I might be paying through the nose for it, but like London Grimmer I don’t have tradesmen mates and I do have a day job which is paying for it!!

Quite a few independents seem to use Caple

We got a local guy, he’d done the kitchen of a house we lived in before that was amazing and done years ago. His attention to detail and the tips he gave us were brilliant (eg weren’t going to have an island and he said take a look at the counter space you’ll have, showed us the practicality of certain handles, recommended different things etc)

I'm sorry but I don't understand the scrimping on the cooker. It's the fundamental point of a kitchen.

I have had five kitchens fitted in the last 45 years. I have never, ever heard of Caple.

I'd never have built in appliances at all. Your choice is restricted and you need qualified tradesmen to replace and re-fit. You're stuck with replacing a built-in with another built-in which drastically reduces your choice. Also harder when they need repairing due to access difficulties.

We've have free standing kitchen appliances in both our new kitchens. Gives us complete freedom to choose brand/model etc and easily replace when necessary.

We've stayed in loads of holiday homes, in the UK and abroad, and really hate the built in appliances they often have. Things like fridges, washing machines, etc attached to door fronts always seem hard to open/close and often look messy as poorly fitted. I also don't like the usually cheap brands used by kitchen fitting firms where the controls are often difficult to use and/or ambiguous and you can't find instructions on the internet. At least if there's an Electrolux or Candy etc you can easily find the instructions online. The cheaper end of fitted ones also feel cheap and nasty. The only "nice" ones that have worked easily and worked well have been the likes of Miele or Bosch.

I suppose it depends on what kind of cooking/baking you want to do. A bog standard one is absolutely fine if you're basically cooking ready meals, packets/tins, etc., i.e. just heating up, which a lot of people only need it for, or for roasts etc, again, where timings and temperatures can be more flexible.

I'm very picky because I bake a lot, so I need a cooker that has a proper/steady temperature control, etc., as temperatures and timings have to be right.

I'm not a remotely bothered about cooking main meals etc where you can be a lot more flexible as to heats/timings generally.

If I didn't bake, I'd not really be too bothered as the kind of main meals etc that we cook are all pretty simple, basic, and don't really need a top quality cooker.

Oh I use my cooker and hob as little as I can get away with 😉 Not a cook nor a baker. Can't cook a roast to save my life. Spaghetti bolognese and chicken Kievs and oven chips type stuff here most nights...!

We have been happy with the Caple hob and extractor. Easy to use and efficient. Oven seems fine for the basic stuff we do too. Had it since last July and haven't baked a single cake nor biscuit in it!