What the f***k am I going to do about my kitchen - full service magnet, Ikea with conrete/quartz worktops or B&Q or shall I just shoot myself

[splodge2001]

I'm having more trouble with this than natural childbirth (though at least with a kitchen I can decide im not going to go through with it)

We live on the 7th floor of a central london mansion block (so access isn't great) and we don't have a car. Our kitchen is a small galley and it desperately needs replacing. We have no cash - we'd borrow from the mortgage at a favourable 2.5%.

I am totally confused about what way to go. So far we have become casually acquainted with Magnet (seems to be good quality but 10k minimum), Ikea (also seems to be 10k minimum inc appliances, Cooke and Lewis at B&Q.

I'd like a high gloss white kitchen with no handles on doors, quartz or concrete worktops and clever storage solutions. I'd like to do it as cheaply as possible but also with the minimum hassle. I get unstuck at this point coz I can't put a value on the hassle aspect. DH is good with DIY but we dont have a car and its not worth him taking time off work to do it. Our flat is tiny and DD is only 3months, so hassle needs to be kept to a minimum.

What shall I do? I'm an awful project manager /planner can't work out where 2 start. Can't visit lots of DIY places as we have no CAR! yesterday went to B&Q on Old Kent Road and was a bit too stressful trying to find somewhere to BF (ended up in ASDA cafe.

Does anyone have any advice - ways to get minimum hassle at little cost. Could I buy own appliances and worktops to save, are fitters from Magnet/Ikea a needless expense or are they much more efficient.

AND AND AND what about concrete - so fa only found intimidating interior design website that supply and am a bit embarrassed to call in case they laugh at me for daring to think I can possibly afford it.

One more thing...if you're getting worktops by someone else at what point to you call them in - when the kitchen is already done?

ps. why am i so stupid? I have a Bsc from a top Russell group Uni and I really really cant my head around an f-ing solution for my horrid kitchen.

Warning about Magnet - friend of mine used them and the work was shoddy, expensive and they ended up going to court about paying the final bill on a kitchen they weren't happy with.

We had an Ikea kitchen which we loved. the beauty of it is having pull out drawers rather than cupboards as you can load much more in, in a more organised way and get things out really easily.

We used one of Ikea's fitters and we wouldn't do that again as he really wasn't very good.

As for appliances I'd look at Neff, Miele and Bosch.

We had a kitchen put into our holiday house nearly 2 years ago. I can't stress how much you should think about what you need and how it will work for you (lot of that going on above!)

We knew the dimensions, had a rough plan, then went to Magnet (UK) and talked through the options. They made some sensible suggestions and said they could do it for £10k minimum + appliances. I thanked them for their time.

I also checked out a local kitchen company in France = they could do it for 6k euros.

Then we sorted out our plan again, went to IKEA, had it delivered - whole thing cost about 2k euros. Marseilles IKEA is obviously a lot more efficient than others as everything arrived on time with all the bits. We sourced appliances separately and cheaply.

DH fitted it and it is fab.

I know a website that has some Neff appliances from the 2008 range, so discontinued. Hence they are a bit of a bargain!

CECE tell me please please what's the name. Interesting about Howdens and the Home Show - I do a great impression of the presenter (im not a geordie)anyway their stuff always looks fab.

gonna have a proper consultation on sat at magnet - they reckon 4k for fitting - i reckon they're prob desperate for biz right now ...so I fancy saying that im prepared to pay 500 quid a day for fitting + a 20% middleman fee, whaddaya all reckon to that. what's a reasonable day rate for a builder?

they must have a huge profit margin on units - how much can a piece of crappy chipboard cost to make??? they sell them for over £200 each even at sale price

Hi this is all very interesting as we are going through the same process at the moment. We have a quote from Howdens but our builder is recomending benchmark as an alternative has anyone got any experience of their kitchens?

£4K for fitting a tiny kitchen - are you mad?????? that seems exhorbitant to me, although i admit dont live in central london

even if it includes everything ( labour and parts), flooring and redecoration. i bet it doesnt

£500 a day woudl pay for 2 men and 2 boys - how on earth will you fit them all in your tiny galley kitchen??

have you itemised what you want done?

eg electrics - what lights you need, new switches and sockets

do you need any plastering work done?

what about tiling / splashbacks?

what about flooring? what do you have now and what whats your new floor?

plumbing - are you moving the locations of waste pipes, sink, dishwasher and washing macien, tumble dryer? otherwsise its just disconnection and refitting

redecoration - are you doing the whole room? Will your ceiling need patched if you are putting in new downlights? what about teh woodwork in the room - will you need new skirting/facings if you are moving units, doors etc

etc etc etc

KRISTINAM

4k does sound mad - 1k per day

It needs everything. electrics,tiling, splashbacks, plumbing, though not worktops

the builder needs to cover the wages of any subcontrators. im clueless - £250 per day?

Just had a wicks kitchen. V pleased with customer service, quality etc. Would suggest you get design done then check Internet prices and see if they'll price match. Do this with whoever you choose as it's less hassle if it all comes from the same place and there's plenty to be saved. Also wicks often have interest free deals sometimes with delayed payment. 10k sounds like a lot for a small galley kitchen ours was more like 8k incl appliances, fitting, tiles etc and while not huge it's not small either approx 3.5m sq

I currenty have my benchmarx kitchen sitting in the new extension waiting to be fitted. They are like Howdens in that they sell to trade ony. If you compare their brochure to the Wickes brochure you will notice that they are the same! Even use the same photo for some of the ranges. They do however have different names! Wickes/Benchmarx all part of the Travis Perkins group. The main difference is that they have a longer guarantee on the cupbaords than Wickes. Also their carcasses come ready made, whereas Wickes come flat packed.

The website for Neff appliances is appliancesdirect.co.uk

As for fitting, my builder is charging me £2000 to fit my new kitchen and my new utility room. The utility room is the size of my old kitchen and the new kitchen is 4.2 metres by 3 metres. That includes timber worktops but not tiling. As it is all in an extension the electrics etc have all been done already as part of the build.

splodge - but dont you have plumbing and electrics in your kicthen alreday? [puzzled]

Even if you dont have a dishwasher you must have hot, cold and waste to your sink???

And don't you have any sockets or lights at all? Do you have a gas fridge????

You dont need a plumber and an electrician EVERY DAY for four days!!! Its a tiny kitchen. Where will you put them???

And does this quote include redecoration as well? And flooring??

Still sounds mad.

honestly, if you dont want ripped off you NEED to write out a detailed job list from your kitchen plan

Blimey - that's bonkers! Don't forget there is no set price for places like Magnet when it comes to fitting - they charge what the heck they like - what they think they can! Also, they don't have an army of trained people - they grab who they can, when they can and they don't care what the work is like.

I seriously think you'd be better off with a plan from say Magnet or Wickes then give it to a local builder with a trade account - he'll then get it at cost price for you.

He'll then work with a electrician (must be part P registered and issue you a cert afterwards) and do it that way.

A decent builder/fitter can talk you through it all and yes, as Kristina says you need a detailed job list or else this kitchen will rocket in price and you'll not end up with what you want.

Thanks for the comments on Benchmarx cece. The builder is very keen on them but few people seem to have heard of them. Our build is going so fast at the moment I need to make a decision!

geogteach - I think Benchmarx are fairly new to the market in kitchens. The designer man was really helpful and listened to what I wanted rather than put in things he thought I wanted! By the stage I saw him I had a very good idea of what I did want. Although he did come up with some good modifications which I added to my design. I'll let you know once it is fitted The builder is starting tomorrow (I hope)

KristinaM - I love your kitchen!! It looks amazing. Where did you get the units? Can I ask how big your kitchen is and do you have a kitchen table?

I went 2 bed with Benchmarx kitchens in my head - it was a dizzying feeling - rather light gas n air!

Woke up to letter from student loans co demanding 6k immediately - hold on i thought - that's my new kitchen anway

Sorry yes KristinaM- we have got electricity - but I mean lights need doing.

crucial question CECE - how much 4 the BENCHMARX kitchen - i notice wickes has a big sale on so im wondering if WICKES might be cheaper.

Ah I went to Wickes several times and whittled the price down, then got an extra 10% off and then got a free sink. I then went to Benchmarx and got them to beat the price by about £200.

He needed the quote to check it was the same spec and then the next day came back to me with the new price. It is exactly the same as the Wickes kitchen expect the cupboard carcasses are pre made, the Wickes ones come flatpacked. We went for the Wickes Glencoe/Benchmarx Perla range.

It was about £4600 for the cupboards alone (and the sink, which is £350 - cheapest I could find) but I do have a lot of cupboards! Oh and metal clever storage bits and bobs for inside the cupboards too.

The worktops came today from barncrest.co.uk. Getting excited

KristinaM, can you tell me where you got youru lovely kitchen from?

msled, we got it from here

our kitchen is in the gallery and you can see that we do indeed have a kitchen table

the room is approx 6x4m

HTH

It's a beautiful kitchen. Really love it. Thanks!
Our kitchen will be about the same length as yours but sadly only 3metres wide so we'd struggle a bit to get it as nice as yours!

I think if you design it carefully then you could have something similar.

Dear All

Been quiet for a couple of days - schools hols, having to take DS to park all the time and DD needs to be carried at all times at home.

Feel like I'm planning the Normandy Landings - and when it happens you'll know about it

Found some really great advice on the forums in www.moneysavingexpert.com Lots of people saying Benchmarx good and mixed reviews from Magnet but thought I'd share a gold nuggety secret I found out on my travels

The fab kitchen range called Cucina Colore at John Lewis (herein to be know by the moniker J-Lew, for it's chilled atmosphere and chilled champagne bar) is actually made in Birmingham by modest sounding champions of UK manufacturing industry Mereway.

They go by the name Wentworth wentworthkitchens.co.uk on the retail side and are sold direct to public at www.arena-kitchens.co.uk

Methinks maybe worth getting a J-Lew design and buying direct through wentworth or arena
or going for benchmarx/Magnet if that route is still a bit expensive.

Will see if its possible to undersell J-Lew

Also check this out [www.dealpond.com]

just put in appliance model number you want and it finds you the cheapest supplier

This is all brilliant information. I have had such a horrible day with my bag being pickpocketed at bastard Ikea today.

I've ordered a benchmarx catalogue, and found some inexpensive range cookers. Thank you all.

about your bag.

Good luck with the planning - let us know how you get on.