Kitchen Cabinet Recommendations please

[amlek]

We are planning to redo the kitchen in a couple of months time (so exciting as its long overdue!!!) but I'm getting thoroughly confused about where to buy the units.
I've had a surf through the kitchen fitters forum on Screwfix.com & they all seem adamant that the usual suspects like Homebase, B&Q, etc supply totally crappy units at inflated prices, & they don't seem to rate the likes of Howdens either....most refuse to even fit an Ikea one!
I'd be really grateful to hear where people bought their units & what their experiences have been with instore kitchen planners.
We're on a pretty limited budget but I don't want to make the mistake going too cheap & regretting it.
Any advice appreciated.

Amlek We did the same as you and the impression we got from Screwfix was that Ikea units did have some fans but it was the kitchen fitters who wanted an easy life that wouldn't fit them. Basically what they want is to get in, fit solid units (not construct + fit flat packs), whack in the worktops etc and get out and onto the next job. Anything that will slow them down is a no-no and it was that rather than the quality of the units that put them off Ikea.

From MN and other forums the end users are pretty happy with Ikea so we have decided to go that route and get Ikea to fix it as the price was comparable with a kitchen fitter. Plus if they fit them all the time they know the best way to install it. We ordered the kitchen and had the installers and customer care on the phone to us within 3 hours to give us contact numbers and arrange dates. Impressed so far with the service. We also discovered that until the end of April you get £100 giftcard for every £1K you spend on an Ikea kitchen which is an added bonus.

We just had a Wickes kitchen fitted using our own fitter.The planner at Wickes was very good and came out on site to see if we were happy with it and if there were any problems [there weren't]

Our units were painted oak and the fitter was very impressed with them.In fact he has asked for a photo of the finished kitchen for his portfolio.

He usually fits Magnet,which he said were also good.You may save on fitting costs with Magnet as the units come ready assembled=saving time.He didn't like fitting IKEA because of the srvice gap issue.

We're having the same dilemma at the moment and seem to spend all our time looking at blummin kitchens! Cost is the biggest factor for us because we need to do it on the cheap (fitting it ourselves), but we don't want something that will fall apart either. We've spent too many hours looking at the usual suspects - Ikea, Homebase, B&Q and Wickes - and Ikea keeps coming out top for us due to the variety of unit sizes and styles, the range of interior fittings, the 25 year guarantee and, of course, the cost! Their doors also feel better quality, especially the ones with the wood finish - i.e. Ikea real oak veneer or B&Q oak 'effect' (aka plastic) are the same price, so I know which ones I'd rather get. We've planned to go for a white gloss kitchen but I'm not 100% on that yet - everyone seems to have white gloss at the moment and I worry that it'll look too modern for us. I've also heard people having issues with the laminate cracking or peeling (although this seems to happen whether they're cheap or expensive units). Even so, we've priced up the white gloss style at all the DIY places and the Ikea Abstrakt is at least half the price of the others (and a bit nicer I think, as it has slightly rounded edges instead of sharp ones). But in all honesty, the main thing that puts me off Ikea is the hassle of having to pick every little bit from the warehouse and then getting right to the end to find out that something vital is out of stock - we always seem to have that problem and it's a 2 hour round trip for us! I dream of the time when they'll start delivering to Scotland! The place really does bring out the worst in people - there's always couples stood in quiet corners having heated 'discussions'

I did come across this site which is very interesting - their units are delivered rigid rather than flatpack, and if you can pay extra to have the hinges and doors fitted too (extra 15% on each unit and you have to pay for 2 man delivery). They have a great range of cabinet sizes and interior fittings, and their prices are pretty good considering they're fully assembled. Their site is a doddle to use too - you add the cabinet to your basket and it automatically tells you what else you need to buy (door, corner posts etc) so you don't leave anything out. Their worktops are a good price too. I just wish their showroom wasn't so far away - they do offer a sample door service though.

How about looking in the Howdens website?

here's a link!

Many thanks to all for your replies.

MrsL123 we sound like we are living parallel lives lol!!!! I'm deliberating the idea of gloss white units too...just not absolutely sure. DIYKitchens do look pretty good don't they - i think they got the odd positive mention on the screwfix forum too. I'd virtually written off the possibility of Ikea due to the fitting problems, but now i think i'll have to reconsider that if the £££ savings amount to such a considerable sum.
Really appreciate hearing what your research is finding - please let me know of any other revelations you come across.