Ashley Ann Kitchens

OllyBJolly · 2023-07-04T19:25:40+00:00

Anyone used them? Fab reviews, and it’s a Scottish company who make all their own units. I’m very underwhelmed by the design I’ve received - less work surface, less cupboard space and one cupboard will open across a worktop thus making it largely unusable. Feeling more than a bit disappointed as they’re not cheap.

readsalotgirl63 · 04/07/2023 20:43

I would recommend DIY kitchens. Have used them twice and really pleased.

Sturmundcalm · 05/07/2023 07:34

no but if scottish made is important to you i was in kitchen depot they other day and was told they make all their units (to order) in hillington. haven't used them yet though.

Original poster

OllyBJolly · 07/07/2023 12:23

Just to update - I contacted the designer to tell her I was disappointed and she has come up with further designs that are much closer to what I am looking for.

I'm feeling much more confident now. It's not just about the company being Scottish - although it's important to me that it is owner managed rather than a big corporate focused on squeezing as much out of customers as they can. I like that they have their own installers who they manage so I'm not having to chase electricians/joiners etc.

Thanks @readsalotgirl63 and @Sturmundcalm for your replies.

OP posts:

User6424678852 · 09/07/2023 09:06

We have an Ashley Ann kitchen and I’m not hugely impressed. It’s nice enough, but I’d put it on a par with an ikea kitchen.

The doors are quite fragile and relatively easily damaged. One was damaged by the fitter bumping into it with his toolbox (and replaced of course), and then another damaged by me bumping into it with a washing basket. It was not a big impact - I would have thought nothing of it until I saw the damage.

The fitting is OK but not great. We’ve had them back a couple of times to adjust doors that were out of alignment. I can see, looking at it now, that the integrated fridge door is yet again misaligned. There are also (small) gaps where the top and bottom cupboards meet the walls and we will mastic these ourselves as the fitter didn’t do it. There were protruding screws on internal units which caused damage to other fittings. The trim on the edge of the worktop is just fractionally off - slightly higher than the worktop itself - so it collects dust and crumbs and means it has to be actively cleaned rather than just wiped down, which I suspect might affect its longevity. There are visible messy joins on the kick plates. There are too few drawers, and some cupboards are half depth when they should really have been full. I don’t believe it was designed with any real thought for how it would be used.

However, it looks nice (if a little bland), the quality of internal fittings is good. I like the huge cutlery drawer under the hob, the corner base unit with carousel for pans, and the spice rack above the hob.

ProseccoOnTap · 11/07/2023 14:58

For those that used DIY kitchens - how did you find someone to install it?

I'm in Edinburgh & finding decent reliable tradesmen is hard.

readsalotgirl63 · 12/07/2023 08:04

We used DIY kitchens but dh did the installation.

TheGaffer · 13/07/2023 06:43

User6424678852 · 09/07/2023 09:06

We have an Ashley Ann kitchen and I’m not hugely impressed. It’s nice enough, but I’d put it on a par with an ikea kitchen.

The doors are quite fragile and relatively easily damaged. One was damaged by the fitter bumping into it with his toolbox (and replaced of course), and then another damaged by me bumping into it with a washing basket. It was not a big impact - I would have thought nothing of it until I saw the damage.

The fitting is OK but not great. We’ve had them back a couple of times to adjust doors that were out of alignment. I can see, looking at it now, that the integrated fridge door is yet again misaligned. There are also (small) gaps where the top and bottom cupboards meet the walls and we will mastic these ourselves as the fitter didn’t do it. There were protruding screws on internal units which caused damage to other fittings. The trim on the edge of the worktop is just fractionally off - slightly higher than the worktop itself - so it collects dust and crumbs and means it has to be actively cleaned rather than just wiped down, which I suspect might affect its longevity. There are visible messy joins on the kick plates. There are too few drawers, and some cupboards are half depth when they should really have been full. I don’t believe it was designed with any real thought for how it would be used.

However, it looks nice (if a little bland), the quality of internal fittings is good. I like the huge cutlery drawer under the hob, the corner base unit with carousel for pans, and the spice rack above the hob.

This is super helpful…we’d shortlisted Ashley Ann as we were looking for quality and so were happy to pay a bit more. We were impressed with the showroom but this sounds disappointing. Just about to make the decision so this is very well timed! Thanks

rattling · 13/07/2023 17:42

I have an Ashley Ann kitchen and have decided not to be disappointed as our design was amazing - they fitted everything we need into a fairly small space and created exactly the style we wanted from a collection of photos. I imagine that is very dependant on the skills of whichever designer you are assigned. The Iroko worktop is bulletproof, and the carcass construction great (it is nearly 10 years old). The doors are rubbish though, I'm saving to replace them which is trickier as they aren't all standard size. They started to look shoddy after a couple of years and our complaints were dismissed - supposedly we must go around kicking them.

RedRosesPinkLilies · 15/07/2023 00:04

They fitted our wardrobes and I was not impressed. It was a while ago - so I can’t remember exactly why - but I know they cut corners on installation- they didn’t finish round the top of the wardrobes (cornicing) till I told them to. I didn’t even used to be that confident - but I couldn’t believe they were going to walk out and leave the job half done.

DH was keen to use them - because a Scottish company - but absolutely no chance were they doing our kitchen after that.