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Original poster

Do you rate Magnet or John Lewis kitchens?

52 replies

mrsdarcy · 16/03/2006 13:27

Our kitchen is being ripped out tomorrow and we're getting some building work done before fitting a new kitchen. We'll be without a kitchen for a couple of months. I've had quotes from Magnet and John Lewis who were both rather expensive, I thought. I am a bit worried that Magnet's reputation seems rather patchy, and John Lewis wanted to do something wierd with the microwave housing.

The builders have said they could fit an off-the-peg kitchen from somewhere like Wickes or Howdens but my main concern about doing that is that we need to fit a few applicances into rather a tight space and I dread being told "sorry love, your washing machine isn't going to fit"! So I think I would quite like that side of things to be someone else's problem.

Any suggestions?

Thanks Smile

OP posts:
bossykate · 16/03/2006 13:35

we had a magnet kitchen in our last house (btw - always amazes me when they're described as cheap - but then, as i found out, the sky's the limit when it comes to kitchens) and imho, these are the pros and cons:

pros

  • good quality carcases and drawer runners etc that last
  • great range i thought - from very traditional to uber modern
  • good range of work surfaces available - granite, corian, wood etc
  • the finished kitchen looked really good, i was really pleased with it
  • the design of the kitchen worked really well

cons

  • if you are an ethical shopper, they have had a bad reputation for industrial relations in the past
  • not cheap (considering a magnet kitchen doesn't have much cachet - but the quality is good for the price)
  • "project management" of the job, v. v. poor
  • customer service poor

wickes have a good reputation for their units. they have a design service that you can use if you're worried about fitting things in. ikea kitchens also have a good reputation.

hth.

bossykate · 16/03/2006 13:35

we had a magnet kitchen in our last house (btw - always amazes me when they're described as cheap - but then, as i found out, the sky's the limit when it comes to kitchens) and imho, these are the pros and cons:

pros

  • good quality carcases and drawer runners etc that last
  • great range i thought - from very traditional to uber modern
  • good range of work surfaces available - granite, corian, wood etc
  • the finished kitchen looked really good, i was really pleased with it
  • the design of the kitchen worked really well

cons

  • if you are an ethical shopper, they have had a bad reputation for industrial relations in the past
  • not cheap (considering a magnet kitchen doesn't have much cachet - but the quality is good for the price)
  • "project management" of the job, v. v. poor
  • customer service poor

wickes have a good reputation for their units. they have a design service that you can use if you're worried about fitting things in. ikea kitchens also have a good reputation.

hth.

bossykate · 16/03/2006 13:35

oops Blush

Original poster
mrsdarcy · 16/03/2006 14:17

Thanks Kate. I agree about cost - we had one quote for over £40k Shock - and it didn't even give us much worksurface or storage - and our kitchen isn't very big.

I'll see if I can persuade DH to come to Wickes and B&Q with me.

I quite like some of the Ikea kitchens but the unit interiors are white melemime (I think) and I would like them to be wooden or at least veneered.

OP posts:
Original poster
mrsdarcy · 16/03/2006 18:00

.

OP posts:
TheBlonde · 16/03/2006 18:07

We have a JL one. It was already in the house but it is pretty robust apart from the kickboards which are crappy

Original poster
mrsdarcy · 16/03/2006 19:17

Falling-off crappy or chip/scratch crappy?

OP posts:
Littlefish · 16/03/2006 19:47

Ours is John Lewis. They were fabulous from start to finish. Their design was good. I thought their price was reasonable, and their fitting was excellent. Their aftersales service was also great. Can't recommend them highly enough.

Can you ask John Lewis to re-think their idea for the microwave?

puff · 16/03/2006 19:50

I chose a John Lewis kitchen in our last house - it was excellent quality - I loved it.

Only problem we had was when the oven was fitted, somehow the whole thing was live - gave dh a massive electric shock Shock.

GDG · 16/03/2006 19:50

We've got a magnet kitchen. Tbh it's annoying me - there are little stoppers behind the doors that supposedly stop the doors going into the cupboard iyswim. Lots of them are falling off and we have to keep screwing them back in.

Also, the door which covers the fridge door looks like it's warped or something. It fits flush to the next door at the top, but sticks out at the bottom. That's driving me nuts too!

Otherwise, I love it! JoolsToo had it put in so I have no idea about the service.

GDG · 16/03/2006 19:51

OH, and we put a 'cheap' kitchen in our old house to get it sold. It was from homebase but was actually a magnet kitchen (told by the guy who fitted it - someone we know who is a fitter for Magnet)

TheBlonde · 16/03/2006 20:07

our kick boards are falling off crappy
all the built in appliances are smeg - they are also rubbish

Original poster
mrsdarcy · 16/03/2006 20:19

Littlefish - their plan for the microwave - we want wall units 900mm high but they only do housing for a microwave in units 720mm high, so he suggested using a drawer front as a filler to take the cupboard up to the right height. I can't imagine how it would look, but I think it sounds rather dodgy. I really don't want to put the microwave on the counter as I can't spare the workspace.

TheBlonde, that's a shame about the Smeg appliances. I like the look of their stuff but I don't think we are planning any in the new kitchen. DS2 desperately wants a pink Smeg frige!

Which JL/Magnet kitchens did you have, GDG and Puff? We like the Vincenza from Magnet and the Richmond from JL (both oak shaker)

OP posts:
Passionflower · 16/03/2006 22:06

We put a Magnet kitchen in (it was top of their range not a cheaper one)and I will never have any dealings with them ever again. I wouldn't say that the units are particularly good quality and the customer service is pants.

Sorry wouldn't touch them with a v. long barge pole.

GDG · 16/03/2006 22:13

\link{http://www.magnet.co.uk/kitchens/traditional/charleston_bone.asp\this one}

I love it actually - we have those handles and we have white tiles and deep red above, a bit like in teh picture. We have beech effect type worktops and I'd like to change them to granite eventually.

GDG · 16/03/2006 22:14

But we don't have any of those pillar effect things and no doors with glass in either.

zubb · 16/03/2006 22:18

we got a quote from Magnet for our kitchen and they were really expensive for what it was. We found that the local independant firms were a lot cheaper than we thought they would be, and spent more time trying to get it right.

Passionflower · 16/03/2006 22:31

\link{http://www.magnet.co.uk/kitchens/traditional/bloomsbury.asp\here} is ours. I have to be honest, it does look gorgeous. We have the solid beech worktops and lovely handmade tiles in dark blue. I wouldn't buy from them again though! Our purchasing experience culminated with DH having a stand-up row with the manager outside the store (manager was just on his way out to an apt when we arrived)First they sent the wrong sink, our fitter cut the hole for this sink before I saw it. Then they sent the right sink, but it had a huge crack in it and also the hole the fitter had cut was too big. They had the sink in the showroom which would fix the problem for us but the manager was refusing to let us have it despite that it was the lack of a kitchen sink that was preventing us from moving into our house! In the end DH got an underling (who also thought the manager was being an idiot)to put him on the phone to head office who authorised the underling to let us have the sink. I so wish I could have seen the managers face when he got back to the showroom and found 'his' sink gone. Grin We also bought a fridge freezer from them that got 'lost' twice and has broken down three times in the 3.5 years that we've had it. It is a whirlpool (don't buy one) Angry

puff · 16/03/2006 22:32

I can't remember the name of it - it was about 6 years ago now

GDG · 16/03/2006 22:34

Ours is 6 yrs old too Puff - see if you can find it on the website - I'm very nosey!

puff · 16/03/2006 22:38

I've had a look at the JL website but can't see anything about their range of kitchens......

Mumbojumbo · 16/03/2006 22:43

Magnet were pants!

We refitted our kitchen 2 years ago (whilst I was pregnant with ds2). Well, you could have a baby quicker than you could get a kitchen installed!

Carcasses damaged, doors damaged, shelves wobbled, onsite survery was 5 mins - the guy couldn't get out of the door fast enough), they were not interested when things went wrong. We had so many rows with them about sub-standard parts and a meeting with the local manager culminated in DH requesting he left our house. It was a total nightmare experience.

Eventually got the new kitchen installed, it's OK - not great. Would I go there again - never!

GDG · 16/03/2006 22:49

Ohsorry PUff, I thought you meant Magnet.

puff · 16/03/2006 22:51

typical John Lewis though, not to have their range to view online - they'll catch up eventually!

Original poster
mrsdarcy · 16/03/2006 23:03

Those kitchens are lovely Passionflower and GDG. I liked both of them in the showroom but didn't like the column things on the Charleston one. I bet it looks great without them. The one we are interested in is \link{http://www.magnet.co.uk/kitchens/modern_classics/vicenza.asp\here} although the posts here about Magnet are confirming some of my reservations about them. The John Lewis kitchen is similar.

It's the granite worktop that's bringing the price up so much. I'd compromise on a wooden one if I didn't think it would make the whole room look like a tree house!

I did go to a local kitchen shop but I didn't like the designer and he really rushed the design, which put me off - if he's like that when he's trying to sign me up, what would he be like once he has my money? I guess it will be worth trying some other lcoal ones though.

Better get back to emptying out the current kitchen before the builders come Smile. My DD (8 months) is bellowing in the background and I have SO much still to pack up.

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