[speedski]

We moved into a new build a few years back and I cannot wait to get rid of the crap they fitted and go back to another Ikea kitchen fitted by a local fitter.

Yes you design it yourself, but its the ONLY thing I miss about our old house - we saved a fortune on it and then when they decided to discontinue the range we went and bought a whole new set of doors for the kitchen on 90% off.

Had we not moved I reckon that kitchen would still have been good for use 20+ years on from now.

Miss all the sensible internal fittings and recycling bins etc etc. It really was that good

[Edinburra]

Try John Lewis, we got ours done eight years ago and it still looks and feels new. Can't say any better than that..

[planemad]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Double bluff her....

https://www.clivechristianinteriors.com/new-gallery/

My firm do some electricial install work for these lads (normally in masive houses) they have a showroom in Brentwood - right by the Sugar hut.
Their attention is second to none! - I have seen wine rooms done by them costing more than £500k.
Our electrical division are Crestron/Lutron approved and lots of houses that have these kitchens will have home automation.
- We worked with these on a job for an X Factor Judge ( I will not name) a few years back which was quite funny. The judge made me a cup of tea whilse we were discussing light switching and asked if the tea was good - I said NO and did the Xfactor buzzer !

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by planemad

My firm do some electricial install work for these lads (normally in masive houses) they have a showroom in Brentwood - right by the Sugar hut.
Their attention is second to none! - I have seen wine rooms done by them costing more than £500k.
Our electrical division are Crestron/Lutron approved and lots of houses that have these kitchens will have home automation.
- We worked with these on a job for an X Factor Judge ( I will not name) a few years back which was quite funny. The judge made me a cup of tea whilse we were discussing light switching and asked if the tea was good - I said NO and did the Xfactor buzzer !

It looks beautiful stuff the pricing is as you say, up there!

[Lynxi2k]

I would recommend Howdens kitchens, they will price match give good discounts to make the sale. Wife used to work for them and have a few friends who still do. Our kitchen was from them and the quality is great. As mentioned above the carcass is standard its the doors/tops/handles that bump up the prices.

They don't fit them themselves so you can use a local carpenter/builder with a good reputation and get a better service than using company contracted fitters who may not care.

They also say they are "trade only" but will be more than happy to sell you a kitchen on a cash account if you don't want to have the fitters mark up added and are likely to get more of a discount.

[Daftasabrush]

I've been looking at kitchens with the mother recently. Benchmarx units seem better made than Howdens (plus at the local one the staff were more knowledgeable), the backs of Howdens cupboards are as thin as cardboard whereas Benchmarx are 8mm thick.

Also went and had a look at this lot: https://www.roma-interiors.co.uk/ who seem to produce nice units (carcasses looked nice and sturdy) and the guy seeded to know his stuff. Following this thread with interest.

[225]

Well I mainly kept a straight face with the Harvey Jones sales lady. She was good but kept banging on about hinges and the fact HJ hinge their doors differently so they don't drop over time etc. Good patter but bllx of at the end of the day. Their stuff was of good quality but 10 cabinets was... 11.5k NOT including painting or anything else!

It's such a rip off, if I wanted 10 standalone cabinets I wouldn't be paying 1k a pop!
diykitchens looks good and I'm trying a few local firms soon.

[planemad]

Originally Posted by 225

Well I mainly kept a straight face with the Harvey Jones sales lady. She was good but kept banging on about hinges and the fact HJ hinge their doors differently so they don't drop over time etc. Good patter but bllx of at the end of the day. Their stuff was of good quality but 10 cabinets was... 11.5k NOT including painting or anything else!

It's such a rip off, if I wanted 10 standalone cabinets I wouldn't be paying 1k a pop!
diykitchens looks good and I'm trying a few local firms soon.

99.99 % of firms use Blum hinges.
last forever and can take the temper of an angry wife and a toddler!!

[Cilonen]

Another vote for IKEA here - had ours nearly 8 years now and still looks as good as day 1 (bar some scratches from the cats on the panel near the scratching post).
25 year guarantee on cabinets & worktops, 10 years on taps, sink, etc.
We had our own appliances so they designed around them and moved everything as needed.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

I've been looking at kitchens with the mother recently. Benchmarx units seem better made than Howdens (plus at the local one the staff were more knowledgeable), the backs of Howdens cupboards are as thin as cardboard whereas Benchmarx are 8mm thick.

Also went and had a look at this lot: https://www.roma-interiors.co.uk/ who seem to produce nice units (carcasses looked nice and sturdy) and the guy seeded to know his stuff. Following this thread with interest.

We looked at Benchmarx and Howdens and I agree that the Benchmarx units are more solid. Pricing was slightly above Howdens, so we opted for IKEA and saved around £6K. After all, how often do you need the back of a cabinet carcass to be strong especially as it usually abuts a wall or has a separate back panel (if it's in an island) ?

IKEA cabinets used to not have a cutout for services - this may have changed now. Easily resolved either by having them noticed, or Lining the wall with 25mm ply except for the bottom 150mm.

[Quantox]

Originally Posted by Surg_Capt_R

Yes it is absurd but that is the difference. We had standard doors and when we changed to sheikher (shaker?) style the price went up by £2500. Happy wife = happy life.

Yep, long time ago allowed the wife to "borrow" £2.5k from my leisure account to upgrade the kitchen replacement budget by 25%. Had free rein to recoup the unpaid loan many times ever since, happy days!

Q

[dopper99]

Wren kitchens on Rip off Britain NOW on ITV.

Not good.

[Popocop]

We bougt our kitchen from Ikea