I have just been through a learning curve on the pros and cons of new kitchens. I am not a practical person so this was all new to me. I thought I would share my experience to those who are similarly unskilled.

I have a very large kitchen so I knew it was going to cost a lot.

1) Which kitchen to buy?
On advice from a neigbour I took out a subscription to Which magazine. Its £11 a month but the first month was free and you can cancel anytime. Which has some great stuff about all the market leading kitchens which are best and which are rubbish. They also give great advice on which appliances to buy e.g. cookers and hobs. This really helped me no end.

2) Do your research.
I went to lots of kitchen showrooms and got plenty of advice from them and from friends and neigbours. During this process the design of my kitchen changed a lot and for the better. This is sexist but the best advice I got was from women.

3) Integrated appliances or not.
The overall look is great but I ended up going free standing. Which magazine has an article that points out that the appliances are expensive and tie you to the Kitchen showroom. My neighbour has a small fridge freezer she had to replace it at £1000 the equivalent free standing is about £300. In short you do not get the variety or cost savings with integrated so is it worth it to have the occasional visitor compliment your kitchen. I think mine looks great with free standing appliances.

4)Doors and worktops.
You get what you pay for. I have spoken to several kitchen fitters they will tell you that the cabinets are pretty much the same the difference is the doors and the worktops. This is where the money goes its all about quality and thickness. If you have a family and the kids keep bashing into doors and worktops then you need to consider a high traffic solution. You don't want bits of doors falling off or people spilling stuff and ruining your worktops. On the other hand if you look after your stuff you can save money by going cheaper they still look great as long as you care for them.

Flatpack or Pre built.
Neither is wrong but flat pack takes longer to install. FYI Wickes are flat pack the same company also owns Benchmark which is trade. Benchmark are pre built and apparently they are cheaper than Wickes but it is the same stuff so go to a Wickes showroom pick your kitchen and buy it from Benchmark.

Price
How long is a price of string. I was quoted 14k for a German high quality kitchen other quotes were 8k - 12.5k some were flat pack some were pre built.. With the exception of Ikea nobody gave me a detailed price breakdown just a figure. My kitchen fitter told me not to accept the first quote and boy was he right

An honourable mention for Ikea.
Which magazine gave Ikea a good review as a flat pack budget kitchen. In hindsight I wish I had gone to them first. They helped me design the kitchen in the store gave me a very detailed price list which came out at 8k the cheapest quote. Their units are standard size which meant I had to compromise on my design, however I decided that unless the other firms dropped their price I was going with Ikea. My kitchen fitter has an Ikea kitchen so he was Ok with that.

So who did I go with?
None of the other firms would budge on their price until I sent them the Ikea quote. They melted faster than the polar ice caps. Everybody came down in price between 3-4k. In the end I went German which was 10k down from 14k. Not the cheapest but it was bespoke and gave me everything I wanted.

I feel guilty about Ikea because they were the only ones honest with their prices. The rest were queuing up to rip me off.

Anyway I hope some of this helps do your research it pays off.

Edited by Badger11 (14 May 2018 10.17am)

One more point

I remember doing mine years ago, some places are good at some things and others better at others. For instance worktops seemed better quality at Ikea than B&Q plus they did different lengths whereas B&Q only do standard 3 Metre

I got a freestanding range which was cheaper option and looks better, you use less worktop, less cutting and easier to install the appliance

If I was gonna do again I think Howden has good quality range

Paua oouaarancì Irà chiyeah Ishé galé ma ba oo ah

Creative Design Interiors of Beckenham. Their stuff is all made in Germany it is not cheap but if you have an unusual size kitchen they can create cabinets etc. to fit the space.

Some good points from other posters. I have a double oven in a tower that is the only integrated appliance the rest are free standing, but that is a personal choice.

Howdens are rated highly but I had a problem with the sales guy at Beckenham. He thought he was doing me a favour by seeing me. Originally I thought this was the one I was going for but his price was too high and then he took too long to respond after I told him the Ikea quote. In the meantime Creative dropped their price so I got the kitchen I didn't think i could afford.

The cheaper kitchens are based on standard units and work tops and are flat pack. Nothing wrong with that if you have a standard kitchen.

I attached a page from a well know consumer group which rates the kitchen suppliers. You should read the full article about each kitchen supplier to provide a balance.

Edited by Badger11 (14 May 2018 3.05pm)

Edited by Badger11 (14 May 2018 3.05pm)

Attachment: Best Kitchens.jpg (108.38Kb)

One more point

Easy enough to open an account. Tell them you have fitted a few kitchens and they are no trouble. Have had 3 kitchens from them over the years

We need a new kitchen when we eventually pay the mortgage off in 2 years time, and thought the price would be 10-12k.

The company in Beckenham you used did they supply and fit or do i need to sort out my own fitter ?

Thanks

Creative will do everything for you if that is what you want. The price of my kitchen (10k) was just the cabinets and worktops.

I chose to use my own fitter because I am having a complete refurb of my home and I trust his work.

I could have bought the appliances from Creative they are solid brand names but I wanted to choose my own.

They are at the top end of the price range, I have a large kitchen (17ms2) so hopefully yours would be cheaper.

Creative are very good at giving you the exact size cabinet. Ikea looks great and the quality is good but you must have their standard sizes.

One more point