we went with wren a couple of years ago.
the units are ok, but they dont fit them themselves anymore - we followed an 'unofficial' recommendation for fitters from their sales bloke. BIG MESTAKE ! You have been warned ...
Having had a magnet kitchen installed about 10yrs ago, with so many issues we never really loved it, but was all we could afford back then.
Now in a position to do a dream install, even if not the biggest of spaces compared to some I have seen.
Did consider knocking through to dining room & conservatory, but decided to keep it on its own from a mess / smell perspective.
Looking for some great kitchen makers / designers to maximise the space & get be back to having double full sized ovens.
Have looked at Neptune, but my wife for some reason is not a fan.
Thanks
we went with wren a couple of years ago.
the units are ok, but they dont fit them themselves anymore - we followed an 'unofficial' recommendation for fitters from their sales bloke. BIG MESTAKE ! You have been warned ...
Can’t help with recommendations as the firm we used went under a few years back and were supply only but a few idle thoughts.
We looked at maybe 10 plus companies and all of them were pushing to use a tambour unit in an awkward corner, personal I can’t stand them and I didn’t get much joy on other options apart from the firm we used who made to order and could give me a few other options, that swung them the business.
It wasn’t a thing at the time but now many makes have under plinth storage, not massively tall or deep but if you have sufficient items that’ll fit you could gain back a fair amount of storage.
Hight is similar if you can go up to close to ceiling hight you’ll gain more and move the rarely used bits there, just save some space for folding steps.
Pantry, rather than the pull out pantries, we had a standard 600 cupboard fitted with internal drawers to head hight, more accessible storage and doesn’t fall to pieces like a pull out pantry.
German kitchens are great quality if you like the more modern style. Drawers weight tested to high levels, etc. Paint and finish great. Ours is over 6 years old and looks like new. Only picky bit is the integrated dishwasher door has deteriorated a bit on the inside due to steam/heat/condensation. All good otherwise - family of 5 including teens so heavily used and abused.
Have heard that kitchens can be moved in Germany when people move, so built well to survive dismantling too.
Ours is Schuller Next 125 but many good quality out there (go higher than the base finish). Also worth getting fitted by the kitchen dealer rather than general builder IMHO as they will know the units inside out.
Also consider paying for a separate kitchen design. Then use that design to get quicker/cheaper quotes elsewhere. The firm we used for design really wanted our business (they quoted too) and they reduced prices to a compromise level to try and match other brand quotes for lesser units.
You can get everyone to do a design for you, but you will waste your time doing that repeatedly and they will factor their design time into the cost too.
Speak to Matt at Clover Kitchens. Found him on MSE. Based in Herts if that helps. Real attention to detail and great to work with. They might not do Schuller anymore but they are quality focused so will do good kit.
PM me if you want more info.
A lot of great suggestions, thank you for the thinking space.
Been looking at daft powered extractors, bigger than the room requires but hate cooking smells from curry etc.
Will have a look at the suggestions tmrw on some dull calls - may be pm-ing for some more info; appreciate the offers.
Thanks
Matt
We’ve also fitted a Schuller Next 125 in glass, superb quality but not cheap, we purchased from the Kitchen Design Centre in Maidstone, they will do as little or as much as you want them to. Great service
Last edited by adrianw; 14th March 2021 at 22:12.
If you are looking for a complete design, manufacture and fitting these guys are good. Not cheap but top quality.
http://www.bryanturnerkitchens.com/
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Use the DIY kitchens design tool you can tinker to your hearts content.
We got a Westin Stratus with external motor. Our most expensive kitchen appliance but worth it for a kitchen diner with through lounge. Plenty of power and quiet inside the house.
Think about your joists and steels though. We managed to work a solution around one of our steels, but had to get a custom top box manufactured too at extra cost.
https://www.westin.co.uk/our-hoods/c...estin-stratus/
I’ve had two Chippendale kitchens from Shepherds of Coventry when the sales are on. Absolutely fantastic units for the price and stunning Kitchens.
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We have something very similar but from Caple, something like this
https://www.caple.co.uk/products/kit...hoods/ce902wh/
We used a Bora Pura hob with built in extraction, it works very well, at work we did some experiments with extraction a couple of years ago, one of the conclusions was that in open air after 30cm away the effectiveness drops off very quickly, which makes the Bora idea make sense
About 3 years ago we were in a similar position and ended up after much research going with a small bespoke company Blackstone kitchens;
https://www.blackstonekitchens.co.uk/
It was actually not that much more expensive than the like of Wren but so much better quality and a very personal service. Three years on we are still so chuffed with the end result.
Another thought is some manufacturers now offer pocketing doors
Initially I thought it was a bit gimmicky but it opens up options if storage is limited you can have them open while cooking and have access to all your pantry type ingredients without doors being in the way and moving from cupboard to cupboard and or allows for toasters and coffee machines to be hidden if not in use.
It can happily cope with that,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3V0qrgWdyo
https://www.bora.com/fileadmin/downl...en_gb11380.pdf
We are as I type having our kitchen ripped out and have gone with a Wickes kitchen, which seems decent quality. Albeit only 6 units as it partially free standing units we are using our own installer. The worktop will be fitted by the specialist firm.
If you are going for a rangecooker be aware there is a long leadtime on them.
Someone told me a number of years ago that installation is key, a crap fitter can make even the best kitchen seem very poor.
Ref the space, my concern is it making the whole kitchen feel more enclosed, can see the benefit in a large open plan one.
Ref the spills, was thinking the same; there is a grease trap from what I read but my wife is great at spills.
Love the concept of it being on the hob, makes so much sense, but then I do love a large 5th central cook space for my woks.
Thanks for all the ideas on companies & extractors - at least I can do some proper research on specs and fan volumes.
Matt
We've just had ours completed by Piqu. The designer (for full disclosure) is a (very) old university mate of mine and he and his guys did a wonderful job. At the end of the day, it's only ever as good as the people that fit it and the ones that work with Adrian are top notch, real old school perfectionists..
Anyway, he's got loads of pictures and stuff on Houzz.co.uk.... this one's ours.
I was once told by a cabinet maker, that the some of the best units were from IKEA. Doors (which are not structural) can be obtained from who you fancy, but don’t buy wrapped doors. For work tops again lots of different products available however we liked Corian, but I imagine any Ceramic Resin based system works.
The most important element is a good designer (who can maximise space) and a top quality fitter.
Last edited by Andyg; 15th March 2021 at 17:14.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Thank you...
We had the space completely remodelled, sinks, ovens and hobs moved, completely different shaped Island etc and what really helped was when the designer came round and taped out on the floor where everything was going to go - we had metres of green masking tape all over the floor for weeks while we decided.
Yes, I saw my parents in law’s place when they remodelled theirs with the masking tape to get an idea of the shape etc.
Alas ours is rather a dull rectangle with a utility. We have decided knocking through to the dining room & conservatory isn’t going to gain us much really apart from a huge cost. Plus we can’t shut it all away when entertaining.
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For me pal, kitchens have become well, disposable in a sense.
When we built (I think I mentioned it) the house 18 years ago we spent a bomb on the kitchen. 10 years in Mrs P felt the traditional look had to go so we switched to a modern feel. (Plus another bedroom and oak frame garden room.... rolls eyes)
Once I found the doors we liked I sourced the cheapest units I could find. Provided the draw carcasses are decent, once any unit is fixed to the wall ‘properly’ its fine.
We fitted pretty high end appliances, sinks and taps and minimalist white quartz worktops and job done for relatively sensible money.
For me, stick the budget into appliances and worktops, oh and mirrored plinths with leds.
Pitch
I’ve got a friend that’s just bought a wicked one he’s got a large kitchen but spent 25k very happy with its quality and finish he got a good deal too
I've just had a kitchen installed from DIY Kitchens. Great quality and service. The units cost me £4.9k for 16. We went with a bespoke painted (F&B lulworth blue) 19mm shaker style door.
The quotes from Magnet, Howdens are Wren were between £8k and £11k for the units only.
Our kitchen is a tricky layout and the best thing we did was find a good fitter through recommendation. He's done an amazing job so I'd highly recommend you find a good one.
Have you looked at The Used Kitchen Company? They sell some extremely expensive kitchens for bargain prices.
We bought a beautiful Chalon kitchen for a song - it would have been into six figures new.
There is a lot of luck involved as they are obviously already built as opposed to made to measure but you might be lucky - the one we bought fitted perfectly with just a small mod. Any decent chippy should be able to fit and modify it for you.
Think of it as recycling?
Regards
Jon.
Anyone used a freelance kitchen designer? IME difficult to find one not working for a showroom etc.
Where we are now the kitchen was new when we moved in, so glad not to have to change it as we like it enough to keep it.
The three properties before that we always designed it ourselves and fitted it as well. Spent some of what we saved on higher end appliances.
If you’re good at diy it’s really not that difficult, just needs planning well.
It’s the cabinet quality which is most important, most will have doors you like. The only thing we didn’t do was fit the bamboo worktops, we paid a local carpenter to do that, he had all the tools etc needed to do the cutting properly.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I wish I had the skills to do it myself, but would be a huge stretch for me to even try!
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Just lost the evening on the DIY kitchen website, not 100% there but think I have some ideas to progress with a designer to make it happen & sense check my thoughts.
Still need to tweak some colours, and our style of kitchen may end up being driven by the requirement to have a couple of curved cupboards to make the oven location work.
Seems feasible, will be masking the floor up to get an idea of the space change.
Thanks for all the suggestions, got all the companies opened up in a load of tabs to review more.
I’m planning on doing our kitchen next year and will be using DIY Kitchens.
Instagram is a great source of inspiration and my wife wants the look of the kitchen featured in this account https://instagram.com/thewhitepinesproject
Which is a DIYkitchen in Farrow & Ball paint.
Yes, not the simplest, I still need to remove the random height fixtures I added.
Thanks for that, my wife is concerned having been stung before with going cheaper. We have seen an install from a bespoke company that did her parents kitchen & it looks amazing, even my level of detail in snagging, their work was superb.
Also be cheaper for me to pay travel costs from the West Country to Berkshire area be paying local, as I’ve found many times before with these things.