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Gaaaaah I hate to ask this but I need to. And you guys and gals are the best. Honestly.
Need a new kitchen in my new house. Fitting it myself. Don't have a lot of money to do it, it'll be a smart but simple one, nothing fancy but I'd like a reasonable quality one.
Was going to go for Howdens via a trade friend but have recently read a lot of damning reviews online.
I used to work for Homebase and know their kitchens quite well and would be happy going with them.
IKEA kitchens - I know they are a bit different and the trade don't like fitting them as they take longer with less gaps at the back etc but I like how simple they were.
Don't like B&Q, fitted a couple of units from them recently and they were poor quality.
Any other ideas? I can't afford to have someone come and make me a custom kitchen or buy any fancy solid wood ones.
ime Ikea kitchens are spot on, cheap and well made and great storage solutions.
I've just checked Homebase kitchens and it seems they don't supply from the same company as when I worked for them, shame really as they were very good at sorting things out. Hmmmm
WREN. Design yourself, easy to fit as units come assembled. We like ours and price was IKEA comparable.
Got an Ikea kitchen several years ago for my last house and it was brilliant. A friend who's a very talented kitchen designer-maker recommended Ikea - he said that the carcasses are very solid for the money. He helped me pick the bits, then he installed them. It was unique, looked ace and was still in perfect nick when I moved 6 years later. Cost next to nowt as well. I'd happily have another from there. My parents' B&Q job looks crap and feels cheap and nasty by comparison.
benchmarx are worth a look (same group as wickes but better door finishes)
worth checking if your trade friend has an account
A pal designed and fitted his own, bought it from DIY kitchens.Com. He's done a lot more research than me but says it's good and cheap, comparably.
The new IKEA kitchens are a bit of a PITA to fit.. theres no cavity behind the units and are now 8cm high off the floor. All the plumbing and wiring has to be routed under the units. They are nice though and the rail system is rather clever way of putting them all level. 25 year guarantee and 3 years interest free credit..
+1 for wren. Really nicely assembled cabinets. Nice voids behind to run pipes/wires.
My first time fitting a kitchen and it all went pretty well.
I'm in a similar position so will watch this with interest. My limited investigations was alo leading me to DIY Kitchens. The get a very good review, but I believe you have to design them yourselves with limited advice form the company.
We're very happy with our B&Q job. Designed it ourselves using their nifty little cloud based CAD tool, went in for them to tidy up any niggles then our builder simply put it in as part of the extension.
I can design the kitchen layout no problem. DIY kitchens have some great write ups - not too far from me either so I'll pay them a visit. Looks like th actually make their own kitchens too which might be why they are doing well.
I wouldn't touch a B&Q kitchen, every one I have seen looks well worn after a couple of years. They don't seal the edges of the base units very well so they soon look grubby.
I couldn't care less about bigger voids round the back. Working around slight issues like lack of space to put pipes just takes a little more thinking about it that's all - small voids are only a problem for lazy fitters. Id rather have bigger cupboards which will be an advantage for many years after a slight fitting conundrum has long since been forgotten.
I hate the waste of space with big voids and drawers which are too short. Found fitting the last iteration of Ikeas kitchens really solid and easy. Done 3 1/2. The new generation look better still