New Kitchen

Still very pleased with our Wren kitchen. Quartz worktops and very useful corner pantry. First designer was rubbish. Hardly any storage, second one was much better. He had fitted kitchens previously and even gave good advice to our fitter. Btw don’t go with Wren fitters. DD and I both felt they were out to create extra jobs eg rewiring plug sockets just fitted by qualified electrician. We had our own fitters and were pleased with finished result.
Previous kitchen was Magnet but designer was useless and managed to create row of cupboards across a doorway. Magnet were also very unhelpful with after sales service. Suspect every experience will be different. Horrible upheaval but lovely when it’s finished.

We had a new kitchen about 5 years ago. We bought the units etc from B&Q. They came out, measured up, sent us a plan of what it would look like free of charge. There was no obligation to have them fit it. The units were reasonably price but their fitting charge was expensive. We got a local carpenter to fit it and we love it.

I desperately need a new kitchen. The current kitchen was vile when I moved in and I planned to have it changed, but gave my kitchen money to my daughter for a mortgage deposit. NOW the kitchen is not only vile but very worn. I hate it!

Whatever it's replaced with needs to be very plain. I hate anything fussy.

Varian, good point.
Thank you all, helpful

Missfoodlove our kitchen looks very similar to yours; solid wood and bespoke too - it was supplied and fitted by a small independent shop in our village and was only slightly dearer than a Wren one. I looked at the reviews for Wren and was put off as quite a few of them were not good.

We got quotes from Wren and Howdens.
A local joiner built and fitted for the same as Wren.
It’s bespoke and in solid wood.

Our kitchen is from Howdens. They will do the design for you and supply the units and appliances but you need to hire your own fitters. We got someone local who project managed the whole thing. Five years on it still looks like new.

We had ours from Wickes and are very pleased with it and the service in-store.
The builders were pushing us towards Howdens, and we did have a quote, but it was a lot more money and the designer ignored a lot of our requests.

We had a Magnet kitchen fitted here some 16 years ago. They still make the same design and ours has lasted so well it could go back into the showroom and look as though it had come straight out of the factory.

My best advice would be to design your own kitchen, or if you need help use an architect or properly qualified interior designer who will look at your space, listen to what you say and give you an optimum layout.

When you go to kitchen suppliers they will direct you to one of their "designers" who is actually just a salesperson with very little design training.

They are usually able to use CAD systems to generate drawings but their main aim is to sell you the most expensive layout of fitted units, rather than what might be best for you. These so-called "designers" are very often paid commission.

If you employ a professional designer you can take their design to various suppliers to compare the cost of the same arrangement.

We had a magnet kitchen fitted when first got married, we told them what we wanted, planned where to put bits and pieces, we sat back so to speak, they were great, no probs

Ikea is excellent value

Our neighbours have a Wren kitchen, and it is beautiful.

He fitted it himself, as he's a perfectionist.
I do think that the fitting is key to the finished item.

We had a Magnet kitchen fitted a few years back and it has proved to be good quality.
Company did the designs and all the complex fitting with no problems.
We didnt have to do a thing.