Help needed, which kitchen manufacturer would you recommend?

Most of my kitchen units are those installed when the bungalow was built in 1968. Made of wood. It suits me not to have a lot of high cupboards because I would not now be able to reach them. I do have a fair sized walk in larder. So many people these days have posh new kitchens but it doesn’t make them better cooks.

We've just had a kitchen partly up graded and we used www.divinekitchencompany.co.uk They gave high quality personal service and are joiners with excellent skills.They are based in Cornwall but I know they go great distances to clients. But I bet Ikea is good and many others. Years ago I had a kitchen from John Lewis - its shaker design, and it got lots of compliments. I am guessing they are not the cheapest and their installation costs may be high (not subject to 'never knowingly undersold') But I regret getting a beautiful hard wood counter top - wood is lovely but not good in a kitchen. There are lots of other options. Do get an induction hob! They are great - very swift to respond and I'd never now get any other kind.

Another vote for Magnet here. Had ours nearly 16 years and it still looks good as new. Integral double oven/dishwasher/microwave and a tall door that slides out with drawers in besides all the usual cupboards.

Howdens without a doubt. It’s not flat pack and the quality is fantastic. They can get you any extra bits and pieces either the same day or the next day. Great range.

Our kitchen is from Magnet is 10 years old and still looks really good. The fitter was excellent and they organised the work so the electrician and plumber and tiler were here at the right time. I liked the in drawer/ in cupboard options that were available.

I bought my kitchen from DiY Kitchens. I fitted it, except for the worktop. It was easy to fit as each unit was in one piece, except for the legs. It is well built and looks good. Electricians and plumbers were surprised at the quality. On top of all that, I saved at least £2000.

Just had a new kitchen fitted. Units by Wickes.
Really pleased with the quality and cost

I’ve had mid range kitchens from both Howdens and Wickes in properties I’ve renovated - very pleased both times, but as pps have said, good fitters are key.

I did find Howdens irritating, though, in that you can’t get a straight answer re prices from them, or at least that was the case when I used them. They deal with your builder/fitter, who will get his own trade discount, which may vary quite a bit. My builder was very upfront with me about what discount he could get, though.

Probably high time to do my own - it’s over 30 years old - but can’t face all the faff and upheaval!

I love my Howdens kitchen.

Another vote for IKEA here. In my last house I had a Wickes kitchen and when I moved, the kitchen was still immaculate 12 years after being installed. But IKEA have the most ingenious storage solutions and, because there is no service space at the back of their units, they're much deeper than the standard cupboard and so have better storage space. I used them to design and fit mine and I'm very pleased with it.

My daughter has just had a kitchen fitted using Howden and their recommended fitter. She was very impressed. The fitter in particular was excellent. Some friends have been very happy with an IKEA kitchen.
My kitchen was fitted by a local kitchen company 8 years ago, we were very pleased with it but that has sadly now closed down.
We visited a lot of companies and got quotes from about 4 before we decided who to go with.
It is very hard because it's a huge outlay so I would go with local recommendations if you can. Also reseaerch them on line to see if there are negative reviews.

Ikea units with custom made solid oak worktops. Installed by me, affordable, very sturdy and durable. There's always the option of getting new doors and drawer fronts in the future too.

Kalu that's interesting; what has put me off having wooden worktops was because I was told by a neighbour that they would have to be oiled fairly frequently.

We bought our kitchen from DIY kitchens in Yorkshire 5 years ago. 2 friends have bought new kitchens from them since on our recommendation. We have all been really happy with the units and customer service. We are in Glasgow so didn't drive down to the showroom, just got samples and did everything online. The units are not flat packed, just the doors to fit. We bought 16 units in total so that made a huge difference. Price was really competitive and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Have only had two kitchens in 38 years of same house ....first on was MFI ‘rubbish’ as it was all we could afford ...it lasted a magnificent 32 years! The last one was Magnet..... much better quality ...and had a local fella to fit it ( recommended). He was great as well. So far , so good. Magnet...every time. ...

Dear jude2006 we had ours from B and Q and I would never ever purchase from them again. We have just had two bathrooms fitted with Wicks and we were lucky and had good service. I would for a kitchen try a small firm. Xxx

We have used DIY Kitchens recently and are very pleased with the quality and the prices. They were installed by our builder who also used them in his own house.

We visited their showrooms several times and the staff were very helpful , checking that our cupboards would actually fit the space available.

There were people from all over the UK visiting the show rooms.

And I loved going because of the free cake and coffee.

nb. Three coats of good quality wood seal on worktops have stood the test of time, especially around two Belfast sinks. Worth doing.

We had a new kitchen installed in November 2018 We bought all the units from DIY kitchens. They delivered when they said they would. We didn’t go to their showrooms as it was too far, but they sent us door samples as I couldn’t decide on the colour I wanted. This was really useful as we could position them in different parts of the kitchen and depending on the lighting got a really good impression of what the kitchen would look like. The quality is excellent and hard wearing. We also bought the work surfaces from them. We used a local kitchen fitter to install the kitchen. We thought Howdens were very expensive in comparison

We sourced a recommended kitchen fitter and after much shopping around, chose Howdens, ivory wooden cabinets with Iroko wood work tops. Very good quality and price. 10 years on still looks perfect.

We literally just had an ikea kitchen fitted and its brilliant. All deep drawers so no bending to get to the back is cupboards and high level oven. The ikea fitters were marvelous. So quick and clean, well worth the money. We live in Spain, so maybe not typical.

Some years ago we had a Magnet kitchen which was absolutely lovely. We paid a fitter of our choosing who did a great job. More recently, having moved, we had to fit out the utility and our chosen fitter used Howdens - we are very pleased with that too and if I ever replaced the present kitchen I would continue with Howdens to match it all up.

We used a good company (unfortunately now shut) who manufactured cupboard fronts with every design and colour to choose from, with samples. I assume there are other companies around that do this. We bought new carcasses from B&Q, and they were the best for carcasses. Your measurements have to be spot on if you go down this route, but if you know someone who can design and fit, and you are ok using the internet for sourcing hinges etc you will save a lot of money. The savings we made were spent on granite worktops. Although not a big kitchen, my kitchen is designed perfectly and works for me and I cook a lot.

We had a kitchen from Magnet fitted before we took the decision to move and I really miss it. We had one of those tall narrow pull out larder storage units included. Can see everything at a glance, great. Also went for oven higher up so I no longer had to stoop. Good friends webt for Wren and have been very happy. Seems to depend on the fitter you get.

Quite a number of people we know have chosen Howdens and the quality seems to be very good.