Help needed, which kitchen manufacturer would you recommend?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I love my Howdens kitchen.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The fitter gets a discount from Howdens. My mother's fitter showed her the invoice, and gave her the discount. The fitter who did our utility room showed us the total price invoice, and kept the discount.

Don't get stone worktops. They were installed in our new build bungalow as a ' touch of luxury ', I can't see the luxury in a product that chips and stains easily. Given the choice, I would have white hob and ovens as they are so much easier to keep clean, and don't scratch. The White hob in my last house was eighteen years old when we left, and in perfect condition.

Another vote for Howdens, we had ours fitted two years ago and it still looks brand new. We sourced our fitter from the Trusted Trader web site and he was also listed on Checkatrade. Both useful websites.

Indeed its true that Howdens do not sell direct to the public, they specialise in supplying the building trade, my DH was a Joiner for over 50years, and fitted many kitchens including some very large commerical ones. Magnet usedto be his trusted Go-To brand, but when we were shopping for our own kitchen, he was very disapointed in their latest quality and choice.
CC, you mentioned that MDF is often better than natural timber, but the pitfalls of using it in a kitchen arethe effects that heat can have on it, especially next to oven doors and grills, over time the plastic coating deteriorates, moisture gets into the MDF core and causes it to weaken and swell. With a solid timber kitchen, you get non of this, the timber is usually Oak.or Ash renown for its strength and durability, its also totally paintable should you chosen colour go.out of fashion in a few years time, making a makeover a much cheaper option than replacing the full kitchen, something that is not possible with a MDF kitchen which is lightly to swell up with the actions of the chemicals in the paint on the plastic coating, and giving a poor finish. We did have some help to fit our kitchen from a young Joiner who DH helped to train just before he retired, lifting some of the full height wall cupboards was a 2 person job, and we had 21 units in all, all factory built and delivered fully assembled, but a word of warning, you do need plenty of space such as an empty Garage or conservetory to store all the new
components in whilst instalation is in progress. I dont envy anyone the mess and disruption kitchen fitting can bring, the worst bit being the stripping off of old tiles and replastering before any fitting could commence, it does look all rather super now though.

So we used a local company to fit a German kitchen, very happy with the outcome

Bijou a good observation. That made me feel better.
I worked with someone who had an extremely expensive new kitchen fitted but the most she ever 'cooked' was a pizza or two. They always ate takeaways or ready meals.

Then they got flooded and her new kitchen was ruined. I did feel sorry for her, she was so proud of her lovely kitchen. She was a lovely person, just not a cook.

We used Homebase - never, ever again. It was chaos from start to finish and fortunately we used our own wonderful joiner to fit it which minimised the carnage.

I know people who have used Ikea and rate them very highly but our joiner doesn’t. We looked at Howdens but it all seemed to be a big faff - I just wanted to know how much things were but they only deal with tradespeople who then ‘sell’ you the kitchen. Also found the range in the local showroom to be quite limited.

I agree with Bazzer,the installation is paramount. I have had a Magnet kitchen in a previous home.Lived with a rickety old fashioned one in my new home until I had a WREN kitchen expertly fitted last March,had to wait almost 5months for him as in demand.

I can't recommend any kitchen companies as i live abroad but what I would suggest is getting more 1m wide deep drawer units rather than cupboards because they make everything so much more accessible. Plus those pull out or swivel corner units as we are all getting older and want to be able to reach things easily. The deep drawers hold very heavy weights too as demonstrated by the owner of the kitchen company I used jumping into one of the drawers and standing there saying in Portuguese I weigh 84kg and as you can see it takes my weight. My kitchen is from a German company but almost 7 years on still looks like new

Callistemon, this is the product I used with very good results .I noticed on the back of the tin it is a Howden’s own product but WRK3595 may well be a trade number which could be sourced elsewhere.

Thanks Kalu