Where are the best places to go when kitchen planning?
For most of us, kitchen planning involves balancing quality and budget. It’s easy to settle for second or third best, but is that really necessary? Is there anywhere to find top-class kitchen planning for a budget price?
Kitchen planning with the high street chains
The obvious places to start with kitchen planning are places like Wickes, Wren and Magnet. You’ll be met by a “sales designer”, who’ll let you know what a great deal you’ll get. Especially with the discounts they always seem to have, often of up to 50%.
Unfortunately, the discounts are usually just smoke and mirrors, while the sales designer is more interested in selling than designing. You’ll probably only get twenty minutes devoted to design. The reason they can design your kitchen so quickly is because the chains tend to use a one-size-fits-all approach. Given the fact that it takes a good 2 hours to produce a good kitchen design, it’s likely that the design you’ll get in 20 minutes will be at best very basic, or, at worst, simply not work.
Kitchen planning with the trade suppliers
When you’ve ruled out the high street chains for your kitchen planning, you might try a general builder. They have plenty of hands-on experience, don’t they? And they can use trade suppliers like Howdens and Benchmarx, who offer large trade discounts.
Unfortunately, this option is usually no better than the chains. It’s unlikely that the design you get from them will be any better than the chains. Plus, you might think you’re getting a great deal by ordering from your builder, but, in reality, the prices builders quote for kitchens is usually similar to the chains. In fact, builders will often quote more than the chains, especially if you live in an affluent area.
Kitchen planning with the independent showrooms
To get great kitchen planning, you’ll need to go to an independent kitchen showroom. The person you’ll be dealing with there will usually be design orientated, rather than sales orientated. Unlike the chains & trade only suppliers, they’ll usually design your kitchen to your individual requirements. This ensures their plan makes best use of all the available space. Rather than knocking out your design in about 20 minutes, they’ll spend several hours designing your kitchen. Although this may seem like a long time, designing a kitchen properly takes a lot longer than 20 minutes.
You’ll certainly get a great kitchen design from an independent showroom — but will it be within your budget? In the case of many independent showrooms, probably not, but there are exceptions. A few showrooms will offer you a professionally designed kitchen of the highest quality, for a price similar to the chains and trade suppliers.
How do you find these great value suppliers in your area?
Simple, just contact us and we will tell you who they are.
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Our free service recommends the best value kitchen suppliers in your area.
Their kitchens cost similar to the chains and trade only suppliers, but are higher quality and will last longer.
Showrooms offer free no-obligation quotes and are within half-an-hours drive.
Read what our customers say about our service below:
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“Kitchenfindr recommended a showroom who were much better value than most of the other showrooms I’d previously looked at”
Hannah Malone, Esher, Surrey