If you’re in the market for a new fitted kitchen you can’t have failed to notice the number of retailers advertising their products in their Boxing Day onwards ‘sales’. And all the advertisements appear to have one thing in common – they’re all selling on a lowest price basis. Forgive the cynic in me but any company that can offer 50 or 60 per cent plus discount is either rapidly going bankrupt or inflating the price in the first place!
They’re also very clever in often offering these headline discounts on certain elements of the kitchen (eg the cabinets) which can constitute only a small part of the overall job (eg the labour, appliances, worktops, tradespeople, waste removal and the VAT to name but a few) and means the quote you’re presented with probably isn’t as low as you’d hoped it might be.
Putting my cynicism aside, we often see customers after they’ve visited the national retail chains. That’s great because most times we’re able to undercut the quotes they’ve had or at least helped them realise the complexity of the job and ensure that they’re getting the full picture before embarking on their kitchen refit project.
Some of the answers people have been given to the questions they’ve asked in the multiple retail chains lead us to wonder whether the salespeople really know what’s involved in the installation of a new kitchen – and many are unable to offer all the services required to do the complete job – leaving the customer to organise the elements they can’t or won’t do (worktops anyone?!)
As a result, and to ensure anybody who’s looking for a new kitchen has all the answers they need to make an informed decision about who to trust with what’s likely to be one of the biggest projects homeowners are likely to undertake, we’ve added a list of helpful ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for you to peruse, print and use when deciding who to buy from.
You can read the full list here but the two most frequently asked questions are:
Q. What are your kitchen units made from?
A. All our cabinets, including the backs and drawer bases, are manufactured from 18mm Melamine Faced Chipboard for greater durability against wear and tear and is designed to last much longer than the 15mm or less products many retailers offer. As standard, they’re also fully glued and dowelled at the factory for stronger joints and are 1mm edged (which is more than twice as thick as many of our competitors) to avoid chipping, thereby keeping your kitchen looking beautiful for longer.
Q. How much will my kitchen cost?
A. The cost of your new kitchen is dependent on so many variables (e.g. size, number of units, worktop and appliances required – the list is never ending!) However, a rule of thumb of 8% of a home’s value is often quoted by ‘design experts’ that people should spend on replacing a tired, worn out, out-of-date kitchen with a quality new one without overspending. However, the true answer is spend what you can afford on the best you can get so that you only have to do it once!
So if you are in the market for a new fitted kitchen, make sure you’re armed with all the information you need to make that decision. Only when you’re comparing like-for-like is price the defining factor!
For more information about Nicholas Hythe Kitchen Design Studio please go to www.nicholashythe.co.uk or telephone 01480 468598 or email us at info@nicholashythe.co.uk
For hundreds of pictures of kitchens we’ve installed for delighted clients please go to www.facebook.com/NicholasHytheKitchenDesignStudio
