Thanks Angie, BUT does look great as does Leroy Merlin Martin, Castorama Elaine & Ikea Dick. Basically it seems I have TOO much choice !!! Now the problem is, being of the male species I will need to make some kind of choice eventually and that could prove very tricky....
After a lot of shopping around I settled on Leroy Merlin. They have a good range of designs.
Thanks Beverley. Yes, I do like Ikea though i'm miles away from my nearest shop. But does indeed look interesting and there is a shop about one mile from me which is handy.
The fitter is the key I believe. The Schmitt kitchen was pricey but good quality hoxever the fitter was abysmal and trying to get things fixed after proved impossible. The Hygena kitchen of about 2003 (different property) was brill and the fitter was outstanding. My nearesy Hygena is at Limoges which isn't too bad.
Hi Vivien, the house is 1976 so no great character i'm afraid. The units was made especially for that particular space and for that particular era !Everything is solid and of superb quality but unfortunately its in dark formica which makes everything so dingy looking nowadays !
Good morning Peter,
In a previous life we ran a kitchen shop so had a bit of a head start and didn't have to worry too much about the planning etc. We ended up buying an Ikea Kitchen (3 years ago) which we can't fault, absolutely love it! The one thing I would warn about though is wooden (beech) worktops which look great but they were warped a bit by the time we got round to fitting them. Next time we were in Ikea they said they would replace them(anytime in the following 6 months) no problem but to leave them for a while to let them settle. They are fine now so it may just be a humidity thing here in Brittany . I believe they have changed the spec recently though a friend said that he did not feel they were as good as they used to be which is a shame.
I have seen the kitchens in BUT that Angie mentioned and they do look good. there is a lot to be said for having a full planning service and good aftersales which maybe Ikea are a bit weak on.
Finally, chose your fitter carefully. A good kitchen fitter can enhance a poor kitchen but a poor kitchen fitter can literally wreck a good one.
Good luck and love to hear (even see a picture?) what you decide on in the end.
You only need one word for fitted kitchen - IKEA.
The kitchen fitter was amazed at how easy it is to fit - and you can get spare fixings if you need them, unlike some other well-known brands. They have a list of recommended fitters although we didn't use one of theirs.
We bought ours from Leroy Merlin, great quality and they also plan it for you if you want. You can fit it yourself, or they have a fitting service.
Just to drop a spanner in the works - I've no idea what period house you have but are you sure you need a fitted kitchen? If the room has some character a free standing kitchen might look much better. To me fitted kitchens work best in modern town houses and in small spaces. But that's just me............
We bought our units from Castorama and had a joiner fit it … Wall of our house are NOT straight but he did a good job.
Darty have just started doing made to measure kitchens.
Hi Peter, we have gîtes and have bought each kitchen for them and our own house from BUT. They do a super design for you and were reasonably priced. The quality proved to be better and more hard-wearing compared to those previously bought from B&Q in the UK. They also come complete with door handles unlike B&Q. Our local BUT store has excellent staff and after-sales service. They are worth giving BUT a try anyway - good luck!