Talk to me about Wren kitchens
Discussion
I've put a deposit down on a kitchen with Wren today - the deposit is refundable so this isn't a "Ah it's too late". I fully expect tales of woe and tales of "Yeah it's decent". Comparing against an independent the product seems to be good for what we're after. Fully built, decent wood (18mm doors). The units themselves are MFC. Having done some reading on this, I'd previously been wedded to the idea of solid wood units - however, given that the kitchen might be quite hot/humid, the contraction/expansion on these and the gaps created wouldn't be ideal so MFC does seem a reasonable option here. Appliances we've gone for 2x Neff double ovens, and we've got an island so a venting induction hob. Quartz worktops, sink and all of that comes to 14 grand exc fitting.
Independent I'd tried came in £10500 for units, with appliances (~4500 to directly compare with Wren), worktops, sink on top so probably about 17k all in. Wren are 14100 which doesn't seem horrible. DIY Kitchens I came up with a similar design at 8200, again appliances 4500 with worktops on top so again this feels like a reasonable price.
Having searched, looks like the most recent thread was from a few years ago and given the passage of time, those stories may have evolved a little more to "Actually it fell apart" and so on.
Independent I'd tried came in £10500 for units, with appliances (~4500 to directly compare with Wren), worktops, sink on top so probably about 17k all in. Wren are 14100 which doesn't seem horrible. DIY Kitchens I came up with a similar design at 8200, again appliances 4500 with worktops on top so again this feels like a reasonable price.
Having searched, looks like the most recent thread was from a few years ago and given the passage of time, those stories may have evolved a little more to "Actually it fell apart" and so on.
Have you read the reviews for Wren ?
the aftersales service when things go wrong doesn't seem too great, their are a few FB groups dedicated to all the different kitchen manufactures.
Wren kitchen disasters is one of them, the most common complaint is delamination of the doors as they are wrapped.
Wren are popular mainly because of the 7 year interest free thing they do.
Plenty of research would be my advice before committing fully.
the aftersales service when things go wrong doesn't seem too great, their are a few FB groups dedicated to all the different kitchen manufactures.
Wren kitchen disasters is one of them, the most common complaint is delamination of the doors as they are wrapped.
Wren are popular mainly because of the 7 year interest free thing they do.
Plenty of research would be my advice before committing fully.
The Wren product is okay, depending the range. Not the best, or the worst.
Their main criticisms are :
Their fitters are self employed
Often items are missing and it takes weeks/months to sort.
If there is a problem the blame is passed to the fitter who will do his best to avoid you.
A good local independent is competitive, more accommodating and you are a customer, not an order number.
Their main criticisms are :
Their fitters are self employed
Often items are missing and it takes weeks/months to sort.
If there is a problem the blame is passed to the fitter who will do his best to avoid you.
A good local independent is competitive, more accommodating and you are a customer, not an order number.
Used them in the past because at the time, for the value their units looked well built and came pre-assembled so there was a time saving too.
I had issues with a couple of missing pieces which eventually turned up. Main issue was their design had some big flaws which I spotted a while after ordering. To be fair they resolved without too much fuss.
Their sales tactics were awful but in general, my priority was quality of units and I was happy but I made sure not to get wrapped doors.
I'd definitely recommend triple checking their design / measurements and wouldn't use if you have a critical date to hit. Replacements took a couple of weeks and if it's a critical piece that'd be massive pain.
Kitchen fitters don't like them because of the above. They don't want to keep going back to a job because of Wren's delays. Howdens win in this regard, if there's a problem it's sorted quickly.
I had issues with a couple of missing pieces which eventually turned up. Main issue was their design had some big flaws which I spotted a while after ordering. To be fair they resolved without too much fuss.
Their sales tactics were awful but in general, my priority was quality of units and I was happy but I made sure not to get wrapped doors.
I'd definitely recommend triple checking their design / measurements and wouldn't use if you have a critical date to hit. Replacements took a couple of weeks and if it's a critical piece that'd be massive pain.
Kitchen fitters don't like them because of the above. They don't want to keep going back to a job because of Wren's delays. Howdens win in this regard, if there's a problem it's sorted quickly.
Edited by Correvor on Sunday 24th March 18:12
Correvor said:
Used them in the past because at the time, for the value their units looked well built and came pre-assembled so there was a time saving too.
I had issues with a couple of missing pieces which eventually turned up. Main issue was their design had some big flaws which I spotted a while after ordering. To be fair they resolved without too much fuss.
Their sales tactics were awful but in general, my priority was quality of units and I was happy but I made sure not to get wrapped doors.
I'd definitely recommend triple checking their design / measurements and wouldn't use if you have a critical date to hit. Replacements took a couple of weeks and if it's a critical piece that'd be massive pain.
Kitchen fitters don't like them because of the above. They don't want to keep going back to a job because of Wren's delays. Howdens win in this regard, if there's a problem it's sorted quickly.
Howdens don’t sell the the end user, I had issues with a couple of missing pieces which eventually turned up. Main issue was their design had some big flaws which I spotted a while after ordering. To be fair they resolved without too much fuss.
Their sales tactics were awful but in general, my priority was quality of units and I was happy but I made sure not to get wrapped doors.
I'd definitely recommend triple checking their design / measurements and wouldn't use if you have a critical date to hit. Replacements took a couple of weeks and if it's a critical piece that'd be massive pain.
Kitchen fitters don't like them because of the above. They don't want to keep going back to a job because of Wren's delays. Howdens win in this regard, if there's a problem it's sorted quickly.
Edited by Correvor on Sunday 24th March 18:12
It does happen, people manage to open trade accounts.
That is fine until there is a warranty issue and often you are left high and dry as the warranty is held by the trader
My friend was left for over 6months with no kitchen by Wren, they also wanted to charge near a grand to run a cooker cable from one wall to another wall max run 3m, its a tiny kitchen, when she was viewing the sales guy told her that every other kitchen company was crap compared to Wren, also they started off at over £26000 but after speaking to the manager etc bulls
t they got it to £13000, as she was a bitter just divorced man hater, I did try my hardest to at least read the shockingly bad reviews she signed her contract. Customer service was rubbish and just kept fobbing her off. Op read reviews.
Also buying pre-made cabinets is easier but it's normally over double the price for flat pack, how handy are you building flat pack??
t they got it to £13000, as she was a bitter just divorced man hater, I did try my hardest to at least read the shockingly bad reviews she signed her contract. Customer service was rubbish and just kept fobbing her off. Op read reviews.Also buying pre-made cabinets is easier but it's normally over double the price for flat pack, how handy are you building flat pack??
Correvor makes some very good points about design and measurements, amongst other joinery jobs I fit kitchens for a living, 2 fairly recent Wren ones both bought by the clients had mistakes on the plans by the time I turned up to fit them.
All solved but it’s another hurdle you shouldn’t have to jump over.
As for quality, against other big shed sellers it’s like for like, they use Blum hardware the same as Howdens etc, my biggest gripe with Wren is they don’t do corner fillets, they supply 2 pieces of panel to cut and fit as a corner whereas all other big names supply a fillet which IMO looks better with the doors lines.
From a fitting POV, their plan and units are all numbered up so it’s quite simple juggling stuff about, doors are a pain as they’re already fitted so you have to take them off and stack somewhere while fitting the units, they used to supply a stand for them. Not sure if you pay extra for it but it is handy.
One thing I’ve noticed on a few Wren kitchens, if a door, panel, unit is damaged it’s all QR code for replacements which is fine but they turn up via a courier company and I’ve had it twice where the replacement has been damaged in transit so another is ordered again, no complaints about reordering it’s all simple but it’s time consuming waiting and if it’s a part needed to carry on holds the job up.
Whereas Howdens you’d drop in and if it’s not in stock at your branch will be there the next day.
All solved but it’s another hurdle you shouldn’t have to jump over.
As for quality, against other big shed sellers it’s like for like, they use Blum hardware the same as Howdens etc, my biggest gripe with Wren is they don’t do corner fillets, they supply 2 pieces of panel to cut and fit as a corner whereas all other big names supply a fillet which IMO looks better with the doors lines.
From a fitting POV, their plan and units are all numbered up so it’s quite simple juggling stuff about, doors are a pain as they’re already fitted so you have to take them off and stack somewhere while fitting the units, they used to supply a stand for them. Not sure if you pay extra for it but it is handy.
One thing I’ve noticed on a few Wren kitchens, if a door, panel, unit is damaged it’s all QR code for replacements which is fine but they turn up via a courier company and I’ve had it twice where the replacement has been damaged in transit so another is ordered again, no complaints about reordering it’s all simple but it’s time consuming waiting and if it’s a part needed to carry on holds the job up.
Whereas Howdens you’d drop in and if it’s not in stock at your branch will be there the next day.
If you have already paid a deposit with Wren good luck getting it back!!
We went to their showroom to get a design quoted, and all I did was give them my number, I had 18 months of constant calls before they gave up!!!
Looking at pricing Wren was surprisingly not much cheaper than the local independent team we have gone with. Infact the independent teams quote includes more wall units! Price difference was around 7%.
As others have said the piece of mind that comes from a local independent versus Wren is worth the extra cost alone. We've had the kitchen team on site 3 times already talking directly to the builders about studd wall placement, sparkys for wiring etc etc. We have now agreed an install date, with zero worries about quality of the product, whats actually going arrive, or whos actually going to turn up to install. Not going with Wren was probably one of the more fortuitous decisions we made early on in renovation process.
We went to their showroom to get a design quoted, and all I did was give them my number, I had 18 months of constant calls before they gave up!!!
Looking at pricing Wren was surprisingly not much cheaper than the local independent team we have gone with. Infact the independent teams quote includes more wall units! Price difference was around 7%.
As others have said the piece of mind that comes from a local independent versus Wren is worth the extra cost alone. We've had the kitchen team on site 3 times already talking directly to the builders about studd wall placement, sparkys for wiring etc etc. We have now agreed an install date, with zero worries about quality of the product, whats actually going arrive, or whos actually going to turn up to install. Not going with Wren was probably one of the more fortuitous decisions we made early on in renovation process.
Edited by gangzoom on Sunday 24th March 20:50
Promised Land said:
Whereas Howdens you’d drop in and if it’s not in stock at your branch will be there the next day.
In the middle of our install (mostly done in 2 days) I noticed the Howdens kitchen manager turn up with something. To be fair, the installer said they're all much of a muchness, but Howdens were brilliant for sorting things and Wren could be a bit of a nightmare.
Obviously we can't see the design, but the OP's price seems cheap to me. Bit difficult to know exactly, as ours was done as part of a big extension / refurb, but I reckon the Howdens kitchen cost about £20K all in, and we only had one double oven, and I supplied the gas hob (I'm guessing an extraction induction hob is quite expensive?). Our quartz was £4K (same price from 3 places).
My Wren kitchen is coming up to 8 years old and about half of the doors are delaminating... on this basis I would not recommend them. I have a utility room which is in the full glare of the sun all day with the cheapest possible B&Q units and they still look brand new 10 years later.
Puzzles said:
I bought one and fitted it myself, no complaints from me.
Same here….. quite straight forward. The few issues we had were sorted straight away!! Only issue was the wideboy quartz top fitters who suggested they did extra work worth a few hundred quid! Were obviously expecting us to tip them handsomely for it…. They got fk all!!!James-gbg1e said:
Much better off with DIY Kitchens, Benchmarx or Howdens from the reading I've done.
You're also better speaking to a local worktop/quartz supplier for more competitive pricing on a good thick piece of quartz.
Exactly what he said. I also agree with the order.You're also better speaking to a local worktop/quartz supplier for more competitive pricing on a good thick piece of quartz.
If you want more expensive look at Solid Wood Kitchens, but you're looking at spending a lot more, and the end result isn't that different.
gangzoom said:
If you have already paid a deposit with Wren good luck getting it back!!
Had absolutely no problem getting our deposit back. That's about the only good thing I can say about them. With ours, we told them our budget and had something designed to meet it. What they didn't say was that half the order didn't include fitting - only found that out when the fitter came to do the pre-fit survey and said that there would be an additional fitting charge for half the kitchen as it was being supplied flat-pack! Cancelled the order immediately as we'd been misled. Had the deposit back the next day.Wheatsheaf said:
My Wren kitchen is coming up to 8 years old and about half of the doors are delaminating... on this basis I would not recommend them. I have a utility room which is in the full glare of the sun all day with the cheapest possible B&Q units and they still look brand new 10 years later.
Our B&Q kitchen is 28 years old and from the outside still looks like new...........However the carcases are suffering from the weight of kitchen stuff Mrs BC has loaded in them so we need to replace the kitchen - I've already braced two shelves in corner cupboards and another one will need the 2x2 treatment soon.
Some of the units will be transplanted into the utility room (and I get a few new wall cupboards for the garage)
I went and looked at B&Q again and was very unimpressed - it's early days in the search for a new kitchen but comments here are useful regarding Wren,
We had a Wren kitchen fitted 9 years ago.
Positives: Good design service, delivery was great (turned up on time, no missing bits), kitchen is still in good condition. We cook every day and bake about twice a week so heavy use and nothing has fallen off yet.
Negatives: While they don't employ the fitters, they appoint the fitters. Ours were appalling. Wren quoted 1 week for the job, fitters took 3 weeks, not helped by them going on holiday in the middle of a job. On other days would turn up for 2 hours and go home, leaving house unlocked etc etc. Had issues with the fitting and finish of worktop, Wren were quite good, inspected the job, replaced the worktop and had it fitted by someone more competent.
We are happy with Wren as a supplier, but would find our own fitters next time.
To be fair we had an even worse experience when having a bathroom fitted with a national (no longer in business) chain. Basically find your own good workmen and use them for everything is what we have learnt. Convenient to get a one stop service but hear too many horror stories.
Positives: Good design service, delivery was great (turned up on time, no missing bits), kitchen is still in good condition. We cook every day and bake about twice a week so heavy use and nothing has fallen off yet.
Negatives: While they don't employ the fitters, they appoint the fitters. Ours were appalling. Wren quoted 1 week for the job, fitters took 3 weeks, not helped by them going on holiday in the middle of a job. On other days would turn up for 2 hours and go home, leaving house unlocked etc etc. Had issues with the fitting and finish of worktop, Wren were quite good, inspected the job, replaced the worktop and had it fitted by someone more competent.
We are happy with Wren as a supplier, but would find our own fitters next time.
To be fair we had an even worse experience when having a bathroom fitted with a national (no longer in business) chain. Basically find your own good workmen and use them for everything is what we have learnt. Convenient to get a one stop service but hear too many horror stories.
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