John Lewis Kitchens

[dumbfunk]

Just wondering if anybody has had any experience, good or bad, of John Lewis as a kitchen supplier and installer?

I realise that they're not the cheapest option (I'm spending £10-12k) but the idea of having one dependable company supply and fit absolutely everything appeals to me - from experience I know that good fitting is half the battle and think I've heard more horror stories about poor or difficult kitchen installation than any other home improvement project! Another plus is that there are no hidden items or super-soaraway- sale style price negotiation needed.

Cheers



dumbfunk

[mybrainhurts]

Dumbfunk...

[dumbfunk]

erm ... yes?

[pokethepope]

I worked within the dept. but on the appliances section on my gap year recently, the only bit i can help on is our store offered kitchens from all the usual suppliers and the JL own brand ones, but fitting is not done by JL, my store used a local company that does appliance and kitchen installations. So experiances may vary from store to store depending on how good the company they use is, although JL customer service is second to none, make a little complaint and the manager will bend over backwards to help.

Edited by pokethepope on Saturday 22 November 18:22

[paddy27]

Omega kitchens near doncaster used to supply john lewis with their kitchens, not sure if they still do, but I can recommend their Sheraton range.

[SS HSV]

I would shop around and see what iss on offer from various dedicated Kitchen fitters.

You don't get glasses from a butcher and you don't buy milk from Blockbuster video... clearly they are using a subby so why add the middle mans' chunk on the top?

Personally I would go to the manufacturer/registered installer but I have no personal experience of JL.

[Scrotum]

Are you an MP??? It all tallies up, the username sealed it for me

[jazzybee]

I fitted a John Lewis in my previous house back in the good old Dot.com days. Service was good and it was very nice to have one company to deal with. I spent around £15k. IIRC £6-7k was for the Granite tops - the granite top fitters were loud, swore a lot and were generally inconsiderate. The main fitter was fantastic, in fact most of the experience was fantastic - the kitchen was late, but as they arranged the fitter, I was not that bothered - I just had to reschedule the tiler. I recently did my kitchen in my new home and did it differently this time. Find a good fitter/carpenter, but the units from somewhere like B&Q or Howdens - you'll not really notice the difference in quality, and spend the money on a nice top, the tiles, handles, and equipment. You can probably source a granite top at half the price John Lewis charges - well thats what I worked out last time.

[Rob.]

In my last house I had a non JL supplied kitchen fitted by one of JL Nottingham`s fitters. He was fantastic and not long ago a mate of mine who is a builder came across the same fitter and thought the same thing. He wasn`t cheap but the standard was first class IMO.

[dumbfunk]

Thanks for the feedback everyone (and for the PM Lewis).

You are of course correct that they're marking up some other companies product but I guess that's what pays for the assurances their reputation gives on fitting and problem resolution. From what I read here it seems that this is quite highly valued. Planner arriving Wednesday for an accurate quote then I'll weight my options.

Cheers again.



dumbfunk

[Gunny Sergeant D]

I've fitted a JL kitchen 2002 they are very well engineered. I've also fitted 2 Schreiber (MFI when it was a manufacturer and retailer). Sadly MFI retail was sold off by Galiform (the new parent co). Galiform punt there product through Howdens if its anything like what Schreiber used to be then its the best VFM product on the market.

[Simpo Two]

I used MFI carcasses (just after they left Howdens) and they're fine - 18mm and perfectly well made - and 20% of the cost of the fancy German ones. I even managed to upgrade an Hygena kitchen to soft-close drawers and cupboards, which was satisfying as they said it was impossible

Wickes is also worth a look - you may be surprised!

[Gunny Sergeant D]

You could pop into Howdens and get them to recommend a fitter. With the cash you'll save you can pump this into Granite and better appliances.

[allgonepetetong]

Gunny Sergeant D said:

You could pop into Howdens and get them to recommend a fitter. With the cash you'll save you can pump this into Granite and better appliances.

Worth doing. With kitchens, whilst the quality of the units is important, the most important factor by a mile is the quality of the installation.
Find a good fitter and he will make an average kitchen the best it can be. Get a crap fitter and he will make the best kitchen, well, crap.

My dad is actually in this line so may be able to offer some advice directly.

HTH

[K50 DEL]

Gunny Sergeant D said:

You could pop into Howdens and get them to recommend a fitter. With the cash you'll save you can pump this into Granite and better appliances.

Done 3 so far in various relative's houses, always buy Howdens carcasses and spend more cash on the tops and tiles.

[anonymous-user]

Had them in , some "designer" who was obv. a salesman with no imagination it would seem but still wanted to charge 30k

Just in the process of getting a smallbone one in , amazing discount (which is to be expected , look at the prices) and above all , a designer with passion and who actually knows what he is talking about.

BGH

[barney123]

BigGameHunter said:

Had them in , some "designer" who was obv. a salesman with no imagination it would seem but still wanted to charge 30k

Just in the process of getting a smallbone one in , amazing discount (which is to be expected , look at the prices) and above all , a designer with passion and who actually knows what he is talking about.

BGH

Got a brochure from smallbones - very expensive (brochure) - put me off getting a quote ! From what I could tell they cost £50K upwards !

[anonymous-user]

barney123 said:

BigGameHunter said:

Had them in , some "designer" who was obv. a salesman with no imagination it would seem but still wanted to charge 30k

Just in the process of getting a smallbone one in , amazing discount (which is to be expected , look at the prices) and above all , a designer with passion and who actually knows what he is talking about.

BGH

Got a brochure from smallbones - very expensive (brochure) - put me off getting a quote ! From what I could tell they cost £50K upwards !

Hi to be fair yes they are expensive but 30k is easily possible too.

Their designs blow JL out of the water thats all , along with the whole "experience"

[zcacogp]

Simpo Two said:

Wickes is also worth a look - you may be surprised!

They certainly are worth a look, and I was surprised. We looked at, bought, and fitted a Wickes kitchen about 8 months ago, and the quality of the units was excellent. As was the customer service. And it seemed very competitively priced.

We did our own design and fitting (as already mentioned, expensive worktops, tiles, taps, lights and door handles make a mid-priced kitchen look expensive), but you could easily find a good local fitter to put yours together. But this way you do lose the 'one-stop-shop' which JL offer.

Absolutely agree with the notion that a cheap kitchen put together well will both last longer and look better than an expensive kitchen put together badly. Quality of workmanship in the fitting is key.


Oli.

[K50 DEL]

barney123 said:

BigGameHunter said:

Had them in , some "designer" who was obv. a salesman with no imagination it would seem but still wanted to charge 30k

Just in the process of getting a smallbone one in , amazing discount (which is to be expected , look at the prices) and above all , a designer with passion and who actually knows what he is talking about.

BGH

Got a brochure from smallbones - very expensive (brochure) - put me off getting a quote ! From what I could tell they cost £50K upwards !

My sister works for them, whilst it's possible to spend that much, by no means all of their clients do.
Many are ordinary people!!