Wickes
B&Q
Wren
Noname

Your suggestions and experiance please, doesnt need to be super fancy

Design it yourself and buy it from Ikea and then hire a decent carpenter / joiner. That's what we did – all decent appliances etc and it came in including fitting at about half the cost from B&Q/Wickes etc.

Don't, whatever you do, go anywhere near Moben. Complete bunch of muppets – nearly killed my wife and I / burnt down the flats we lived in with very dangerous electrics. Very long story of amazing incompetence both on behalf of the subcontractor (they DON'T have their own fitters) and then Moben when trying to put it all right. Dragged on for about 2 years.

Just fitted an ikea over chrimbo. Not that much difference in price to the B&Q off the shelf stuff but i think it's better quality, easy to put together.

B&Q really stick it to you on the extras like trim etc. which adds up.

Only thing with ikea cabinets is the backs have to go flush with the wall which means you have to be a bit creative where there is plumbing. Would get your handles, sink, taps and stuff from somewhere cheaper though.

Their worktops are wide though and their wall cupboards a lot deeper than standard.

IKEA – flush fitting cabinets can be a pain, but the rest of it works really well.

another Ikea fan here.

Fitted a simple set of carcass/doors/solid wood work tops to our current kitchen. So happy with them that Im going to use the same stuff in the new house Im currently building.

Good quality, straightforward to install and excellent value. In fact I dont think you can buy a solid wood work top from anyone else for less.

Also the kitchen deigner software (whether you end up buying from Ikea or not) you can download from their site is a doddle to use.

Ikea does have some very good kitchens for the money.

You could get yourself a designer in, to give yourself some ideas. It's a little daunting trying to work out the ideal layout.

We were lucky/unlucky with our house, as there is really only one layout for our kitchen that works, so we knew what we wanted, its just a case of what we needed to put in the gaps.

We used a recommended local kitchen company, who gave me a quote for just supply, and then supply and fit. Good job I was sat down. They wanted nearly £6k for a supply only, and between £2-2.5k to fit. This was for a small 15 unit kitchen…

I found a wholesale place that sold the same units for £1800 delivered. Local fitter wanted £1000 to fit (who actually contracts to said same company!). I gave them the opportunity to price it up a little more sensibly, but they came back at still well over double the cost.

Kitchen markups are outrageous. Unless you do the Ikea thing, be prepared to haggle hard & don't be afraid to source yourself.

Another Ikea recommendation. I like the fact that the units are flush to the wall as that makes them deeper than standard. A fitter will be looking for £1,000 or so, but it's not so hard you can't do it yourself. The solid wood worktops are great – but they need oiled occasionally to keep them at their best.

Ikea here. My 2nd. Lift it with an interesting floor/sink/worktop etc

Howedens. Trade only but there are ways around it if you have a word with a branch manager. Massive range and noone will get near them on price.

What sort of style and quality are you looking for?
What's the approx size of the kitchen and what appliances are you wanting?
Also, what's your max budget?
Before looking at suppliers, you need to set your budget. I always ask customers for 2 figures, ideal spend and absolute max if it's a bargain and worth the extra.
Budget must include everything! Units, handles, appliances, tiles, fitting, plumbing, electrics. I do the complete job myself so can control all the costs and standard of work.
Budget must always come first, then we talk about manufacturers, appliances, tiles etc.

[TheFunkyMonkey – if you drop me an email (in profile) I might have some work for you later this year (Littleborough nr. Rochdale)

Hi thanks every one my max budget is probably £4k for everything, the room is 3.95 x 2.89 i have some good contractors that i cn use so thats no a prolem there, just need to get a copy of the Metric handbook and my offer accepted on the house.

the ikea kitchens do look good

Wickes catalogue range (not the pick up in store ones) are really good.. can't recommend them enough.

much better quality than any of the ikea stuff I have seen (much higher density wood, and better laminates), plus they do nice work surfaces too.

We got their kitchen designer to come and give us some ideas – free and no obligation, he didn't even give us much of a sales pitch. We liked what he had done, and he gave us full parts lists. In the end we bought our units from Wickes, worktop from a separate wood place and our appliances online. I fitted it all myself.

very very happy with service and quality (fitted 2 years ago, still as new).

Dave