So, ignoring the inevitable price haggling malarkey, does anyone have any experience of Magnet kitchens in terms of general quality/robustness etc. I will probably be fitting it myself so are there any drawbacks in design on that front. In the early stages of getting a design together at the moment. Our last one came from Texas Homecare so you can imagine how long ago that was.

Ours it still going after 15+ years…

I fitted it myself, seemed straightforward.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/9LXEGC]Kitchen[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

It’s 20 years since we fitted a magnet kitchen but they were one of the better UK high street suppliers then.  Definitely a cut above Wren or Howdens.

If you’re going to fit it yourself there must be better options though.

Most solid units we’ve fitted – http://mereway.co.uk

Best value – Ikea

What do you mean by better options as a matter of interest?

I’ve had a  Sommerton for 3 years. I’ve had to have a couple of doors replaced due to cracking but others are fine.

The biggest discounts are in October.

It’s 20 years since we fitted a magnet kitchen but they were one of the better UK high street suppliers then.  Definitely a cut above Wren or Howdens.

I used to fit for MFI and Magnet BITD and I’d argue opposite tbh.  Magnet were a ball ache to fit compared to MFI/Howdens (were the same company).  End panels were cheap looking and too short to get over out of level rooms, no allowance of material to scribe to out of plumb walls.

These days I’d not argue one over the other, whichever you like the design of and can get the best deal on really.

I recently tried magnet when having my kitchen fitted. I wrongly assumed they were a premium kitchen brand. They were second worse only to Wren.

I went to two branches and neither seemed like they actually wanted to sell a kitchen. I designed the layout myself and went in with a list of cupboards and all the bits i would need and both branches said they would get back to me with a quote. Neither branch bothered to contact me which didn’t worry me as the kitchens weren’t great quality and they couldn’t do custom size units. I did eventually get a call from Magnet about a month after I went in to see them and the price they quoted was 4 times higher than anyone else (except wren). They tried the fake discounts at which point i told them to stop wasting their time and mine.

I ended up going for a local company who specialise in high end and could make whatever style kitchen I wanted in whatever size I wanted. this allowed me to get more creative and they bent over backwards to make sure everything worked as it should. The price was also very good and cheaper than wrens fake prices who again were limited by standard cupboard sizes and software that wouldn’t allow for deviations off standard.

One thing I was told by the owner of one kitchen company and it rang true the more showrooms I visited is that a lot of smaller independent kitchen companies order doors from the same few manufactures and make their own carcasses to suit. so quality doesn’t vary too much. Good design and fitting can be more important.

Bigger companies like wren make their own but i wouldn’t ever recommend Wren to anyone.

To summarise: You can get much better quality and service for less money.

And I’ve never really rated IKEA kitchens either despite all the love they receive.  I tried a DIYkitchens.com one and I thought the process was a bit of a pain in the rear and the price not any better than Howdens IMHO.

Instill use Howdens as my go to kitchen supplier even though they’re not as cheap as they once were.  The having everything in stock on the shelf business model really is great for fitters.  Delaying/part finishing fits due to missing or damaged stock is a real PITA.

I’ll report back in a couple of months as I’m currently getting my line manager/friend one for her new house. I know someone who works there which means I can get her a FANTASTIC discount!

Magnet kitchens. I’ve never seen the attraction.

I’m just the opposite

I find your cheap puns repellent.

We’re going through the same hoops right now, have found Magnet to be poles apart from several local independent stores.

Pardon the pun.

Poles apart in a good or bad way-diy stores or bespoke dealers? Losing my bearings now

Hmmm, I’m getting a new magnet kitchen fitted in my house soon but only 4 base units, 3 wall units and worktop/doors, (housing association/rented) – should I be worried? , I’m sure it’ll be an improvement over the original that was fitted when the house was built back in 1990 so I shouldn’t really complain.

I wouldn’t.  The fitter is as important as the kitchen most of the time, a bad fitter can wreck even the most expensive kitchen.

I’ve not had a single problem with ours in 15 years whereas my brother has had loads of problems with his Ikea kitchen after less than a year with laminates peeling off cupboard / drawer fronts etc.

 The having everything in stock on the shelf business model really is great for fitters.

That said, some branches have a rather lax idea of what “first thing tomorrow” means (clue, it’s not **** 4pm you useless shower of ****) .

They also need to look at the training of their kitchen designers – ours was a bit rubbish, and specced the wrong depth wall cupboards & wrong height drawers.

All simple things, but easily fixable on their side…

Standard Magnet kitchens appear O.K. to me. Been on a little crew fitting them fairly constantly for 3 years. They appear to be lasting fairly well. Depending where you live somafunk I could be in your house soon!