Wren kitchens

[rudebhoy]

Anyone used this mob and if so, would you recommend them?

Had 2 quotes last week, and they are coming in cheaper than Howden's for what looks like a slightly better kitchen (22mm doors vs 18).

 

[AmandaJR]

Anyone used this mob and if so, would you recommend them?

Had 2 quotes last week, and they are coming in cheaper than Howden's for what looks like a slightly better kitchen (22mm doors vs 18).

We have one. Quality of the kitchen itself is great BUT the fitter was absolutely useless. If you can find a fitter you can trust then fine but their recommended one was quite literally a cowboy. They sorted out his multiple errors but it was a pain and never quite as good as it should be.

 

[rudebhoy]

We have one. Quality of the kitchen itself is great BUT the fitter was absolutely useless. If you can find a fitter you can trust then fine but their recommended one was quite literally a cowboy. They sorted out his multiple errors but it was a pain and never quite as good as it should be.

Thanks. I’ve got my own fitter who has done a couple of jobs for me and done a great job.

 

[GreiginFife]

yeah, ours is Wren. Fitter is a mate and he’s notoriously harsh on anything other than Howdens but even he conceded that the quality if the pre-built cabinets was pretty decent.

 

[jim8flog]

I have seen a few comments on various TV progs about how poor their fitters can be.

 

[chrisd]

We used Wren a few years back. The designer was pretty useless so Mrs d and I designed our own set up. The delivery was spot on and I got my own builders who were extending our kitchen to do the fitting and, to be fair, it's still pretty good some 7 to 8 years on. I did push hard for the best discounts and we came out ok against Howdens and others.

 

[KenL]

The fitter is key. We went with Wren and the fitter they provided was absolutely first class. He was meticulous in everything he did.

Very happy with the quality of the kitchen units, work tops and tech wall we went for.

 

[KenL]

I have seen a few comments on various TV progs about how poor their fitters can be.

You do not have to use their fitters, so if you have someone you know and trust that would be the way to go.

 

[GreiginFife]

Just realised ours is 6 years old now and the cabinets still look like new (very easy wipe clean surfaces).

I'm looking to build an extension this year that will house a new kitchen but will be looking at building it all myself.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

My kitchens a Wren, with black quartz worktops. I fitted the kitchen and appliances, but their quartz worktop company did the measure, supply an pd install. The kitchen is very solid and easily as strong as the old Magnet units I had that had the mitred and resin bonded carcasses.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

We used Wren a few years back. The designer was pretty useless so Mrs d and I designed our own set up. The delivery was spot on and I got my own builders who were extending our kitchen to do the fitting and, to be fair, it's still pretty good some 7 to 8 years on. I did push hard for the best discounts and we came out ok against Howdens and others.

This was our experience when looking for a new kitchen. We were put off Wren by the designer 'doing it by numbers' and seeming to lack imagination for our space. We got a great design from Optiplan - but they went bust - and so we took their plan to Howdens and we now have a very nice kitchen (fitted by our builder's specialist kitchen fitters - who had fitted many Howdens kitchens). It's not the most expensive of kitchens...of course it isn't - but it's just what we had hoped for.

I think Wren would probably have been similar. Pity about the design stage.

 

[chrisd]

I think Wren would probably have been similar. Pity about the design stage.

We extended our kitchen to about 28 x 18 and the designer wanted to put in huge central island, her design was about the size of the landing deck of the Ark Royal, we did put a decent size one in but with hers we'd struggle to pass the ovens without burning ourselves, or having to vault the island.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

We extended our kitchen to about 28 x 18 and the designer wanted to put in huge central island, her design was about the size of the landing deck of the Ark Royal, we did put a decent size one in but with hers we'd struggle to pass the ovens without burning ourselves, or having to vault the island.

It is rare that I come across a central island that works. We considered one for ourselves but very quickly binned the idea - even though we could have fitted it in. But 'fitted it in' is the gist of it - what an amount of unusable or wasted space - with cramped circulation. And there does seem a desire to make them as big as possible - regardless. For us - islands were a fad that looked good in a brochure or online - without real people around.

 

[chrisd]

It is rare that I come across a central island that works. We considered one for ourselves but very quickly binned the idea - even though we could have fitted it in. But 'fitted it in' is the gist of it - what an amount of unusable or wasted space - with cramped circulation. And there does seem a desire to make them as big as possible - regardless. For us - islands were a fad that looked good in a brochure or online - without real people around.

To be fair we are very happy with ours, and it's especially good when we have plenty of room to set up for a buffet etc

 

[AmandaJR]

We extended our kitchen to about 28 x 18 and the designer wanted to put in huge central island, her design was about the size of the landing deck of the Ark Royal, we did put a decent size one in but with hers we'd struggle to pass the ovens without burning ourselves, or having to vault the island.

With your hips?!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

To be fair we are very happy with ours, and it's especially good when we have plenty of room to set up for a buffet etc

We thought of such things - but decided that needing an island for such as setting out a buffet wasn't sufficient on the plus side, when we could get sufficient worktop space for our purposes with a small peninsula - which is what we went for. See pics on my post #342 of the New Kitchen Advice thread (it's a Howdens kitchen).. But I can certainly see that if I had loads of space I might well think on an island.

 

[Aztecs27]

yeah, ours is Wren. Fitter is a mate and he’s notoriously harsh on anything other than Howdens but even he conceded that the quality if the pre-built cabinets was pretty decent.

Similar to our story.

My mate is a chippy and fits a lot of kitchens - Happily fits Wren and Howdens.

We're just about to order a very expensive (large) new Wren kitchen for our extension. The lass in the showroom has been incredibly patient with us (changing it 3 or 4 times and still not finalised it - build starts tomorrow )

Fortunately our builders provided fitting as part of the extension build, so it's all factored into the price. SS Extensions are their bread and butter, so I've got pretty good confidence they'll do a good job.

 

[Aztecs27]

It is rare that I come across a central island that works. We considered one for ourselves but very quickly binned the idea - even though we could have fitted it in. But 'fitted it in' is the gist of it - what an amount of unusable or wasted space - with cramped circulation. And there does seem a desire to make them as big as possible - regardless. For us - islands were a fad that looked good in a brochure or online - without real people around.

We're looking at an Island OR a peninsula (or nothing) as the kitchen space is quite large (approx 4.5m x 5m - the entire kitchen diner extension we're having built is about 32sqm) so we didn't want it to look lost without SOMETHING, but I'm now considering just going with neither.

 

[chrisd]

With your hips?!

I'd look pretty silly doing it without !

 

[3 jabber]

We have a Wren kitchen. Pretty much what everyone else says, quality is great but their fitters have a bad reputation. I found my own fitter, he was impressed with their quality. Had it about 5 years now, no issues.