There are soooo many kitchen companies that claim their new kitchen cabinets start from a certain price, but what does the price they advertise actually include? If you read the small print, you’ll find they often omit many necessities!
New Kitchen Cabinet Example
A lot of kitchen suppliers simply price the cabinetry and doors, usually based on an 8-unit example kitchen like the one shown above. To help you understand the initial prices you’re likely to find online, we’ve broken down our new kitchen cost so you know what you’re getting for your money. Here is a list of the 8 units shown and our own example price using our Impressions door:
600mm Medium Height Larder Unit
500mm Medium Wall Unit
500mm Medium Wall Unit
1000mm Medium Wall Unit
500mm Hi-Line Base Unit
600mm Under Oven Base Unit
600mm 3 Drawer Base Unit
1000mm Hi-Line Sink Base Unit
Cost = £1222.03 (inc. VAT)
This is the basic structure of the kitchen, however there are a few areas that you could look into to make sure you’re getting the best kitchen offers out there. Some questions you could ask are:
Is the space below the oven useable? Some kitchens come with a fixed panel but at EKS, we hinge the panel, so you can still use the space to store items such as oven trays and chopping boards. You can even upgrade to a drawer if you’d like.
Is the sink unit specifically built to accommodate plumbing? Some companies provide a regular unit which needs to be adapted, however EKS sink units come with a removeable, magnetic back. This allows access to the plumbing when needed, however it works to hide it the rest of the time.
What height of wall/larder units are you being quoted for? Our Medium wall units are 720mm high and our Medium larder units are 1965mm high (or 2115mm high with legs), however at EKS you can also choose Short and Tall heights in both. As the cost differs for each height, make sure the price you’re looking at is what you want to receive.
If you have a keen eye for detail, you may have spotted there are several items in our new kitchen cabinets image that is NOT shown in the list above. Some of these are integral parts of the kitchen, however, are rarely mentioned in the first instance by our competitors. When the costs are added on to the 8 unit example, the overall price is increased.
Below we’ve listed the additional elements that we have included in the EKS example, which have not been accounted for in the previous price. We’ve listed the items that are a requirement as a ‘must-have’ below, and those elements that aren’t integral to the kitchen, but contribute to the design, as ‘nice-to-have’.
2 x Plinths – ‘must-have’
13 x Handles – ‘must-have’
1 x Worktop – ‘must-have’
1 x Oven – ‘must-have’
1 x Hob – ‘must-have’
1 x Extractor – ‘must-have’
1 x Sink – ‘must-have’
1 x Tap – ‘must-have’
2 x Tall End Panels (used either side of the Medium Larder Unit) – ‘must-have’
3 x Wall End Panels (used either side of the extractor and the far right-hand side) – ‘must-have’
1 x Base End Panel (used to the far right-hand side) – ‘must-have’
Pelmet (trim positioned underneath the wall units) – ‘nice-to-have’
Cornice (trim positioned on top of the wall units) – ‘nice-to-have’
Lighting – ‘nice-to-have’
Cutlery Tray – ‘nice-to-have’
So, including every item shown in the image, here is what the kitchen reeeally costs: £2399.19 (inc. VAT).
Clearly there is a pretty big difference between the first new kitchen cost and the second, however most of the items we’ve added are essential to the kitchen design. We want to be as up-front and honest as possible, so you know you’re getting value for money.
For this example, we have used aluminium handles, a 38mm laminate worktop, CDA appliances and a Caple sink and tap.
More Top Tips
Other things you need to keep an eye out for are whether the soft close hinges are included in the price, or if these are added on as an extra cost. Another thing to look out for is if there are two soft close hinges being provided, some Exeter kitchen showrooms only supply one soft close hinge and one normal hinge, while advertising soft close. This is not something you need to worry about at Exeter Kitchen Store, as we offer two soft close hinges and drawer boxes as standard!
Check whether you’re looking at the cost of a pre-assembled kitchen or a flatpack kitchen. We pre-assemble all our cabinets, which allows us to thoroughly check the quality of each one AND it saves time when installing the kitchen. This, in turn, saves YOU money.
One of the best things you can do when investigating your new kitchen costs, is to get an itemised quote. This way you can see exactly what your money is being spent on, where you could allow more budget or how you can cut costs.
Another element that you can take note of is whether you are quoted for clad on or replacement end panels. We have clad on end panels shown in our example, which means you won’t have added fitter costs, as replacement panels are more labour intensive to fit.
Now that you know all the details of our new kitchen costs, make sure to prepare for your new kitchen by clicking here to find out all the relevant kitchen info available.
