Sorry - Another Shaker kitchen question? Which company??
joduring
7 years ago
We are based in the Midlands and planning a painted shaker kitchen for our house renovation but my head is spinning from all the options? We probably need some bespoke elements as we have a slightly awkward space and want to utilise the whole height of the wall (~2.7m). Whilst I want it to be good quality and look beautiful, I don't want to spend more than necessary as so far this
house is eating money!!
All advice and recommendations welcome, in particular has anyone used Shaker Kitchen Company, White Kitchen Company, kitchens 4 DIY, Evie Willow or Broadway Bespoke Kitchens to name a few!
house is eating money!!
All advice and recommendations welcome, in particular has anyone used Shaker Kitchen Company, White Kitchen Company, kitchens 4 DIY, Evie Willow or Broadway Bespoke Kitchens to name a few!
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PROKitchenrooms
7 years ago- PRO
Kitchenrooms
7 years ago Related Discussions
Sorry, another kitchen layout/re-design question
Comments (10)Hi, thanks for the replies. Like expected, the comments make a lot of sense. Minnie101: Personally I’m not too fussed about the open plan / locking away the mess dilemma. I’m firmly in the camp of ‘if the wife wants it, then that’s what we’ll be getting’. We’ve spoken about it, and she’s decided that she’s right J Great shout on bringing the breakfast bar in a bit, I’ll need to get the tape measure out to see what the width around the table would be. I’d completely forgot about allowing space for bar-stools. Yes, the small piece of wall in the centre of the kitchen is structural, that’s where the old outside wall was and the extension built (my assumption without seeing old plans, as I know that it’s been extended, and that side is where the extension is). It’s actually been squared off into a false chimney / alcove with a light in it. Looks really nice with a big vase of natural grasses in it. I’ll get a picture when I’m home. The study will be used as (currently in discussion) my ‘man cave’. I want to turn it into a music room (I have 4 guitars, amps, effect pedals, mic stands etc). I want to put my nice stereo in there, a tele up on the wall, and computer. The Mrs seems to agree with this in order for me to tuck myself away and not annoy everyone else in the house – on one condition, that I put a large cupboard/chest in there for the additional kids toys so we have a place to tidy them away, and a cabinet of some sort for the paperwork/files/stuff that we generally have lying around. It should be big enough to do all things and keep everyone happy. Also, hadn’t really thought about the casual bench dining against the wall – now there’s an idea worth thinking about !! Thanks...See MoreShaker Kitchen Company?
Comments (14)In the interests of fairness I thought I should follow up on my previous posts on this subject. We now have a stunning kitchen, perfect for our family and the culmination of 3+ years of meticulous planning. The Shaker Kitchen Co product is very well built and of high quality. Although aspects of the product are simplistic (roller catches, shelf supports etc) this IMO only adds to the appeal and takes nothing away from the well crafted product. BUT... I would find it very hard to recommend others using them unless you have a very high threshold for pain and a bucket load of patience. For us the gamble (which we always knew that it was) paid off though. We walked into their Fulham showroom in July very clear about what we wanted and armed with our credit card to sign on the dotted line there and then. We weren’t browsing, we meant business. It was many weeks later, and 6+ iterations of the same design before they finally managed to (just about) draw what we wanted. Each subsequent iteration of the design rectified one mistake but bizarrely introduced several new ones each time. Their emphasis on you fully owning and signing-off their production drawings suited me fine as I know every millimetre of our kitchen and am famiilar with working drawings), but watch out if you are not technically minded and are reliant upon their design expertise – attention to detail is certainly not their specialism (nor is returning phone calls). You need to re-check the same dimensions/production notes each time you receive a revised design and watch out for the unexpected/unrequested little changes. In the end I reluctantly signed off a drawing which was strictly correct but badly annotated and which would inevitably lead to the eventual production mistakes which I knew were coming 14 weeks later. We never did receive all the promised colour samples, but again this was no great concern as we were pretty clear what we wanted. Delivery team were professional and efficient (I’ve met them twice now as they’ve been back to deliver the wrong size products more than once!) Mistakes in the units were pointed out to them promptly (predominantly items manufactured to incorrect dimensions). Again not a problem if you are confident enough in your knowledge of joinery to dismantle units and rectify mistakes yourself. Excuses provided were polite but laughable. If we waited for them to resolve themselves we definitely wouldn’t be using the kitchen this Christmas. Apparently if we had used their fitters they would have fixed these mistakes themselves at no extra fitting cost (err, yes). Have had a couple of attempts to get the pantry slate shelf the correct size. Not a problem if you work from home and are happy to take the ‘will they turn up when promised’ gamble. Have finally cut this to size myself now. Am no geologist but suspect the slate itself originally formed in the ground faster than their customer service. They have however, reimbursed all additional costs incurred (I think). So in summary, they do the difficult part well (or at least their joiners in Czech Republic do) and the easy part badly. I suspect that, as the product is actually good value, that they are simply very busy and cannot cope with demand at present. The finished kitchen will continue to please us long after the memory of the short-term experience has faded. If they could just sort out their ’designers’/admin/customer service etc in the future - or even just provide their staff with some training on how to slow down and actually read customers' correspondence properly - then I suspect they could be charging much more than they currently are. I personally think their product is better than DeVol, but I so wanted to place an order with the lovely attentive diligent people at DeVol or Sustainable Kitchens at the time just because of how nice, professional and responsive they were. Don’t say you haven’t been warned!...See MoreThe Shaker Kitchen Company
Comments (19)You should only order a Shaker kitchen if you do not value your patience, self-respect, time and - most of all - hard-earned cash. It would be too boring to go into the litany of broken promises, missing items, unavailable items, damaged items, substandard items, amateur rectification, unpaid refunds and total lack of communication. On this last point, don’t be taken in by the shopping experience - the showroom staff are great but the back office is hopeless. It is impossible to get a meaningful response from them. Please note that things are no better under the new owners; they are very evasive and clearly have no respect for customers. On this page, you will see that the new owners are using weasel legal explanations to try to shrug off these reviews, which does not change the horrendous customer experience. (But, as they are being technical about their acquisition, let’s look at that too; I very much doubt they are servicing existing customers out of the goodness of their hearts. It is more likely that the revenue of the existing customers’ contracts is one of the assets that they bought, which means they have legal obligations to such customers.) There is also a review from Mr Grunfeld, who is apparently the founder of the Shaker Kitchen Company (whose assets were acquired by Shaker Workshop). He clearly does not respect the voice of his customer, which explains why the culture of the business that he has transferred to Shaker Workshop is so poor. Legislation such as the Consumer Rights Act 2015 was introduced to protect customers against the attitude of businesses such as Shaker (in both its guises). The business seems toxic so only deal with them if you want to be contaminated. It is an ugly experience....See MoreWhite shaker timber kitchen with black marquina worktop
Comments (14)It is stunning. She used 2700K downlighters and of course there's an edison bulb so that will affect perceived lighting. In natural light the cashmere looks like a warm pinky grey with a tinge of magenta which goes perfectly with F&B Skimming Stone. The tiles are also a similar hue, so it all ties together. You can message her on instagram if you want to know more about the worktop. I think she got it as part of the deal at DIY kitchens....See More
User
7 years ago
PROCreate Perfect
7 years ago
PROSparrow & Blythe Kitchens
7 years agoHi. We have just completed a kitchen in a shaker style, but with some bespoke elements included to make the most of the space. We are lucky that we are independent designers/suppliers so we can easily 'mix and match' to be sure you get exactly what you want. I have attached a picture of the one we have just finished which shows the shaker style 'standard' units combined with the bespoke shelving and wine rack to take it right up to the ceiling. This isn't as tall as your space, but we could do something similar. Good luck!
Light and airy kitchen in Kent · More Info
PROFloors of Stone
7 years ago- PRO
Kitchenrooms
7 years agoAnother example as shown below. This project was completed for £10,500 fitted including Granite worktops and appliances. If you interested in a no obligation home design and quote, you can contact us through our page to arrange an appointment.
PROMcEvoy & Rowley
7 years ago
Claire Nicholson