My visit to Wren. Opinions welcome...

6 years ago

I had a "design" at Wren kitchen. I went in full of excitement and left completely deflated. The photo is what they came up with. Not really what I wanted cupboard wise, ive compromised on everything and doesn't leave me room around the kitchen to do what I want with dining/seating area, but my main question is the price. It's got quartz work tops, no appliances, includes the three tall units....£35000 but half price in their current promotion £17000. Really?! Is this how much kitchens cost? I'm genuinely shocked, or are they conning the custom er with their half price offer??

Featured Answer

Resh

6 years ago

By the way, I designed my own kitchen. 9m x 4.5m room, with a 3m island. Solid oak cabinets and doors. £13k, £18k with Siemens appliances bought online, including laundry stuff, induction and has jobs, 3 ovens and separate fridge and freezer. Admittedly no stone worktop, but still. You can do a lot better.

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Comments (43)

April Smith
6 years ago
Totally agree! I’ve had to compromise on everything and in the end ( after paying my deposit) I insisted that the cooker went back to its original position of where it is now- they said it couldn’t be done so I said just turn the oven housing upside down or the microwave was only going to be 21” from the floor! H&S or what! with grandchild using it as a garage for his cars.!
Price was expensive compared to a bespoke company locally, but delivery and fitting times were better. The units are all standard and prefabricated but the fitter seems to have a problem understanding what jigsaws are for....waiting for my Easter fitting and will send results if I’m not happy. Everything is an extra, skip hire, removal of the old kitchen, electrician to sort the amp socket for the oven, microwave and hob. Also, the design I picked, you cannot have a tumble dryer behind it as it’s a fire risk.
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
I don't know if this helps but I got my kitchen from ikea. I paid 3.5K for kitchen and paid my carpenter 3.5K for fitting. I also gutted the whole room and utility, replastered, rewired, whole cabbodle. The entire cost of the whole thing was around 15K, and that included about 40sq m of concrete look tiling. My carpenter was able to chop down units and make it look completely bespoke. Worktops were a thin layer of quartz on top of moisture resistant MDF. Total price around 15K. Carpenter is now putting an Ikea kitchen in his own house which must mean something. What is the difference between the actual units? Does anybody know?
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Coco Liu
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We had extremely bad experience with Wren. At the installation stage, which was too late to amend design or ask for refund, we found out we had to compromise by giving up one sink (designed for 2), F/F housing and the handless look (they found out weeks after the installation started that handleless doors we ordered were discontinued!) sloppy management and very poor customer service.
PRO
User
6 years ago
They told my daughter and Son in Law, that they 'Didn't really cater for their end of the market' if that wasn't a slur I don't know what is. They were planning on around £6k for units and appliances plus fitting............I don't call that REALLY cheap - it's not a massive kitchen. They went to Howdens in the end and paid just under £6k plus did the Utility room too for the price plus fitting.

Our son's just ordered from Ikea.
Daisy England
6 years ago
You're being robbed at that price. Their reviews are appalling. Steer clear. Look at smaller individual companies. They are no more expensive despite people assuming they will be.
Resh
6 years ago
Do not use them - awful company. Better quality cabinets at a fraction of the price from somewhere like DIYKitchens. Use someone like OnePlan on here to do your perfect design and recommend a fitter, and buy cabinets etc yourself.
dawn_ramsay_rae
6 years ago
Have a look at wrenkitchen disasters on Facebook
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Resh, that is one beautiful kitchen.
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Dawn, ive been avoiding looking at that. I can imagine it's awful.
Resh
6 years ago
Gas hobs, not has jobs! Here it is being installed. We had two 3m base cabinet runs like this, a 3m island run, a 3.6m run of tall cabinets and another 2m run of base and wall cabinets. Walnut worktops on island and base runs. All cabinetry was about £13k. Would have been about 60% of that if I chose chipboard carcasses (like Wren) instead of oak. You can definitely do better than that quote, but it will take some effort as you need to find a designer (I prefer to design my own, but if you are not, there are people on here who can help), a supplier (use DIYKitchens if you want comparable or slightly better quality to Wren) and a fitter (ask your neighbours and friends).
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm feeling much more positive on reading them, but sorry for the bad experiences described. I'll not be going back to Wren. I'll be doing a lot of shopping around and am steering towards a plan from an independent designer first. Thanks.
peachypear
6 years ago
Try DIY KITCHENS, amazing reviews, I’m happy with my kitchen from my them, though I don’t think they actually offer a design service.
sjtashfield
6 years ago
Howdens are reasonably priced and good quality. Also go to a local independent kitchen fitter - get a few quotes & ask to visit the kitchens of or at least speak to previous customers. They can usually offer better-priced but same quality kitchens as Howdens from their own suppliers. We had a quote from Wren (the also didn't really give me what I wanted) and then they hounded me on the phone for months to buy from them. I had to tell them to stop calling me.
colleen_osborne84
6 years ago
We’ve ordered a kitchen plus utility from Wren due to be delivered next week. We’ve been working on the design since last year over multiple visits as part of full house refurb. We were £15k in total including all appliances (smart oven, combi micro/oven, smart coffee maker, insinkerator tap etc). We showed them all the appliances cheaper from online sources and they price matched. We sourced the quartz worktop from a local firm at 50% of their price. We also negotiated to have a full refund of the deposit if we changed our mind and I got that in writing. I think it depends on the personality of the individual designer and branch manager. The list price on our kitchen is obscene but we would never have paid that but we wanted the Milano style with copper trim and no other supplier did a similar version.

I think our individual designer has gone above and beyond but we’ve been forensic in the detail and I’ve taken my builder in twice to double check plans.
colleen_osborne84
6 years ago
I should add we’ve got more units than your picture so go back and push for more discount. Our plans did get referred up to their sales director for the level of discount. I wasn’t sure if this was standard or theatre as part of sales technique. You can definitely save money on the worktops. I used dekrastone.co.uk
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Colleen, sounds like you've done well there. I also wanted the Milano with copper so it was disappointing how the design experience turned out. Please post a picture when you have your kitchen fitted, im sure it will be amazing. I won't be getting my milano, I'm been well and truly put off.
Daisy England
6 years ago
Are there not other suppliers with the Milano with copper? Do you have a close second that you really like?
Daisy England
6 years ago
Here's one link with complaints. You might have had a lucky escape.

https://www.aspokesmansaid.com/property/company-3536/wren-kitchens/11
Tryphic
6 years ago
If you aren’t happy, don’t use them. Please take your time looking on line, at magazines, there are some really good sites online re ergonomic planning. We planned our own and our builder then took me to Howdens to talk through the design. We didn’t change a thing, they simply plugged it into the computer to make sure that everything we needed was on the order. Don’t forget you don’t need to get your appliances with them. Or internal fittings. If you have time, take it. Get an idea of what is available, prices etc. Get an idea of the space, dimensions and play on graph paper. We got a kitchen with the best appliances we could afford, a Howdens kitchen and fitting by our builders (having an extension done at the time) for less than £8000. Granted we’ve got laminate work surfaces and it was 8 years ago, but I don’t think prices have changed that much!
Jonathan
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
No retailer has a large enough mark up from cost price to allow them to offer a genuine half price reduction. Obviously this is a marketing ploy so just concentrate on the bottom line price.

The Wren design is successful and the simplicity of its look is not re-produceable in Reshs product- I think his placement of units and appliances with uneven horizontal lines and gaps between cabinets in his kitchen is forgiven against the exposed brickwork and overall distressed feel of the room but is likely not what you are looking for and highlights the importance of getting the design right.

I echo earlier comments - independent kitchen showrooms are a great resource and can cater to most budgets.

I would dispute that you should be spending £8k. Of course you can fill the room with cabinets for that money but it looks like you want several features that cost more to produce. For instance handleless kitchens generally are more expensive to produce, You may also have pull outs included that you can’t see on the picture. I notice that your tower units are wrapped with thick panels which elevate a standard kitchen but of course add to the cost. You can’t see what the doors are in the illustration- obviously a foil wrapped door is less expensive than a lacquer. Quality work surfaces do cost more money than laminates.

Of course there are cheaper ways of putting this many cabinets in a kitchen but you pay your money and take your choice- cheaper is not necessarily better for you.

If you do decide to step away from Wren you should be clear about going elsewhere- sales people continue to call until they know you are definitely going elsewhere. I suspect an earlier contributor to this discussion who felt hounded hadn’t been clear at the point they decided to go elsewhere. I feel that often people don’t respect their designers time and effort.

I notice your initial comment said the quote included no appliances. I think lots of people feel that there are online bargains to be had but frankly the next owner of your house won’t appreciate the time you spend waiting in for different deliveries or the cost of calling back your kitchen fitter to fit appliances that turn up late. There are also numerous threads on Houzz where people proudly show off their new kitchen but haven’t noticed that their appliances don’t match. I think lots of people feel that these details don’t matter but in my opinion they are more important in a contemporary space- you might also be pleasantly surprised at the discounts available from your kitchen retailer.
A S
6 years ago
Does your quote include fitting? When purchasing from Wren's, we were quoted a fitting price of about 4-5k which doesn't include plumbing or electrics. It was far more cheaper to use your own fitter/plumber/electrician, especially if you are renovating.

Also, I suspect the price you have been given sounds about right, albeit a little high, provided you have opted for their fitting service, as there online estimator suggests an approximate of £15,800 with a few more units. I think you could possibly get it down to 15-15.5k with fitting which sounds reasonable based on the 9k we paid for a few more units than what you have,in a lacquered gloss finish, an integrated dishwasher (no other appliances), laminate worktop/splashback, 2 tall units and no fitting.

We had a positive experience with wren with all the right parts delivered on time...when we decided to use more splashback then on plan, Wren were more than happy to give us the same discount and the product arrived in a couple of days. I think the service you receive just varies with each individual designer and the store location.
susanglascoed
6 years ago
It always pays to be aware when buying from large, commission led companies which often sell fitted furniture of one sort or another. I had a well known and heavily advertised fitted wardrobe company come to quote. The job was to cost £18,000 apparently but when I laughed in the man's face at the ridiculous cost, he "phoned" his manager and the price was reduced to £15,000 and then £12,000 before he left. A week later, the final price was down to £8,000. The local joiner did it for less than half.
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Asifa, hsnms fir yoyr reply. The quote was without fitting! Thats just cupboards and work tops.
Charlotte Cro
6 years ago
Hi I don’t normally comment telling people to avoid companies but we had such a horrible ordeal with Wren I feel compelled to tell everyone to steer clear of them.
The sales part was great but then the contracted workmen that came to install the kitchen were terrible, we had to get them back to correct faults multiple times. The other issue with Wren is that the parts they deliver are often damaged and they don’t take old parts back and just deliver new ones so you have to dispose of lots yourself. We needed a replacement cupboard door and got through 4 deliveries of damaged ones before finally getting one that was usable. We ended up getting an independent tradesman in to correct all the faults which included a leaking hot pipe to the sink, a sink that they cracked on installation and just left in situ and several poorly aligned doors including the dishwasher unit which was not square with his neighbouring units. Photos attached of some of the nightmare works they did.
We went to complain on 15th July about the faults including the leak and they didn’t send anyone to inspect the works until 3rd November- terrible complaints dept and customer service once you’ve paid the money. Luckily we paid by credit card so managed to get the money for remedial works back from them but they refused to give us any money back from the £2000 installation fee despite all the problems we had.
I would never use them again and would just go straight to an independent tradesman which I think may only cost slightly more but peace of mind and running hot water are worth a few extra pounds in my opinion. Good luck with your kitchen whoever you go with.
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Asifa, that should have been 'Thanks for your reply'. Ha, my phone hates me.

Jonathan, thanks for many interesting points. Resh's kitchen is certainly different than the simple one I'm looking for, but it's still a beauty in my eyes.
The only gadget behind the cupboards is a set of three plastic recycling bins, for which they charge £500. Other than that, no pull outs, even the tap isn't included.
I did respect the time spent designing (3 hours) but I did say I didn't want units above the sink, but she added 3 or 4?! She also tried to push a wine shelf despite the fact I told her I don't drink/Don't need one. It then became a water shelf that I needed, Ha!
Aside from the design, I got the impression that the designer had worked 6 hours without a break. She seemed exhausted.

I'll take all your points on board. I'm not in a great hurry so I have time to explore many options.
Resh
6 years ago
I'm with Jonathan that my kitchen is designed to be country/rustic. I'm less sure that it has appliances and units placed at random (thanks Jonathan - your style is as tactful as ever on here!). For example you can't see the dishwasher and cook's fridge hidden in the island in the cook zone, so no crossing the kitchen when cooking etc.

Anyway, you can still DIY a sleek kitchen - just use DIYKitchens or similar. The company I used only do rustic kitchens. But as Jonathan said, you can get away with stuff in a rustic kitchen that you cannot in a super sleek modern one. Hence using a designer: you'll get a better service than from a shop, and more than pay for the service with the savings you make. Basically your design and fitting will be more expensive but the cabinets a lot cheaper. And this is important: a good fitter will make a cheap kitchen look great. A bad one will make an expensive kitchen look terrible. There are plenty of tricks to making cheap cabinets look high-end.
Emily
6 years ago
I’ve got a Wren kitchen installed by my own builder doing renovation. I think price was good. Also sales guy was very pleasant but did make a mistake in planning kitchen sink plus waste disposal plus boiling water tap not fitting in the 1000mm drawers unit even though at the time I was myself uncertain it would fit and kept asking if he was sure. The builder sorted the problem though. However, silly little clips and other things were missing and it took months to get the right ones since they sent the wrong clips twice. Customer services were pleasant but we kept having to have the same conversation over and over which when you’re stressed is a pain. I really dislike this modern way of only being allowed to speak to customer services to get the job finished and in the end I went in the showroom and cried and the manager sorted it.
I went with Wren because I liked the particular finish on units and also I could buy separately panels in same finish to use on some walls and really visually anchor the kitchen to the room.
So anyway, my conclusion is inconclusive regarding Wren! Not helpful I know
PRO
SUN STUDIO.London - Glassworks and Prints
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Mel, I know what you are going through...
I must agree with previous comments, look for smaller companies, we are the one. We spend less on marketing and we manufacture all of the materials by ourselves so our prices are generally 20-30% lower than the market leaders, in this case scenario, we will probably be even 50-60% cheaper.

Depends on the sizes, for the full quote I may ask the manager to take care of you personally. We have an exclusive license for producing and installing really nice, Italian kitchens that you might actually like.

See on your own:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12eRo3ptROeWWKeO5NKYp9EiDvhRgRBeM/view

Let me know if you are interested, we are based in London but our reach covers almost whole the United Kingdom.

Best regards,

Erwin

Bread and Dough Splashback fixed on screws · More Info

Rose-Gold Kitchen Splashback · More Info

Neutral Kitchen with Bespoke Splashback · More Info
Daisy England
6 years ago
When Wren offer to use their designated fitters the fitters are on a set price so they don't hang around. It's then up to the fitters to sell you more products and it's here they make their real money. I was told this by a company who fit for Wren.
Sonia
6 years ago
My kitchen was from Wrens 8 years ago, but I designed the kitchen layout myself and used my own fitter (Wrens didn’t install at that time). My kitchen isn’t spacious but I am pleased with the kitchen and it still looks good. My friend used a local kitchen company and although the kitchen was fitted well, they scratched her Corian worktop promising to sand the scratches out. They never did despite various calls and now they are out of business. I’m not suggesting you use Wrens, but saying they are all bad and local kitchen companies are all good is not necessarily so.
sjtashfield
6 years ago
Whoever you choose to go with, make sure you don't pay the full amount until the job is finished and you are completely happy.
88wj88
6 years ago
Cancelled my kitchen with Wren when I had issues with the building and the kitchen shape would be completely different but not yet finalised ( long, long story) They did give me all my deposit money back - which I was delighted with - then they rang up a week later and offered me the kitchen half-price ??? As the kitchen shape was still not finalised I declined. Since then I saw a programme on TV, with customers being very unhappy with Wren with fitting problems and units damaged and missing and kitchens not completed - perhaps a very lucky escape........
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Charlotte, sorry I missed your reply. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a horrible experience, and one I'm totally hoping to avoid. The stress must have been terrible. I hope you're enjoying your kitchen now it's all over!
colleen_osborne84
6 years ago
My kitchen was delivered on Wednesday and the units are too long for the wall. The plans sent by Wren don't add up when the total width of the units is calculated. I have hit a brick wall with Customer Care who are a faceless department of call centre drones. I have followed it up with the showroom who can't do anything and have to call Customer Care. I need one unit replaced, reduced from 1000mm wide to 900mm wide. I have asked for a copy of the surveyors measurements to understand how this happened - the builder and I both visited the showroom in person after the survey to specifically discuss measurements and we were assured it was all fine. I have been offered a replacement unit at a discount but I'm not prepared to accept that.

Hopefully this will be resolved soon but my experience has been massively soured by this.
PRO
SUN STUDIO.London - Glassworks and Prints
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
That is why we assign a personal advisor to every single customer, and our advisors are leading you through the whole buying process, it's like a customer representative, that is the only right solution. Otherwise, it is really easy to mess the product if you do not track your customers properly. Also, I think in Colleen's case, it is more like a mistake with measurements. Did they come for a survey, or they were working on your own measurements?
James Smith
6 years ago
- I really don't want to use Wren but they're the only company I've come across that do an elements range of kitchens with concrete effect and weathered copper effect finishes. If there is someone else out there that can save me then I would gladly go elsewhere as all I've heard from Wren customers is issues, but I haven't found anyone else yet.
Skelpie 5
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
We've ordered a Wren Kitchen (Milano too) and so far so good for us. I love the design we've come up with together, they've been more responsive than the smaller local companies we spoke with, and more creative than the Howden's plan we had. We got quotes from 4 companies - handle-less kitchens were dearer than shaker etc in all.

Wren have a 'list price', and a price that they say is the 'discounted' price which is the one they offer customers. Discounted is closer to the actual price, but you can still negotiate - they have the space to move. I hate that they do the whole 'this price will be held for 24hrs' routine (ugh! I wish they'd cut that out.), however they will price match if you get a better quote for a similar kitchen elsewhere.

Initially their designs were fine, but nothing startling, but with a bit of thought and a moving things around we've got something really creative. We've had 4 x 2hr slots with our designer to get to a point where we're proper excited about our plans. They're also had a surveyor come round to measure up.

We are using our own fitter - he's someone who's done a lot of work locally on friends kitchens so we've seen the quality of his work. When I was seeking advice on the quality of Wren kitchens v others from him, he said they are as good quality as any, and kitchen issues are usually a result of a bad fitter rather than a bad product. Our fitter will be meeting with our designer over the next couple of weeks to run through everything with them.

Trust Pilot reviews for Wren are good (8/10), and they've won 'kitchen designer of the year' or something similar from one of the interiors magazines recently (sorry I can't remember which mag!). It seems that the main issue with them is their post-sales customer service when things go wrong so we'll see how it goes and report back. Colleen your update has prompted us to check our measurements again with our fitter.

If you're keen on the Wren kitchen I'd say trawl through the Photos section on Houzz and see if there's anything that takes your fancy in there, then see the designer again and play with the plan. I LOVE Wren's midway shelving (thin shelves which sit under the wall units). I'm getting those, with lockers instead of traditional wall cupboards.

It's rotten to hear of any bad experiences though - it always feels like a gamble when you're spending thousands on your dream kitchen.
Jill Taylor
6 years ago
I read this with trepidation because we are just about to take delivery of our new Wren kitchen! But it was interesting reading and I think (hope!) we will be ok because we did get a great deal - they were much cheaper that alternatives we looked at and we googled all the white goods and again Wren was cheaper than anywhere else. We have a friend fitting it for us too so we won't fall for the bad fitting that people have warned about. These comments do make me a little nervous but it's too late! I'll report back in a month!!
Laura Thomas
6 years ago
The Facebook group Wren Kitchen disasters makes for interesting reading.
Some very good friends bought a kitchen approx. 18 months ago, their quartz island was measured up incorrectly and there isn’t enough over hang in places to cover the top edges of the end panels. They have never managed to get Wren to rectify this. They have also now got hinges starting to come away from cupboard carcases.
Their quartz worktop cost more than our kitchen inc all appliances.
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for the new comments.
Skelpie, I hope the rest of your Wren experience continues positively. I'd love to see a photo of yours kitchen and Jills once they are fitted.
Laura, I still haven't looked at that facebook page. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get an independent design now and take it to a number of suppliers. Jury is still out on if I'll take it to wren...
Mel Mo
Original Author
6 years ago
Colleen, your experience sounds awful. I've had a few bad trades people in my house over the years and I know i would find your situation incredibly stressful. Hope it's sorted soon.
Julie Norris
6 years ago
Try Homebase too, they have a new range of ready built cabinets. Ours is in progress being fitted but it was under £5k excluding appliances and we got worktop elsewhere (oak for £900 inc island top) as we needed 4m runs and they only do 3m. They are called ‘kit and kaboodle’ kitchens and are made by Moore’s kitchens, who make a lot of kitchens for other brands.