Home & Bargains

Kitchen Discount Centre

A company that does exactly what it says on the tin, the Kitchen Discount Centre (KDC to friends) offers a fantastic selection of quality kitchens at up to 30% less than you’d pay for similar quality elsewhere.

Nods to contemporary and more traditional stylings make it not only affordable but a great option whatever your personal taste.

The good news is that despite the great value on offer, you don’t have to compromise on service, KDC offers a comprehensive design and installation service as part and parcel. www.kdcuk.co.uk

Screwfix Direct

There’s an old interior design saying – “If you want the best quality and value, follow the trade”. It makes sense, it’s their job to source the best quality raw materials at the best rates to maximise their margins. 

Screwfix is a staple amongst tradies with more nuts, bolts, fixtures and fittings than you could wave a stick at. But what DIY devotees might not know is that the kitchen range is also well worth a look…

18mm pre-assembled units are available with a choice of 11 door styles at prices we haven’t seen since MFI headed up a famous creek without a paddle. Prices start from £700 for 8 units with a soft-close drawer upgrade available across the range. www.screwfix.com

Kitchens Direct

Not something which is widely advertised in the press but Kitchens Direct is actually a subsidiary of Moben kitchens – the key difference being that by selling direct from the factory and without the overheads of pricey showrooms, savings are passed directly to its customers.

If you don’t find a minimum of 50% off list prices on the website, hold your nerve – Kitchens Direct is the kitchen equivalent of DFS and if it ain’t on sale, we’re not interested. If you book a free design consultation, call upon your powers of negotiation and drive a hard bargain – they want your business and will have left themselves some wiggle room.

www.kitchensdirect.co.uk

Ikea

The layout is awful, the instructions are worse and don’t get me started on that Konti board rubbish. Ikea might not get everything right but its kitchens represent fantastic quality and design for anyone renovating on a tight budget. 

A galley kitchen can be kitted out in walnut effect for £499 or red gloss for £799 including worktops, hinges, fittings and kickbacks (excludes handles, sink and appliances) – and they’re all soft-close as standard. Online resources include tips and inspiration at its innovatively entitled microsite “The Kitchen” plus a 3D planner tool for Sims fans.

All that being said, they haven’t won me completely over – I still hate the meatballs. www.ikea.co.uk

Paragon Furniture

Tucked away near the Olympic site in Stratford, Paragon Furniture offers gold standard bespoke kitchens at bronze medal prices. With a small team and modest workshop, Paragon hand crafts solid wood kitchen units to exact specifications for far less than you’d pay at any of those swanky places with the double page ads in the glossy mags (and by this I mean Clive Christian and Smallbone of Devizes).

And whilst you’re not exactly looking at flat-pack prices – you’d comfortably be paying double for similar quality and service on the high-street (and by high-street, I mean with a glass of champagne in your hand in Harrods).
But what price for an A-List kitchen? A lot less than you might think at Paragon… www.paragonfurniture.co.uk