We have all seen the adverts on TV from "supermarket brands" claiming that you can have a fully fitted kitchen for around £6,000. So how come when you actually get a quote the price is more like £20,000?

What makes things more confusing is that kitchens can vary from anywhere between £6k - £100k+ so why is there such a difference in price?

To understand it better, we need to explain that there are a lot of variables that go into a kitchen, so although we talk about a "kitchen" being a single entity, it is actually a combination of many different aspects. In the same way that a there is no single price for a holiday, there are many factors that formulate the overall price.

The different aspects of a kitchen can be broken up into the following categories we will explain the differences and why they vary in price:

Carcasses - Lower end companies will have all their carcasses "mass manufactured" (pre-made), they will then be put in a box (in flat pack form) and stacked on a shelf in a warehouse. This will then get picked off the shelf when that particular cabinet has been specified in a design.

Higher end companies will make each unit as per the designer's spec, this is called "process manufacturing". This means they may be made to a non standard size, or they are designed to have a specific internal bin ETC. The higher end companies will also offer more colour choices than the standard white.

Different manufacturers will construct their carcasses differently. The lower market manufactures will use cam and dowel fittings whereas the higher end brands will use a dowel and glue system.

Lower end manufactures tend to use the same carcass for everything too, so for example if you were to buy a standard "highline" base cabinet (This means a basic cabinet with a hinged door and internal shelf) then you will find the inner side will have lots of holes in as that same carcass would also be picked for a drawer unit (which is designed to have drawer runners fixed to it.)

Higher end brands will make each cabinet for it's intended purpose so in a standard highline unit, you will not see a series of holes and only see the clean carcass side.

Also different manufactures will use different thickness back panels for their carcasses, and although this keeps the overall weight low and keeps costs down, a thicker back panel will provide much more stability and make sockets and switches mounted to the back panel feel more sturdy. Most low end manufactures use around 8mm however some use as little as 3mm back panels whereas a good quality manufacturer will use 18mm for their backs.

Doors/Drawer Fronts - These can be made from MFC (Melamime faced chipboard), Laminate faced chipboard, Vinyl Wrapped MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard), Painted MDF, Painted Solid Timber or the weird and wonderful surfaces such as acrylic faced, real wood veneered, Stone-cladded and this list goes on.

Within these different finishes, we are also faced with different door designs such as shaker, raised and fielded panel, slab and many many more. There are a lot of different materials and manufacturing processes involved in each door so even though you can have 2 quotes both saying "shaker door", a painted shaker door will always be more than a vinyl wrapped shaker door.

A common theme you will also notice is that a higher end manufacturer will offer more choice, so you will be offered more colour options and different styles of doors over lower end companies which are more interested in mass selling the same product over and over.

Hardware - When comparing like for like quotes, it is worth digging into the detail of what is included inside the cabinets before drawing a comparison. From a rendered design visual, 2 separate designs may look exactly the same however if you were to look behind the doors on one design you may only see shelves, and behind the doors of the second design you may find internal bins, pull out corner units, cutlery trays, spice racks, more drawers, plate holders ETC. Not every kitchen company specifies these as standard to make their prices look less than everybody else and can sometimes be frustrating as it is not until the kitchen is installed that it is apparent that these features are not included.

Handles - Although handles are not the most expensive part of a kitchen, they can vary the cost quite a bit if you have a lot of them. Handles are manufactured in different ways, for example a solid brass handle will be more expensive than a brass plated handle. When you hold one in each hand you will feel a weight difference, but other than that you would not know until the brass plating potentially wears off during it's lifespan.

Worktops - This is one of the big ones. The worktop market is HUGE and it can be a minefield. We will discuss the differences in detail in another blog post, however to keep things simple we will list the different types of worktops below and why they vary in price.

• £ Laminate - These tops are typically 0.8mm laminate which has been pressed onto a chipboard core. There are hundreds on the market, they come with either a post formed edge or a square edge. Note that although the material price of laminate is the least expensive, it will increase the labour price especially if there are corner joints/splashbacks ETC.
• ££ Compact - This is essentially made from lots of layers of 0.8mm laminate squashed together to form a 12mm thick solid laminate worktop (sometimes 20mm). Compact worktops are a nice compromise between laminate and quartz however they do increase the labour cost significantly which makes the jump up to quartz much more tempting. This is something a lot of customers get caught out on from supermarket brands as it makes the quote seem less.
• ££ Acrylic (Solid Surface) - Popular brand names are Minerva, Mirostone, Mistral, Corian, Durassein. These are acrylic based solid surfaces which are in a similar position to compact worktops where although they are more appealing than laminate, the labour charge can push it much higher than it seems. This is something a lot of customers get caught out on from supermarket brands as it makes the quote seem less.
• £££ Quartz - Quartz is a hugely popular product and because of this, there are lots of different companies producing it. The key detail is to look at the quartzite to resin ratio. Think of quartzite as the substance and the resin as the glue which holds the substance together. Generally speaking, the more quartzite there is, the better quality the top will be. This means that two different companies can price for quartz and the difference can be in the thousands based on the same design.

Typically, quartz and other solid stone worktops are templated and installed by the qualified quartz fabricator. This means that the kitchen installer does not carry out the installation for worktops which is why the labour charge is less as it frees up their time to continue with the cabinetry.

• ££££ Granite - Granite worktops are made from natural granite and are literally pulled from a quarry, cut, polished and installed into your kitchen. Granite will come out more expensive than quartz because every slab is unique. The process of turning it from a rock to a worktop is lengthy with a lot of wastage and rejected pieces. The process of choosing a slab is more time consuming too as the sample will represent what it looks like to a certain extent, but ideally you will need to physically see the slab/a photo of the slab to agree that you like the pattern.
• ££££ Porcelain - Sometimes referred to as "Sintered Tops" where brands such as Dekton, Neolith, Porcelenosa's "Xstone" and Laminam are the leaders in the market. These are becoming more increasingly popular especially in the German/Italian style kitchens so there are more and more brands popping up. The manufacturing process known as "Sintering " or "Frittage" is a costly process that involves
• £££££ Natural Stone - Similar to granite however the rarer the material, the more you will pay for it. We see onyx and marble tops being installed in upper high end kitchens.

It is also worth noting what has been quoted for within the worktop pricing. For example if we are quoting with quartz then we will most likely be including within that polished edges on the undermount sink, drainer grooves, socket cut outs if there is a full splashback, a piece for the pantry unit, rounded corners on a peninsula or island, waterfall ends can vary the price too.

Appliances - Appliances can have a big impact on price, and this is where spending time with your kitchen designer is extremely valuable as there truly is the correct appliance for each individual out there and it is just a case of working out which appliance is right for you. This can be based off the following factors:

• Brand - A lot of clients like the security of having well known brands such as Bosch, Neff, AEG as they have a good reputation, are well built and are time served producers of appliances.
• Guarantee - Again, that added security is important to a lot of people, and although most appliance brands offer a 2 year guarantee, some offer a 5 year such as Haier, Caple and Samsung.
• Budget - A good portion of people are not fussed about having the latest features in an appliance, they use an oven for cooking, a fridge for keeping things cold and a hob to cook on. They are less concerned about the appearance of the appliances and would prefer prioritise their investment into another area of the kitchen. Maybe choosing less expensive appliances means that they can afford to upgrade the worktops to quartz for example.
• Appearance - All kitchens have a colour theme. Currently we are seeing brass tones dominating the trends with matt black also being very fashionable too. So why would anyone want a stainless steel oven slapped in the centre of this? A lot of ovens now come with the option of swapping the handles for brass/copper/gun metal or even just having the whole thing in black.
• Gadgets - If (like me) you grew up watching James Bond, your lights are automated and you have an Alexa in every room then you will probably be interested in Wi-Fi enabled appliances. Most brands offer this however some are doing it better than others, however it usually costs extra for this.
• Specific Features - For the customers out there that really love to cook, then having appliances that can cater actually do what they want them to do is critical. For example sous-vide cooking is proving to be more healthy and nutritious so having an oven with steam capabilities is a must for a lot of people.
• Convenience - For those busy families out there, we want to make your life as easy as possible in the kitchen and this is made possible through your choice of appliances. A dishwasher with an indicator light shining onto the floor to show you that it is currently on. Or combination ovens where you can microwave and oven cook a meal at the same time for speed and efficiency. Or maybe an oven with the pyrolytic cleaning function so you don't have to worry about keeping your oven clean ever again.

As you can see, we can talk about appliances all day. With each variable comes a difference in price, so watch out when comparing quotes as a full set of Hotpoint appliances can come out a third of the price of a full set of Miele appliances.

Lighting - Lighting is often an afterthought for a lot of customers and designers alike. However we would argue it is one of the most critical aspects to get right and must be thought about early on. Lighting can depend greatly on the design, but as standard there will usually be some form of lighting underneath wall cabinets, whether it is spot lights or strip lights. Always check when comparing quotes as a good quality kitchen company will be looking to put internal lights inside your pantry, under wall units and (if you are looking at a handleless kitchen) inside the handle rails, plinths, along the top ETC.

With strip lights, we always spec "COB LED" strip lights. This means that you do not see the individual dots that a lot of companies tend to use. This is usually very visible along plinths (especially with gloss floor tiles) and inside pantry units too.

Installation - Of course, we have all heard stories of cowboy builders and bad tradesmen so the obvious does not need to be said in terms of you get what you pay for, however to keep things simple and working off averages, you would expect to pay a good kitchen installer between £250-£300/day. This is based off the midlands area in 2024. Although we do not recommend working off a day rate, it is helpful to quickly estimate how much a kitchen install will cost.

When comparing quotes, the installation part is always the one which can vary the most and this is because some companies will base it off a "dry fit" (This means fitting cabinets only. No plumbing, electrics, gas ETC). Other companies like ourselves like to be in control of the full job, this can include the installation of cabinets, gas, electrics, plumbing, flooring, plastering, lighting, decorating, heating and anything else that needs doing.

We always recommend getting the installer to have a look at the job before committing to the project. Unfortunately it is easy for certain things to get missed (such as how long it takes to install acrylic worktops as mentioned above) and it is common for a kitchen company to produce a quote with an "installation estimate" which can then jump up once the fitter has actually looked at what needs doing.

So as you can see when we ask "Why do kitchens vary so much in price?" we should really be be asking why each aspect of a kitchen varies in price.

"What makes these cabinets more expensive than those?" - "Because these offer more colour options, they have 18mm back panels and are pre-made in a factory to the correct spec with a quality controller checking each unit before it is packaged up. Whereas those are mass manufactured in one colour, stacked up on a shelf in a warehouse, when they have been built up on site they will have lots of holes inside and the back panels will be thinner."

"Why is one company quoting £3000 for worktops and another quoting £5000?"

"Because company 1 has quoted in a basic white quartz in 20mm with upstands and company 2 is quoting in a busier pattern in 30mm, has included a window sill, full height splashbacks with socket cut outs and has included a piece in the pantry too."

"How is this shaker door twice the price of that one?"

"Because this one has been handmade from solid ash and has been spray painted to the specific colour of Hague Blue by Farrow and Ball as per your request. Whereas that shaker door is an MDF based door with a layer of vinyl which has been formed over the top of it. Keep your eye out on Luxe's blog page to understand the difference between shaker doors"

So why do the adverts on TV say that you can have a fully fitted kitchen for around £6,000? It is a good question and one that I ask every single time I see them. But my conclusion on that is that they have based that on the absolute minimum for each of the above which is technically achievable, however if you start to ask for nice things or "upgrades" as they would call them then actually the price starts to become more realistic - such as £20,000.