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Jump to: Fast facts | Key features | Upsides and downsides | How do Howdens fitted kitchens work? | Competitor comparison | Cost | Installation | Maintenance | Expert opinions | Customer reviews | Our recommendation | Methodology
Howdens is a trade-exclusive company that provides a range of fitted kitchens in a variety of colours and styles. The company has hundreds of depots across the UK and Europe.
The company claims to offer more than 100 kitchens to choose from, with homeowners able to select their ideal style, colour, and accessories to achieve their dream design. However, customers must contract a builder to install their kitchen before getting started, as Howdens only deals with trade professionals. Your chosen fitter has to have an account with Howdens to purchase your kitchen. You can find your own installer or check with your local branch to get a list of its recommended tradespeople.
Because it only sells to trade professionals, Howdens does not disclose its prices to the public, and each builder might get a different price. Some builders have even said online that they have received varying prices at different depots. This means you won’t know the full cost of your kitchen until you receive a quote from your fitter.
Fast facts about Howdens fitted kitchens
- Kitchen ranges: Nine
- Locations: 834
- Warranty: 25 years
- Cost: £5,000 to £15,000+ (estimated)
Howdens kitchens add a professional touch to your home. You can get fitted kitchens, doors, cabinets, sinks and taps, fittings, storage, and surfaces depending on your needs. They offer different types of kitchen ranges, each with a unique name and a different door thickness. The door thickness can be a lightweight 15 mm or a sturdy 20 mm, making it easy for buyers to get the best product based on their budgets.
Key features
- Highlights: Howdens is the UK’s number one supplier of trade kitchens. They have been supplying goods and services to Royal Households since 2015.
- What it does: Howdens kitchens products include a wide choice of styles and award-winning designs that give your kitchen a professional finish.
- Warranty: The company has a 25-year guarantee on all their cabinetry, so you can expect it to be durable.
- Service: Howdens offers a Kitchen Design Service and a Kitchen Visualiser to help you customise your kitchen.
- Cost: Howdens offers confidential trade terms to their trade customers; therefore, your quote will include costs such as sourcing, transporting, installation, and commission.
Upsides and downsides of Howdens fitted kitchens
When getting fitted kitchens and accessories for your home, you need to know the pros and cons of different kitchen suppliers. This will allow you to weigh options and decide whether this brand is right for you or not.
| Upsides | Downsides |
|---|---|
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Wide range of products: There are many options to choose from in terms of design, colours, and style. You can customise a kitchen according to the decor in your home. |
Price confusion: Different customers receive different price estimates based on the builder’s rates because Howdens only sell to tradespeople. There’s no uniform pricing for Howdens kitchens, which can be frustrating. |
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Lengthy warranty period: Howdens offers a 25-year guarantee on all their products. |
Trade-only approach: You can’t buy from Howdens as an individual. The company only sells to trade professionals because all their products require professional installation. |
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Customisation: Before making an appointment with the design team, you can use the Kitchen Visualiser online tool to customise a kitchen you want the team to design for you. |
How do Howdens fitted kitchens work?
Howdens kitchens come in diverse shades of colour, design, and style. To get a kitchen fitting for your home, you need to have a builder. Since the brand only sells to trade professionals, getting a builder to help you source the products you need is essential.
Depending on the unit you buy, Howdens kitchens can accommodate various storage needs. The cabinetry can support integrated cooking and cleaning equipment, creating a seamless and uncluttered look in your kitchen. Some of the kitchen ranges have features such as built-in hand grips and other integrated options. You can add your own selection of decorative accessories and select your preferred sizes and colours.
Howdens fitted kitchens versus competitors
Howdens has some close competitors, such as Wren Kitchens and B&Q. B&Q is an ideal alternative if you are looking for a budget-friendly option. Like Howdens, B&Q allows its customers to visualise their dream kitchen and offers advice on its website. The DIY and home improvement retailing company also has diverse design options for customers to choose from.
If you need a fitted kitchen, B&Q has 12 different kitchen ranges. You can use its virtual showroom to see the different kitchen designs available. The differences between B&Q and Howdens are that B&Q is very clear on the pricing of their kitchen products.
Another close competitor of Howdens is Wren Kitchens. Wren has a range of fitted kitchen options and 88 different kitchen design combinations. Wren Kitchens provides 8, 12, 16, and 20 kitchen units; however, it doesn’t have as many kitchen appliance options as Howdens kitchens.
How much do Howdens fitted kitchens cost?
Pricing is very important when choosing a kitchen option for your home. Although Howdens kitchens don’t have an exact quote for all their products, they ensure that the final quote you get is tailored to your budget.
Additionally, the depots have confidential trade terms which ensure that the products remain competitively priced. Howdens offer trade professionals a price match on kitchen fittings and other accessories. This is why different customers get different quotes because they have to work with builders. According to online estimates, the price can range from £5,000 to more than £15,000.
| Manufacturer | Average price |
|---|---|
|
Howdens |
£5,000 to £15,000+ |
|
Wren |
£576 to £5,306+ |
|
B&Q |
£1,054 to £2,897+ |
Installing Howdens fitted kitchens
When buying from Howdens kitchens, you need to use a builder. A tradesperson will fit and install the fitted kitchens as expected. At every depot, Howdens has an expert to advise you.
Maintaining Howdens fitted kitchens
According to customers who have installed Howdens kitchens, maintaining these fittings is not too difficult. For instance, if you get solid wood kitchen worktops, you need to keep them free from water damage, burns, and rings. In addition, you can use wax or oil on the surface for protection.
However, if you are unsure how to maintain your fittings, you can consult your builder or experts from Howdens kitchens to advise you on the best practices. They have an after-sales service for all customers that comes in handy for such inquiries.
What the experts say
“If you’re looking for the most diverse kitchen designs available, Howdens is the place to go. It may offer only 26 designs, but many of these differ greatly from other brands. Howdens also includes kitchens with pops of colour, quirky aesthetics, and more. Unfortunately … there is a lack of clarity on pricing and on which appliances are included with your fitted kitchen.” —House Method
“With more than 690 depots nationwide, Howdens is the UK’s major trade kitchen supplier, with a selection of styles that will appeal to all tastes.” —Elle Decoration
“Despite being something of a household name, Howdens is a little bit different given its business model sees them sell exclusively to trade. As a normal consumer, you’ll need to find a builder or professional who can order and install your kitchen for you. Assuming that’s in place, you’ll have over 75 kitchen styles to choose from, including shaker, slab, integrated and handle-free.” —SheerLuxe
Customer reviews
“I had a great experience from start to finish with Mike and the whole team at the Worcester South branch. Mike was really helpful (and patient) through the design process, and the finished kitchen is great. We did have a few issues along the way, which were outside of Howdens’ control, and their customer service and support to resolve things was excellent. I highly recommend them.”—Anonymous via Trustpilot
“This is the first time for us purchasing a kitchen and from the service and experience we received, I don’t think we’d use anyone else in the future. Thanks to Martin the whole experience was easy, simple and flowed well from start to finish. Martin was tentative to our needs and helped design our kitchen to its full potential including every little detail we wanted to incorporate. Fantastic all round!”—Ellie Martin via Trustpilot
“Our kitchen was delivered in September. It is now December and we are still waiting on incorrect items to be sorted! The branch ignores you for days, doesn’t turn up to appointments, and is now costing us £800 per month!
“I’m 36 weeks pregnant and it’s looking like we won’t have a complete kitchen until February at a minimum. We sat with a designer for over two hours and were promised to beat the quote of our kitchen design elsewhere. Now we have been told it’s impossible to create our kitchen from the design images, as Howdens doesn’t even do some of the items!”—Marianne Booth via Trustpilot
Our recommendation
Howdens kitchens are high quality and an excellent choice for your home. Ranked as the top supplier of trade kitchens in the UK, this brand lives up to its name. Because of its level of excellence, Howdens has been selected to supply Royal Households with products and services.
It has more than 700 depots that customers can visit for assistance. Howdens kitchens and other products come with a 25-year warranty; therefore, you can be sure they’ll last a long time if you maintain them.
Because of its designs and nine kitchen ranges, it’s a good choice if you are looking to customise the look of your home and tailor your kitchen according to your preferences.
How we chose the top fitted kitchen companies
Each of the fitted kitchen companies we’ve reviewed has been scored using our Reviews Standards matrix across multiple categories. The categories include how many showroom kitchens styles are offered, length of guarantees, payment options, reputation on Trustpilot, and any additional benefits offered, such as virtual appointments, complementary services, how many showrooms nationwide, and customer support available.