We have found that not much can be expected from the very large furniture stores.
Since I had already read a lot about the fantasy prices for kitchens in advance, I had decided to plan the kitchen myself as much as possible. After countless rounds of planning work with my wife and the Alno planner, we finally came up with a layout that we liked and that would be practical and ergonomic:
- 2.15m x 1.20m sink island with double sink and large work surface, equipped on both sides with drawers.
- cabinet wall with 4 cabinets (1.80m refrigerator, oven, steam oven, 1.80m freezer) drawers under the ovens, above that swing doors with shelves
- 3.60m long row with 3x 80cm drawers, 60cm half-height cabinet with dishwasher (drawer underneath, swing door above for microwave), 60cm half-height pantry cabinet with inner drawers.
In total we have:
- 6.7 running meters of base cabinets in laminate
- 2.4 running meters of appliance cabinet wall in oak veneer
- 1.2 running meters of half-height cabinets in laminate
- upscale mid-range appliances from Siemens: dishwasher, 80cm induction cooktop, steam oven, oven, 180cm refrigerator, 180cm freezer
- Berbel recirculating range hood Formline
- stone countertop
- Blanco double sink
- 2.4m satin glass backsplash as splash guard
Because of the quite precise planning, we were now able to compare the offers well.
First, we went to one of the largest kitchen studios in our region (grade 2):
After really great advice, we initially went for Nolte (5-raster), but I already warned that I would want an alternative offer from Schüller (6-raster).
Although we were quite well prepared, the appointment lasted almost 5 hours.
Nolte would ultimately have been cheaper, but after a storage space plan we went with Schüller.
There, the final offer was €22,300, so still a bit away from our pain threshold of €20,000.
The second stop was the big red chair (grade 5):
The first price was €27,181 (with the ridiculous statement that the kitchen would normally cost €35k). After we said that this was a huge difference compared to other offers, the boss came.
At first friendly, then increasingly brazen, I was indirectly accused of coming here and taking up his employee’s time just to get a comparison offer. (Seriously?!)
I found that very rude and unfriendly.
I then explained to him that I found buying a kitchen very non-transparent and therefore had decided to do the planning myself as best as possible. That way we could have the same plan done everywhere and compare better. Since he did not like that at all, he next came with an offer of €22,000 - but only valid on that day.
We made it clear to him that we would certainly not sign that day.
After all, we didn’t even have a building permit yet. ^^
After endless discussions about my approach, the final offer was €21,500 valid until the end of the week.
At the third studio (small family business) everything went pretty much the opposite (grade 1):
- Transparent planning
- Official written offer with itemized details (apparently a rarity when buying a kitchen)
- Separate offer from the stonemason
- Even a planning discount because he did not have to do consulting work with us
In the end, the offer was €20,300. A discount was still possible but that was it.
This was communicated from the start by the kitchen planner as a realistic offer that they would earn something on but which would not start out with moon prices and monstrous discounts.
If I subtract everything, the final price is about €1,000 per running meter of kitchen for the furniture including installation.
In summary, I can only say that without this really detailed planning we probably would never have achieved such a price. We now feel that we are really getting a fair service for our money.
