First kitchen sold from showroom

First kitchen sold from showroom - Printable Version

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First kitchen sold from showroom - owen - 06-07-2015

Thought it was about time I manned up and posted some pics we took last week of the first kitchen sold through the showroom. Kitchen is Masterclass Ashbourne, painted in light grey and dust grey. Customer is over the moon and has left a very nice review on our Facebook page, which is nice.

Originally the kitchen and dining room were separate, so we took out the dividing wall (only a stud wall), blocked up a doorway and made good. The job went smoothly other than the floor - the kitchen had ceramic tiles onto chipboard, the customer wanted ceramics throughout again. However, I didn't realise the chipboard was just floating - the only way to get the tiles up was to rip the kitchen floor up completely and start again. Which was made much worse by the fact that the floor ran through to the utility room, and those units were not being replaced Grumpy30h

In the end I wasn't happy about putting ceramics down as the dining room part of the floor was still floating, so the customer decided to go for LVT instead.

I await the inevitable... Not bad, BUT....... LOL

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - jonny round boy - 06-07-2015

Very nice mate.

The only 'but' (since you asked!) is with the false chimney. I built one last week that I'm fitting this week at Cliff's place. I've run the fascia down past the soffit, so you don't see the extractor so much. I've also put cupboards in the legs, as they waste a fair bit of space. I'll post some pics when I fit it.

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - owen - 06-07-2015

See what you mean about the extractor, and agree completely. It's the first time i've done a false chimney so was pleased with how it turned out in the end, but will definitely bear that in mind for next time.

I did think about putting cupboards in the legs, but they're quite narrow and the customer didn't seem bothered, so I didn't push it as the budget was stretched as it was.

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - Colour Republic - 06-07-2015

I think it looks lovely. I'd be proud of that.

For the style I think it looks spot on. Nice colours running through, the dark grey tower units mirrored by the dining room wall, creamy brown floor with grey grain, the red range adding interest, It's nice. The tiles above the range are nice too, i'm guessing Fired Earth of Original Style? Also like the shaker back panels to the breakfast bar where many just would have used a plain backing panel. Little details which make the difference between cheap and functional and stylish.

BUT... LittleDevil30h

and they are small 'buts' which don't detract from it being a lovely homely kitchen 1) I personally hate cool white LED's with a passion, so the under and in cupboard lighting I would have changed. 2) I've done plinth lighting like that before but it's one of those trends that got jumped on so much that I refuse to do it any more. 3) I'm being really picky now! I think I would have squeezed the sink in to a 500mm unit and then had the 800mm to the R/H side, that way the handing of the doors would have been symmetrical with the other side of the D/W and you would have had a bit more room for the small door/drawer in the dresser to open... or maybe i'm wrong and the single bowl was too large to fit in the 500?

Either way it's a nice looking kitchen that look very welcoming.

Lastly, not sure if the ceiling speakers were part of your remit? They look like cheap £50 jobbies off ebay but sound absolutely shocking IMO. Ceiling speakers like any AV equipment can vary massively in price but for value for money I can't recommend the Bower and Wilkins enough http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Speakers/Custom_Installation/CI_Series/CCM362.html average price is £200 a pair but if you shop around you can get them for £150. They blow the socks off anything else in the price range, ok they are £100 more than the cheapies but the difference is like night and day. I've tested ceiling speakers that are 2-3 times as much as the B&W's and in the most part they don't warrant the extra spend. So for solid well priced performance I rarely look elsewhere.

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - Stretch - 06-07-2015

Looks really tidy Owen. I'm not gonna fill my reply full of "buts" as the pics are brochure quality.

I've done the occasional mantel and usually have designed it so the mantel supports have some sort of storage.

Great mix of bold and neutral colours and a nice bit of accessorising by the customer, although maybe you could have cropped the Brabantia style waste bin out of the last pic!

Great start to the business and good pics for the showroom portfolio. Much better to see pics like this than something that is "almost done" with a shot of the customers slippers in the corner and unpainted walls. Incidentally, that is why in don't post up many pics of our jobs....I never get back to see them until they are completely finished and decorating isn't something we offer.

If you are looking for criticism you've come to the right place but viewing this through the customers eyes you should be more than happy with finished job. ThumbUp

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - Daniel - 06-07-2015

Great start Owen for the new showroom.

Colours are spot on, I even like the red oven.

You will look back in 2 years time and wonder what the hell your were doing, but that's just progress ..... I look back on kitchens I did 6 months ago and wonder what the hell I was doing ROFL30h

Are you enjoying the showroom?

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - snezza - 06-07-2015

Very Nice mate !!!!!! ThumbUp

A very welcoming look about it.

As Stretch said, the pictures look good quality as does the fitting.

The first one under your belt,..... here's to the next few Cheers

Edit. Daniel beat me to it,....I was going to ask you how do you like having the Showroom? Do you think its opened up your business to a different type of customer?

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - owen - 06-07-2015

(06-07-2015, 03:31 PM)Colour Republic Wrote: I think it looks lovely. I'd be proud of that.

For the style I think it looks spot on. Nice colours running through, the dark grey tower units mirrored by the dining room wall, creamy brown floor with grey grain, the red range adding interest, It's nice. The tiles above the range are nice too, i'm guessing Fired Earth of Original Style? Also like the shaker back panels to the breakfast bar where many just would have used a plain backing panel. Little details which make the difference between cheap and functional and stylish.

I can't take much credit for the colours other than the light and dark grey doors (which we've got on display in the showroom), I was unsure about the red range but I think it looks great now. The floor I was also unsure about, but it really does bring some warmth in.
The left hand door behind the breakfast bar is a proper cupboard, albeit slightly butchered - there was a void behind it due to the corner configuration, so rather than waste space we decided to put a shallow cupboard in.

(06-07-2015, 03:31 PM)Colour Republic Wrote: BUT... and they are small 'buts' which don't detract from it being a lovely homely kitchen 1) I personally hate cool white LED's with a passion, so the under and in cupboard lighting I would have changed. 2) I've done plinth lighting like that before but it's one of those trends that got jumped on so much that I refuse to do it any more. 3) I'm being really picky now! I think I would have squeezed the sink in to a 500mm unit and then had the 800mm to the R/H side, that way the handing of the doors would have been symmetrical with the other side of the D/W and you would have had a bit more room for the small door/drawer in the dresser to open... or maybe i'm wrong and the single bowl was too large to fit in the 500?

Totally agree on the cool white LEDs, but the customer insisted on them. Now they're in they don't look as bad as I thought they would to be honest. If it were my kitchen though, they'd be warm white. Also agree about the plinth lights, IMO they add nothing.

Layout wise, the 500 door on the right is a blind corner going under the dresser unit which sits on top of the worktop, although I suppose I could have swapped this for a double door corner. The sink doesn't fit in a 500 unit anyway though.

(06-07-2015, 03:31 PM)Colour Republic Wrote: Lastly, not sure if the ceiling speakers were part of your remit?

No, other than putting the cables in when the ceiling was down, the customer supplied and fitted them. They were only cheapies, but he reckons they sound ok.

(06-07-2015, 06:32 PM)Stretch Wrote: Great start to the business and good pics for the showroom portfolio. Much better to see pics like this than something that is "almost done" with a shot of the customers slippers in the corner and unpainted walls. Incidentally, that is why in don't post up many pics of our jobs....I never get back to see them until they are completely finished and decorating isn't something we offer.

Almost every job for the last 10 years i've promised to go back once it's decorated to take some proper photos, and I always forget! I'm definitely going to get into the habit of it now though, as I think good quality photos of actual installs instead of brochure shots are so valuable.

Also, as I am piss poor with a camera, I got a mate of mine who is a graphic designer, and does quite a bit of photography for his job, to take the pictures, and he's done a far better job than I would have!

Dan & Snezz - yes defintely enjoying the showroom, although it's still a case of putting a lot of hours in at the moment. We've sold 7 kitchens in our first 6 weeks of being open though, so it's a cracking start ThumbUp

There are certainly quite a few of the customers we've had that definitely wouldn't have bought from me without a showroom. Selling stuff that is there in front of you is so much easier than doing it out of a brochure.

RE: First kitchen sold from showroom - Daniel - 06-07-2015

Wow 7 kitchens in 6 weeks, that's really good going ThumbUp