Kitchens | Kitchen Design | Kitchens Ireland | Bespoke Kitchens » kitchen prices

To buy or not to buy?

Keith Fennelly — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:50:29 +0000

How many of you are renting a house, paying €600 – €1,000 per month or sharing a house with others and paying your landlord €300 per room? I’d say quiet a few! I bet the majority of you are telling yourselves and others that you’re waiting for house prices to drop – That you see in the news that prices are set to drop even more over the next year. So off you go and pay another €9,000 (€750 pm)in rent for the next year while you wait and see what happens. Doesn’t make as much sense now does it? You may be lucky and see a large drop in a property you like or you’ve just handed out another 9k.
Everyone seems to think that’s acceptable to throw money down the drain year in and year out on cars but when it comes to buying a home for your family it’s just wrong! A home, a building that is yours to decorate, to add your own personal touch to. We all go out and spend money on cars that depreciate up to 3k as soon as it leaves the showroom and can loose way more over a year depending on the value of the car. It just doesn’t make sense to me when I look at it like this. Why not take the plunge, go out and buy the house you want and can afford? So what if it looses money, the large drops have happened so there isn’t going to be any huge savings if you’re renting. There is no better feeling than to come home to your new home. I have always felt strongly about this in both personal and business. I have rented, it sickened me and I promised myself never again. I rented an industrial unit for the first 5 years of business giving my then landlord 80k in rent. Regardless of what I’ve lost in value on business properties since then that 80k would have paid a sizeable amount off my loans.
While some people have no other choice than to rent there are plenty out there too scared to take that leap. I say do it, forget about how much it may drop and think about everything you gain while you immediately stop lining your landlords pockets. Calculate how much you have spent and lost on cars in the last 5 years which you somehow find acceptable and then ask yourself why is buying a home any different.

Kitchens Dublin

Realistic Kitchen Prices

Keith Fennelly — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:39:52 +0000

I was reading the Sunday Business Post this morning and seen an article by Alexander Fitzgerald, more of an advertisement for two kitchen companies if I’m honest. What struck me were the prices they were quoting. One high gloss kitchen had a starting price of €8,000 there was an oak kitchen with a starting price of €15,000 and the Mobalpa, Cyane range with a starting price tag of €10,000. Are these companies real? These prices are just entry level prices so you can bet that again you get the design you want for you home you are going to pay in excess of €20k. I don’t know where they think they will find clients to pay this type of money for an MDF kitchen. What I will say is that there are people willing to spend top dollar on a kitchen a high quality kitchen in solid wood. A realistic figure for a high gloss kitchen would be a starting price of €1,500 and for solid wood kitchens €3,000 not the above.

A kitchen doesn’t need a high price tag to make a statement in you home. Careful design, bespoke and original feature will give you the look of a high end kitchen at a fraction of the cost. It’s time people priced around and moved from the large city kitchen retailers to the more affordable showrooms, you don’t need a high end named kitchen to get high quality design, quality and service.

Kitchen Prices.

Keith Fennelly — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:56:10 +0000

People nowadays have become very clued in when when getting quotes for their kitchens and bedrooms… Or so it seem. I have noticed from being in the showroom that they know all the different phrases that we use in the industry. This of course only means that they have probably trawled through twenty different kitchen showrooms previous to ours. It could not be a better time to buy a kitchen or anything for that matter. The main problem I am seeing is that people are not pricing like with like. What I mean by this is that they (you) call to one showroom, get a design drawn up with price, choose a colour or wood then move on to the next showroom. They in turn give you a design with price and without paying too much attention to advice, quality, design, or features automatically go with the cheapest price.This does not make any sense to me. Why not choose a design that you like and get each company to give you a quote on this exact design. This gives you a far better idea of what you are getting for your money. I see people coming into us on a daily basis asking for a price on a cream kitchen more than likely Prague ivory, this is one of the more expensive Pvc kitchens out at the moment. Then off they go to the next supplier, have a look around and pick something that resembles the Prague kitchen but which is 20% cheaper. People need to be armed with the relevant information that they need in order to get a competitive price and value for money. Here are a few points to help you make the right decision.

Choose a company you know you can trust (Non kitchen chains)
Choose a design taking into account the amount of units and design features.
Choose the actual door styles (Solid wood, Pvc) solid wood species can vary in price.
If solid wood is your choice do you want inframe or standard hung doors. (Also price difference)
What are my cabinets made from ie. Chipboard, Mdf, solid wood.
Are accessories included in the price. Pull out larders, sink & taps, Worktops( if granite)…
Is fitting included in price. Never buy a kitchen from company who hire freelance fitters

I know a lot of this may be a bit confusing to you but its is so important nowadays when deciding on your dream kitchen.