Buying a bespoke kitchen: The questions to ask before you start

Buying a bespoke kitchen is a unique opportunity to tailor a design to your home and your lifestyle. But before you make the decision to go ahead, you may have a whole host of questions – from how the design process works to how sustainable your chosen company is.

At Davonport, we’ve been handcrafting bespoke kitchens for over three decades so we’d like to think that, over the years, we’ve answered all the big questions our clients want to ask. Here are some of them – but if you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch.

What does the design process look like?

It’s useful if you can come to your initial meeting with ideas about what you like and don’t like. Collect images you find online or pictures from magazines, and have a good flick through our brochure too. It’s always better if you can see our kitchens ‘in real life’ so do try to visit a Davonport showroom, as well.

The next step is to sit down with your kitchen designer. Our Initial Design Consultation at our showroom is a free of charge meeting where we discuss what style of kitchen you’re drawn to, how you plan to use your kitchen, what your budget is, as well as key areas such as kitchen appliances and specific furniture elements. This meeting usually lasts about an hour. You can book your consultation here.

Following this meeting, your designer will invite you back to present your plans and 3D visuals, as well as give an indication of indicative costing. We expect that there will be tweaks from your side – the whole design process is a conversation between you and your designer, so please let us know if you have any amends. We want you to be happy with the result.

Once you make the decision to move forward with the design we create for you, we request a commitment fee. Once this is paid, you’ll receive our comprehensive copies of all your plans, visuals and elevations of your design. As well as:

• Layout and furniture amendments to the design before it’s approved and sent to our production team before manufacture
• Ability to secure the production slot of your project with our manufacturing office
• Plumbing electrical and ratings for any appliances sinks and taps that your builders will need to finish the build ready for the kitchen
• Design detail finalisation such as the colour scheme, tile choice and worktop options.

What’s included in the price?

When we give you a quote for your kitchen, the cost includes installation by our highly-skilled team. We will also give you a breakdown of everything else that’s included.

Your Initial Design Consultation with Davonport is free of charge – and once you’ve made a decision to go ahead, we’ll request a commitment fee from you. This gives you access to our comprehensive design service, which includes final amendments to your plan, a guaranteed production slot, plumbing and electrical plans, and if you choose, access to our full interior design package, Finishing Touches.

How do you get the measurements you need?

When we have the Initial Design Consultation, it’s handy if you can bring plans (if your kitchen is part of an extension or new build), or for an existing space, your own measurements as a starting point. However, it isn’t necessary if you don’t have them as either or both our designer and installer will visit your home to check dimensions at various stages of the project.

Our designer will go out initially and then again for a final survey before we put your furniture into production. Our installer should visit around two weeks before the install start date to make sure they have a full understanding of the install and the space they will be working in.

What additional costs might there be?

When you’re working with a handmade kitchen company, like Davonport, any layout amends you request after you’ve approved your plan may incur additional costs. However, it might also be that changes are required to save money. The same with alterations to your spec – things like changes to design features, adding appliances, upgrades to work surfaces and more. We’ll clearly state the cost of any changes so you know where you stand.

What sort of lead times are we looking at?

From the point that your approved design is sent to our production team prior to manufacture, the time it takes to install your bespoke kitchen starts at around12 weeks. Naturally, as your kitchen is being handcrafted specifically to fit your home, this is a longer process than buying a flat pack kitchen off the shelf – but the quality of the furniture that comes out of our workshop is all part of the beauty of a Davonport bespoke kitchen. And we think it’s worth waiting for!

Do I need to organise my own plumbing and electrical work?

We have trusted plumbers and electricians, who we can work with on your kitchen installation – but we can also work with your trusted tradespeople, if you already have them lined up. If this is the case, please discuss this with us as part of the design process so we can reach out to them.

Can you tell me about your sustainability values?

At Davonport, we take our commitment to sustainability seriously, and have a number of initiatives in place.

We source our timber from suppliers who are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) – so you can rest assured that all the timber we use in our furniture is from responsibly managed forests, and we don’t use timber from endangered species.

We also use water-based acrylic primer and top coats for our painted kitchens that are low in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).These have less impact on air quality and don’t need harmful chemicals or solvents to thin or clean them.

Our wastewater management system recycles wastewater to keep local rivers and waterways clean and unpolluted, and we’ve been conscientiously recycling our wood shavings and offcuts for over 15 years through a carbon neutral biomass heating system, which heats our paint shop and workshop.

We use LED lighting throughout our offices and workshop to reduce our electricity consumption, have solar panels on our newly insulated roof, and have added a fully electric vehicle to our fleet.

 You can read about our commitment to sustainability in more detail here.