Are handmade kitchens better than volume-produced kitchens ?

Image above – A typical flat-pack quality kitchen

The simple answer is not all handmade kitchens are the same and not all mass produced kitchens are the same.

Some of the current mass-produced kitchens are of sufficient quality to last many years, maybe even a decade before wear and tear begins to show. So-called flat-pack kitchens no longer carry the badge of poor quality, although, like everything there are exceptions.

So why should you consider a tailor-made/handmade kitchen over a flat-pack ?

Well again the answer is simple, it is the same reason that people choose a Rolls Royce over a Mini or a designer leather handbag over a pvc one from a local market. It is the desire to be different, to buy quality, to make a statement and to express your own personality. Similarly an exclusive kitchen displays a latent desire to reward oneself or one’s family for all the hard work of life with some of life’s luxuries and comfort to ease the burden of household chores. It consequently becomes an area of relaxation and entertainment for quality time with a quality product that is exclusive to you.

By dictionary definition that exclusivity means “Unique”, “Belonging to a particular group or individual” and ‘catering to a privileged client’. Hence people want a unique kitchen to suit their individuality.

A recent example of one of our Edwardian Handmade kitchens

Our definition of an ‘exclusive’ kitchen is also because we aren’t constrained by sizes or finishes and we’re not limited by what is available from stock because we make whatever best meets your needs, taste and lifestyle. A flat-pack kitchen is a series of boxes bolted together and many people may have the same kitchen whereas an exclusive handmade kitchen is rarely, if ever, duplicated.

English dictionaries define ‘Handmade’ as: “Made or prepared by hand rather than by machine, especially with care or craftsmanship.” This is especially true of a Broadway handmade kitchen even though some power tools are used for supreme accuracy of mitred joints, dovetails and some door profiles the time-honoured traditional carpentry skills are used to meticulously assemble and hand-finish every item of our bespoke kitchen furniture.

In relation to luxury high-end fitted kitchens we know, through Google analytics, that the vast majority of customer aspirations lead them to search for ‘bespoke’, ‘luxury’, ‘handmade’ kitchens and that is precisely our area of expertise.

Specifically designed, custom-made and purpose-built to meet individual requirements and fulfil dreams or expectations. These are all the attributes of a handmade kitchen that is exclusive for the purposes of differentiation.

All these adjectives and phrases obviously point towards a top quality product which is bound to command a slightly higher price tag than an off-the-shelf kitchen but it is believed that almost 70% of Rolls Royces manufactured since 1904 still exist and I firmly believe that the survival percentage of Broadway’s handmade kitchens manufactured since 1974 is much higher, but all at sensible prices !

Ironically, as I wrote this article and as if to prove my point, a Broadway customer with, as they described to my showroom manager, a “faultless Broadway kitchen, installed in 1994 but timeless,” came in, fully briefed, to discuss a tailor-made kitchen and study for their son’s house.