Kitchen set – purchase options

Recommendation points

• Standard, type-setting and custom kitchen furniture
• Price components for kitchen furniture
• At the end

In this article: Characteristics of Standard, Modular, and Custom Kitchens how is the cost of a running meter for a kitchen set determined; the amount in the estimate depends on the type of case, facade finish and type of countertop; how the expansion of the functions of kitchen units affects the price.

Among the obligatory premises with a narrow specialization in every house or apartment, there is invariably a bathroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. Each of these premises is equipped with a certain set of appliances and furniture, the assortment of which can be quite extensive – in this matter the ingenuity and the degree of wealth of the homeowner prevail. Putting aside the equipment of a bathroom and a bath, we will focus on kitchen furniture – we will investigate the difference between ready-made kitchen furniture sets and custom-made kitchens, as well as what you need to pay attention to when choosing kitchen furniture.

Standard, type-setting and custom kitchen furniture

Ready-made kitchen sets consist of a formed set of standard sizes. Manufacturers produce them in a straight and angular case serially, assigning a name to each series, usually a female name or the name of a flower. The advantages of ready-made kits – the purchase and installation in the kitchen takes a minimum of time, the cost of purchasing them, depending on the class, is minimal (on average, from 18,000 rubles). The disadvantage of serial models is in standard sizes, i.e. you have to choose the kit you don’t like, but the one that fits most successfully in a small kitchen room.

Type-setting (modular) kitchens consist of several blocks in the form of floor pedestals and hanging cabinets of different sizes. Compared to ready-made kitchen sets, type-setting kitchens have a more flexible configuration, which allows you to choose a modular set for installation in a room of almost any size and for any built-in appliances. As a rule, in the warehouses of furniture salons, there are cases of kitchen cabinets and cabinets of different widths, which simplifies their revision to the set required by the buyer in a short time. The advantages of such kitchen sets are the greater freedom in choosing a complete set for the buyer, the ability to buy additional blocks when the need arises. Disadvantages of modular kitchens – in a higher price compared to standard headsets (on average, a set will cost 35,000 rubles), in the impossibility of ordering non-standard blocks and limited color palette.

Custom-made kitchen sets allow you to completely abandon any standards and boundaries, with the exception of the area of ​​the kitchen itself. The dimensions, shape, color, materials and accessories used in the manufacture of such a headset are determined solely by the needs of the customer. Compared to standard and type-setting kitchen furniture, custom-made kitchens are manufactured based on the parameters and characteristics of the room where they will be installed – this is the only way to use every centimeter of kitchen area with benefit. Disadvantages of custom-made kitchens – production time will be at least two to three weeks, their cost is usually two to three times higher than that of standard kits.

Price components for kitchen furniture

When searching for the most suitable manufacturer of kitchen furniture for the customer, the mysterious term “running meter” often appears, the cost of which is higher for some manufacturers, and for some reason lower for others. Let’s find out what is hidden behind the price of a running meter of a kitchen set.

Several factors influence the cost of kitchen furniture: materials and accessories used in the production process; the number and complexity of mechanisms and systems in this headset; number, size of functional and decorative elements of furniture. Often, each headset unit performs an independent task and is equipped with a single set of complex fittings, for example, a roll-out system or a lifting mechanism. In fact, each running meter of kitchen furniture has a different price and depends on the configuration of this meter, so manufacturers have developed several schemes for calculating the total price per running meter, which is announced in a dialogue with a potential customer..

The simplest scheme, which allows you to get the most attractive cost per meter for retaining customers, takes into account only the body materials – the facade, shelves and table top, the height of the cabinets is standard (the upper ones are usually 720 mm, the lower ones are 820 mm). The prices for accessories and mechanisms are not included in the minimum “running prices”, which is explained by the dependence on the preferences of the client, i.e. the real cost of a running meter will be invariably higher.

To get prices for kitchens in a more realistic form allows a scheme based on the full cost of the finished headset in its standard configuration, taking into account the necessary accessories and mechanisms, but no more. The essence of the scheme is as follows – to calculate the price per running meter, the cost of a standard kitchen is divided by its length. As a result, the customer can judge the close price for the set of kitchen furniture he is interested in, however, when individual options are included in it, a higher figure will be indicated in the estimate.

The third scheme for calculating a running meter is based on comparing two types of kitchen sets – a rather vague standard and a specific exhibition one, equipped with the most popular blocks (usually a washing module, modules with swing and pull-out mechanisms, modules for kitchen appliances (hood, dryer)).

For a better understanding of the derived prices for kitchen sets, it is necessary to study their design – the frame and its cladding, countertop material, fittings and storage systems for kitchen utensils, as well as the availability of additional services, the list of which is determined by manufacturers independently.

The frame of a kitchen set is usually assembled from a chipboard plate, consisting of wood chips glued together. If the frame is made of MDF board, formed from wood fibers glued under the press and having a higher resistance to moisture, then its cost increases by one and a half to two times.

The facade of the headset is usually made of laminated chipboard and MDF covered with plastic or natural veneer. The minimum price for a facade made of laminated chipboard (from 8000 per linear meter), a facade pasted over with plastic on chipboard and MDF will cost the buyer about 12,000 rubles. and 23,000 rubles. respectively. Facade made of veneered MDF is 2.5-3 times more expensive than laminated chipboard. In addition, the price is influenced by the facade decor and the presence of additional finishing inside the blocks, for example, mirror inserts on the back wall of the cabinets..

Countertops for kitchen units are made of plastic and stone, natural or artificial. Of course, a countertop made of natural stone is the most expensive, and the difference in price between artificial and natural stone depends on the specific manufacturer – a countertop made of artificial stone is about 5 times cheaper than a natural stone countertop..

A variety of “additional options” also seriously affect the price – for example, a set of standard handles made of metal and plastic, which need at least 12 pieces, will cost the customer 3500-4000 rubles, and a set of more graceful handles finished with high-quality rhinestones will cost at least 11,000 rubles. Equipping one drawer for storing cutlery with a high-quality closer will increase the total cost of the headset by 25,000-3,000 rubles, replacing two standard hinged doors with one folding upward will add another 6,000-7,000 rubles to the cost.

The category of additional services may include delivery of the headset and its installation at the installation site – you need to check if there is such an item in the estimate. Finally, the price of a running meter does not include work on the installation of household appliances – many kitchen salons provide a service for installing appliances free of charge only if the appliance is purchased from them. Otherwise, you will have to pay separately for the installation of each kitchen appliance – please note that the sink is not considered an element of kitchen furniture, but equipment that must be built in additionally and at a price.

At the end

When looking for a kitchen set, researching offers for prices and fluctuating between the choice of a classic or modern kitchen, it is necessary not only to focus on the information described above, but also to find out what is the thickness of the plates used in the production of kitchen furniture. The optimal slab will be 16 mm thick – it is better if the value of this parameter is 18 mm and higher, because the strength of the case of such a headset will be higher, although its cost will increase slightly.