06
Oct
From hand-drawn to high-tech: Knaresborough Kitchens celebrates 30 years and 2,500 dream kitchens
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Knaresborough Kitchens is proudly celebrating a major milestone – 30 years in business and the installation of its 2,500th kitchen.
From humble beginnings designing kitchens by hand in a small unit behind the High Street, the company has grown into a three-floor showroom and design hub, known for its personalised service and cutting-edge CAD designs.
As it marks three decades of transforming homes across North Yorkshire, owner Matt Johnson reflects on their journey, evolving trends and what continues to inspire them every day.
This year, you celebrated three decades in business. Tell me how the business has grown and changed over the years.
When we started 30 years ago, we only took on a small part of our current premises at the rear of the building. We didn’t have a High Street shopfront and had to advertise heavily to make sure people knew we were there. We were hand-drawing all the kitchen designs, whereas now everything is done using CAD software. It’s much quicker and easier for us, and far more realistic for customers trying to visualise their new kitchen.
As more people became aware of us and recommendations started to grow, we gradually took over the rest of the building. We now have over 15 displays spread across three floors, with our warehouse at the back and plenty of customer parking. What hasn’t changed in that time, though, is how much we love being on the High Street in Knaresborough, and how privileged we feel to be here.
How are you celebrating your 30-year anniversary?
We’ve got a few things planned over the next 12 months. Watch this space. First, we decided it was time for a new website, which just launched this week.
What are you most proud of during this time?
That’s an easy one – we still get a real buzz from designing and installing someone’s dream kitchen, and at the end of the process, they’re delighted. We always strive for that.
You installed your 2,500th kitchen this year too. How have kitchen styles changed over this time?
Kitchens have changed in many ways. Of course, styles and colours change over time.
When we first started, it was all about wood Shaker kitchens – oak, beech, and maple.
Shaker kitchens are still as popular as ever – but it’s more about the painted look now and people are more daring with those colours.
Handleless kitchens are also incredibly popular – they have clean lines and are easy to look after. Quartz work surfaces and boiling water taps are also must-haves on customers’ wish lists now.
You have also just launched a new website. How can people use it to get inspiration?
We’ve tried to keep the new website nice and simple.
It includes many completed kitchens, ideas from our kitchen manufacturer on colour, style, and storage options, and a blog designed to help customers understand the decisions involved in purchasing a new kitchen.
Knaresborough Kitchens offers everything from the initial consultation to completion. How long does the whole process take?
That really depends on the customer and how quickly they would like their new kitchen. In general terms, we would first carry out a home survey or have an initial meeting to review the architect’s plans and agree on a brief.
From there we come up with the kitchen designs and pricing and have a further meeting or meetings in the showroom, making tweaks, if required, to the design, specification and price until the customer is happy and ready to proceed.
From that point, it takes six to eight weeks to have the kitchen manufactured, as everything is made to order.
If you could offer one piece of advice to clients, what would that be?
If the customer is having building work, then don’t leave it too late before you come and see us.
The positions of doorways, windows, or a new boiler can significantly affect the kitchen layout and we often suggest small tweaks that can really improve the entire space — and how well the kitchen works for you.
If the customer is replacing their current kitchen, then our advice is to keep an open mind. Often, customers will say that they like the current layout and don’t think it can work any better – then our designers come up with something completely different and the reaction is ‘Wow, I hadn’t thought of that.’ The best kitchens are a marriage of ideas between the customer and the designer.
Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
We’ve got some lovely new displays being installed soon, so look out for fresh inspiration in design, colour schemes and storage solutions.
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