Visiting the showroom
Where is CEK Kitchens?
In Layer Marney, just outside Colchester in Essex. The showroom is at Tower View, Clears Road, Layer Marney, Colchester CO5 9XT. It sits quietly off a lane, so most people tell us they never knew we were here. Call us on 01376 316769.
Do I need an appointment to visit?
No, you're welcome to pop in and have a look round, with no pressure and nobody following you about. If you'd like a proper sit-down with a designer, call 01376 316769 first and we'll make sure someone is free. More about the showroom.
What happens on my first visit?
We put the kettle on and you have a wander. Open the doors, pull the drawers, sit at the island. When you want to talk, we sit down in the presentation room and ask how you live. You can leave with nothing more than a better idea of what you like.
What is the showroom like?
A fully fitted showroom with three full kitchens to wander round. Every door opens, every drawer glides, and there is a presentation room where we go through designs on a big screen. From the road you would never guess, which is why people say they did not know we were here.
Can I see my kitchen before it is made?
Yes. We put your design up on the big screen and walk through it together, with your layout, doors and worktops. Wondering how it would look in green? We change it while you watch. By the time anything is made, you have already seen it.
Design and price
Do you offer a free design consultation?
Yes, with no obligation. We start by listening to how you cook, how you live and what frustrates you about your current kitchen. The design comes after that, and the price comes last, once you are happy with the layout. How we work.
When will you tell me the price?
Once you are happy with the design. A price before the layout is right is only a guess. We design it, you sleep on it, we change it, and we keep going until you stop finding things you would want different. Then we price it. What changes the price.
Why do you take so long over the design?
Because the design is where a kitchen is won or lost, and the fitting is the quick bit. Most of our clients have never bought a kitchen before, so it takes a few versions to know what they want. Better to find the awkward things on paper than after it is fitted.
What does bespoke actually mean?
A kitchen drawn around your room, your ceiling height, that awkward corner and the way you use the space, then made to order. It is not just a longer list of doors. Put simply, it is a kitchen tailored to how you live. Bespoke kitchens.
Does bespoke mean it costs more?
Not necessarily. Bespoke does not mean every piece is made from scratch. Sometimes one or two pieces make the kitchen yours, like a canopy sized to the hob or a dresser built for one wall. In the right range, it reads as fully bespoke without the price people assume.
What should I ask any kitchen company before I buy?
Ask whether the price is based on a finished design or a guess, who will actually fit it, whether the units are rigid or flat pack, where you can see the quality before you commit, and what happens if you change your mind about the layout. Ask us too.
How we work
Do you design, make and fit the kitchen yourselves?
Yes, all from here. We design your kitchen, make it to order in Essex and fit it with our own team, so one company is responsible from the first conversation to the finished room.
Who fits the kitchen?
Our own installation team, who we have trusted for 17 years. The people in your home know how we build our kitchens, and you know who is turning up at your door.
Will I deal with the same person throughout?
That is how we like to work. The person you meet at your first visit stays with you to the finished kitchen, so you are not passed between a salesperson, a designer and someone you have never met.
Are your units rigid or flat pack?
Rigid. Our units are glue and dowel construction, built to your specification in our Essex workshop, not flat pack. Open a drawer and you can feel the difference. We are happy to show you how a unit goes together when you visit.
How long are your kitchens backed for?
We back our kitchens for two years after they are installed. Ask us about the details when you visit, so you know exactly what is covered. Why two years.
Do you work with homeowners or only the trade?
We work directly with homeowners, from the first visit to the finished kitchen, and with local building firms too, such as a family home renovation in Lexden, Colchester. The showroom is where we welcome homeowners in person.
Which areas do you cover?
We are in Layer Marney near Colchester and fit kitchens across Essex, including Colchester, Mersea, Tiptree, Maldon, Witham, Coggeshall, Danbury, Chelmsford and the villages in between. Not sure if you are in our patch? Ring 01376 316769 and we will tell you straight. Kitchens in Colchester.
How are you different from a big kitchen chain?
We are a family-run company with a showroom and our own team. You get a finished design before any price, rigid units made to order, and an installation team we have trusted for 17 years. We listen first and design around how you live. Bespoke or high street?.
Styles, timber and colour
What kitchen styles can I choose from?
Mainly shaker, handleless and painted. Shaker is the one we do most, a classic look that never really dates. Handleless suits people who like everything clean and tucked away. Painted can be pretty much any colour. In-frame and shaker kitchens.
Can I have a painted kitchen that still shows the wood grain?
Yes. For grain through the paint we use ash, because the grain runs evenly across the door. It gives a proper wood feel through the colour and is a little kinder on the budget than oak.
Which timber should I choose: ash, oak or maple?
Ash has a strong, even grain. Oak is more varied and subtle, with some doors almost smooth and others knotty, because timber is a natural product. Maple is smoother again. Come and see the grains side by side before you choose.
What colours can I have?
Pretty much any colour you can think of, done properly. The showroom shows soft greens, warm greys, deep dark finishes and even a pink kitchen. Colour is the last thing people decide and the first thing anyone notices, so see it in real light. Choosing colours.
Is green replacing grey?
Yes. Greens, deep blues and the occasional bordeaux are taking over from grey. Green needs warm wood or brass somewhere in the room, because without it green can feel cold.
Is a dark kitchen a good idea?
It can be. Put the dark colour on the island and keep the edges pale so the room stays light. One run of timber stops a dark kitchen feeling heavy. Black is best seen in person, because photos flatten it.
Warm white or cool white lighting?
Warm white, in most kitchens. Cool white is close to daylight and fine for prep, but it makes a room feel clinical. Warm white makes materials look richer and the room feel lived in. We use warm white as standard now.
Can I see a colour sample at home?
A colour never looks the same at home as in a showroom, because your light and the walls around it change it. Ask us about samples when you visit, so you can judge a finish in your own kitchen.
Storage, layout and appliances
What goes inside the cabinets?
A proper interior, not stark white. We use a timber effect inside, nickel shelf supports, edges matched to the doors, and we do not drill shelf holes you will never use. The details most people miss.
How do you stop corner units being wasted space?
Ours pulls out fully, so nothing is lost at the back. It is not clever engineering, just someone bothering to design that corner properly. Come and see it working in the showroom.
What storage can you build in?
Plenty, planned around what you own: pull-out towers, a home for the air fryer with the socket inside the cupboard, proper recycling bins, an oak pull-out block, drawers made for your utensils and pantries with everything in view. Storage ideas.
Where should the oven go?
At eye level. Nobody wants to crouch to lift out a hot tray. Think about where the air fryer and coffee machine will live too, and fit more sockets than you think you need.
Should I have an island?
Not every kitchen should. You want about a metre of clear space all the way round, or the island makes the room feel smaller. Sometimes a peninsula or a longer run of worktop is the better answer. Bring your room sizes and we will tell you straight.
Is a slide and hide oven worth it?
They are genuinely good, especially in a smaller kitchen, because the door tucks away and gives you your walkway back. There is more than one model, and the right one depends on your height, your layout and how you cook. Appliances worth seeing.
How powerful should my induction hob be?
A standard induction hob at 7.4kW is good, but an 11kW flex induction makes cooking for a big household feel different. We have one running in the showroom, so you can try it before you choose.
Is a pasta arm flimsy?
No. It is the question we get asked most, so we fitted one in the showroom. Give it a swing and feel how solid it is.
Beyond kitchens
Do you make anything other than kitchens?
Yes. We make home bars, dressing rooms and utility rooms to measure too, such as a dark home bar with a brass sink and three drinks fridges, a loft dressing room with doors shaped to the roof, and a utility in the same green shaker doors as the kitchen. Beyond kitchens.
How do I plan storage under a sloping ceiling?
Put wardrobes where the ceiling is tallest, because hanging clothes need the full height. Turn the eaves into lit storage for shoes and bags, cut doors to the roof line so the awkward wall becomes the feature, and measure the slope before you buy anything.