Smallbone Reviews 

After an initial Zoom meeting with Leila to discuss our needs/requirements we met her at Smallbone's Knightsbridge showroom. We were thrilled with the designs she had come up with and one in particular really ticked the box. Leila really took into consideration all the things we wanted to include and added a few more we hadn't thought of. Our kitchen won't be fitted until later in the year as our refurbishment won't be ready before then but having already had a Smallbone kitchen installed a few years ago in our London house I'm very confident it will exceed our expectations!

From our initial meeting and all the way through to ordering our kitchen we have been thoroughly impressed- in particular with our designer Jai Godwin. We had received designs from other bespoke kitchen companies that didn't meet our expectations in terms in layout, materials and design so we visited Smallbone on a whim to see if they could come up with something that would meet our expectations. Jai immediately understood the brief, despite us not being as detailed on certain aspects, and designed a kitchen that we instantly loved. The layout, design, materials and appliances were exactly what we were looking for. The best thing about working with Jai is he is really willing to listen to the client's thoughts and ideas and use his experience to create the vision without steering the client in a direction which suits the company only. We are looking forward to our kitchen being fitted and everyone we have shown the design to absolutely loves it. Great work Jai and Smallbone.

We worked with Jai from Smallbone who designed our kitchen beautifully. He listened to all our requirements and hit the design right immediately. The design experience led by Jai has been brilliant.

We have had a wonderful experience working with Smallbone and to be honest, my husband & I were more than a little nervous working with a company outside of the US, but after more than a few zoom meetings we feel very confident that Smallbone will deliver on all of their promises. We are in initial stages of designing and it has been one of the best experiences we have had working with design teams. They made many changes without complaint to deliver a kitchen design that I'm certain will exceed our expectations.

A visit to their showroom was really enjoyable, I came away inspired by the craftsmanship and quality. Smallbone have so many intelligent and beautiful design ideas.

We recently worked with Jai Godwin on a kitchen project that was part of a complete renovation of a listed property. We gave Jai a very open brief as he mentioned he has worked for Smallbone for over a decade and we were interested to see how he would interpret the space as we struggled to imagine what was possible in the current space. This resulted in a design that wasn't something we previously considered but felt was definitely more balanced and proved to be much more functional. Jai walked us through the entire design process, after measuring our space he got back to us within about a week with a design that was presented to us in person where each element of the designed was explained then demonstrated on the display furniture so we knew exactly what we were purchasing. The lead times are a little longer with this company but this is mainly due to the appliances we wanted. In the end our building project was delayed due to other issues and the company was very good about delaying the production of our kitchen.

Renovating our Grade 2 listed building with Smallbone presented unique challenges, but their team, led by Sophie, navigated them expertly. Despite the limitations, Smallbone's craftsmanship and attention to detail were evident in every aspect of our kitchen renovation. The final result exceeded our expectations, seamlessly blending modern luxury with the heritage of our home. Thanks again.

We purchased a 6 figure kitchen from Smallbone in 2014 with a 25 year furniture guarantee. In November last year the hidden corner unit started to stick and jam plus the door started to scrape the bottom sill and would not close properly. After 3 phone calls and numerous e-mails dating from 27th November until today when Smallbone announced out of the blue that this issue was not covered by the 25 Year guarantee.
The Smallbone representative has written in the past that they were having difficulty engaging a fitter in Aberdeen? Obviously there are no fitters / carpenters in Aberdeen let alone Scotland.
It seems to me that the guarantee is only valid if you reside near a Smallbone fitter, buyer beware
Colin very disgruntled ex Smallbone cutomer

After intervention from the Smallbone Managing Director and further clarification of the issue my problem has been resolved under warranty. The Smallbone Managing Director and staff could not have been more helpful and I would now be more than happy to recommend their product and customer support.

Visited their showroom in Knightsbridge, very impressive set up and looked after us very well (next to Harrods for a spot of lunch). They give us all the time we needed with lots of verity. The kitchen is in before Christmas and can’t wait to start enjoying it. If you’re in the market for a kitchen and a stress free experience, Smallbone are the guys!

These guys fitted my kitchen last month and we are over the moon with it! The finish is just impeccable, we could not recommend them enough. Thanks again.

Smallbone have been the most incredible company to deal with for our new kitchen. We are beyond excited to have it fitted !!!

From the very beginning of this project William has been absolutely excellent.
His attention to detail and customer care has been exceptional.
We were very impressed with the flexibility of the design.

William was great in helping us plan and design our kitchen. His expertise and experience made a daunting task easy.
We are confident that we have come to the right place. Now moving onto the next stage - simply can't wait to complete our kitchen project with Smallbone.

We were assigned Leila as our kitchen designer, it’s always difficult putting your vision into someone’s hands, but she got it straight away. Her patience, understanding and knowledge, creativity is second to none. We’re so pleased with everything so far

What a stunning kitchen design created for us at Smallbone. A special mention to William who took us through a thoughtful and comprehensive design, where every detail was all brought to life at the showroom cinema screen. We were made to feel very welcome by the showroom staff.
Simply can't wait to complete our dream kitchen project with Smallbone.

I paid a deposit to the original Smallbone company but received nothing. The company was bought out, then went bust and was bought out of administration in Nov 2018 by the existing owners. The new owners stated publicly they would honour existing contracts but initially this was not my experience. I was referred to the administrators as they had not taken on debts and this was my experience for a very long time. However, a little while ago, I was phoned out of the blue by the Sales Director who explained that the new management realised that they needed to address the reputational damage caused and improve their customer service from the legacy position that they inherited. I gather there was to be a step change in the company in this regard forthwith. He has actually been very nice. As I had long since ceased to want what I had ordered, we agreed they would provide products to the value of the deposit which I could use to settle the issue. These are to be delivered next week. So I am not sure how to rate Smallbone actually: my dealings with the former company were awful and this continued throughout pandemic but they have changed my terrible opinion into something positive by the direct actions of their Sales Director who reached out to sort it out and has managed to sort it. Legally he had no reason to as the former company had gone bust but as they wish to use the Smallbone name and reputation then they have greatly increased their care in regard to that reputation and service in the last year. This has been my experience. So my former experience was totally rubbish; my current experience very good with the current Sales Director.

Purchasing a new kitchen was quite a big investment and something we wanted to get right, Vince and the team at Smallbone have been very easy to deal with and communicate with, nothing has been a problem and they have made sure we get what we wanted.

My designer, Vince, is knowledgeable, creative and endlessly patient in accommodating and trying out ideas and changes to the kitchen plans. My kitchen is relatively small, and Vince worked with me to create a great design which maximizes the efficiency of my space, and is beautiful and design-forward. He is also very responsive and easy to contact when needed.

I hired a Smallbone of Devizes sister company, McCarron, to do the kitchen and joinery work in my South Kensington flat. I understand that the customer service and installation crews are the same for all of the different Lux Group kitchen companies: Smallbones, Mark Wilkinson, McCarron and Brookmans.

I hired them in April 2021 and they insisted on payment in full in advance. I trusted that this ‘luxury brand’ would perform. The work was supposed to have been delivered and installed several months later, by early August 2021. I told them that I needed to move into my flat no later than September 2021. But I could not move in because Lux Group routinely failed to show up or even to answer questions about when they would show up.

They left my flat uninhabitable until sometime in November 2021, and didn’t finish their work until 2023. I wish I could insert here a picture from December 3, 2021, showing how I had to live once I did move in.

Their performance was infuriating and unacceptable. They charged a luxury brand price and provided worse than budget brand service. I have countless emails and photographs complaining and documenting those complaints. Their installation people told me over the years that other customers were suffering, too. That had to be true because another customer’s joinery was delivered to me at least once.

But don’t take my word for it. My general contractor’s complaints and Lux Group’s own representatives’ admissions speak for themselves:

5 Oct. 2021: “As we are all aware the third party joinery company [this is a reference to Lux Group] have delayed the completion date considerably, which is ongoing…. each time we organize to be onsite to complete works which can only be done in tandem with one of our subcontractors, the joinery company do not turn up.” (Email from my general contractor.) I ended up paying delay fees and rework charges (where damage was done by Lux Group) to my general contractor that Lux Group has refused to reimburse.

6 Oct. 2021: “… once again, please accept my apologies on behalf of McCarron and Co. and Smallbones. It’s not the service that you should receive from us with regard to a luxury brand”. (Voicemail from Lux Group Customer Service Manager.)

30 Nov. 2021: “I am extremely sorry for all the delays and frustrations we have caused and that you’re not able to use your home to its full potential.” (Email from Lux Group Customer Service Representative.)

3 December 2021: “I can only apologise again for the ongoing delays and all frustration caused and incorrect items were delivered today. This is clearly not acceptable, and we will fix this as soon practically possible….” (Email from Lux Group Customer Service Representative.)

7 March 2022: “Further to your email I fully appreciate my apologies appear hollow – please be assured they are not. I am embarrassed that I am unable to supply you with the information you request.” (Email from Lux Group Customer Service Manager.) Between December 2021 and March 2022, an installer’s helper came twice and accomplished virtually nothing.

15 March 2022: “Obviously the most important aspect and information that you require is when we will return and get work completed, I will do everything in my power to chase through and get you the info updates you have long been waiting for.” (Email from Lux Group Senior Installation Manager.)

2 December 2022: “plan at this time for [the installer] to return next week Wednesday07 with materials/items from factory…. Which would leave the illuminated splash back ….” (Email from Lux Group Senior Installation Manager.)

13 July 2023: “You are correct, there was an installer booked to be at the apartment yesterday, there is no reason for him to have not attended ….” (Email from Lux Group Director of Installations)

There is lots more that I would be happy to explain, but this is already long enough. This is not a company that I would ever trust again with my money, my projects, or my time.

The finished kitchen is delightful, and the attention to detail of Smallbone and their contractors has been superb. We were very pleased with the fact that after completion of the kitchen, the site was physically visited by two senior company directors (Bob & Steve) to address some minor details and inspect the work personally.
The Smallbone contractors installing and hand-painting our kitchen were second to none, and at all times were polite, professional and gave attention to even the smallest of details.
Bottom line, we would most definitely recommend Smallbone to friends and family.