Zee
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Hello,
I am hoping someone would be able to give me some advice on Mobalpa kitchens. Anyone with experience with that make. Their website is not very informative.
I really want a nice modern German or Italian kitchen (self-closing drawers etc) in a gloss finish with an odd colour like orange BUT I do not want to pay for the rest of my life for
it. Mobalpa seems to be the cheapest one I could find. They look good in the pictures but I have not been to see the units yet and wont be able to for a couple of weeks.
So if anyone could direct me into a very cheap expensive-looking good quality German/ Italian kitchen  I would appreciate it!
Thank you.
Zee
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timfoley
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Zee,
Mobalpa are a French company whose kitchens impressed me when I visited the KBB exhibition in 2002.
It’s interesting that you posted a query relating to continental kitchens and my thoughts are that each country has a talent in a specific area.
The Italians for their flair of design and innovation, the germans for the robustness and relaiability, the English more for their traditional talents.
It’s hard to categorise the french as Mobalpa are the only one’s I know of but I was impressed with the quality on display and cabinet design.
We will shortly be announcing our latest survey on foreign manufacturers and the results will make interesting reading so if you can hold out for another month or two you can make a
decision with the assistance of the answers they give, price being one.
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Zee
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Dear Tim,
Thank you for your prompt response. I have since posting my message been to visit Hastings and close to there in St Leonard’s there was a shop that had Mobalpa. So I took the
chance to inspect and I have to say, I was greatly disappointed.
The doors were not that bad and they had a great range of colours. The cracass construction, however, I felt was poor. The drawers were flimsy plastic and did not have the self
closing or damping mechanism. Maybe that particular shop had not gone to a great effort with their display but I was not impressed. When I asked about the self closing, the chap
told me that they did do them and pointed to a drawer which I tested. Not smooth at all. Magnet’s were much better. As I said maybe the shop fitters were in a hurry!
So this leaves me back where I started.
My builder is starting work on the flat in 2 weeks time and will take 10 weeks. So you can see I am getting anxious to find and order a kitchen for them to fit before they finish.
Therefore I cannot wait for the results of your poll but if you have any advice or if you could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.
Otherwise, it is IKEA!! Which is Ok I suppose, but I can’t help think there must be a way of getting what I want for less, surely, avoiding London’s inflated prices!!
Thanks again,
Zee.
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timfoley
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Zee,
It surprises me that the display you witnessed was a bad example of Mobalpa and I reckon they won’yt be too pleased to hear this but hey, it’s their loss if they expect the modern
consumer to go off looks alone and if they decide not to invest more in ensuring their retailer displays are as good as their showcase ones then that’s bad business.
I personally utilise a number of manufacturers when commisioned to complete a project and this ensures that all individual components are of the highest quality. It’s a nightmare
logistically and proves expensive but I always found shortcomings when using an across the board manufacturer and felt limited by sizes and styles they offered.
One company has impressed me both for it’s cost and the quality of the components. Again there are certain limitations but fundamentally the overall catalogue is very good. I will
post a private message to you regarding the name etc, and as they are based in Manchester you may have to travel to our beautiful city to view them. The company in question are a
German Manufacturer who plan to roll out stores nationwide over the next few years and having utilised them for a Bettr Homes programme I can vouch for the quality.
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Zee
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Dear Tim,
Thank you so much. You are a life saver. Especially that my preferred builder won’t budge on his quote and I believe he is the best man for the job, so ultimately this will eat
into my overall budgest. Also a florishing company is always cheaper than one already set up and with much advertising costs. Besides, I have always wanted to visit Manchester!!
Zee.
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