Anglia Factors have been specialising in quality hand-made kitchens for over 4 decades. The Suffolk based specialists’ long-standing experience speaks for itself, both in the uncompromising quality of each and every custom-built kitchen they deliver, but also in their deep local roots and support for the local community. Get to know the team now!

1. What is the culture like at Anglia Factors and what is the most satisfying aspect of working here?

 

Getting involved with the community and local projects

Despite working all over the UK, Anglia Factors is a local family business that gets involved in the community and support local projects. Our culture focuses on looking after our customers and taking pride in our work. For more than 40 years, Daniel Barr and the team have been designing, making and installing high-quality fitted kitchens, bathrooms, home cinemas and other bespoke interiors. We love it and we do it well.

2. What do you pride yourselves on delivering to customers?

Crafted on-site, backed by lifetime guarantee and with no hidden costs

 

We pride ourselves on the quality of the fitted interiors we provide and the service from design to manufacture, finishes to fitting and installation to after-care. We have a lifetime guarantee on our cabinetry that is all crafted on-site, so that clients have the peace of mind that we will stand behind our work. We never mislead a customer and we pride ourselves on explaining the true cost and benefits of a high quality bespoke kitchen so you know exactly what you are getting and for what price.

3. Where and what do you take your inspiration from?

Client vision

 

We aim to combine our experience with the client’s vision and the space available. This is an exciting part of the project when the customer shares their ideas, be they abstract or a detailed mood board. Often the discussions are wide ranging and lead to some fantastic design ideas. We then put together a design that marries customer taste and priorities with their budget. Recently, we have seen an increasing number of projects where building work has been commissioned on the basis of a client’s kitchen dreams.
We also travel to keep up to date with what’s new in the industry and recently attended EuroCucina, the international kitchen furniture exhibition in Milan. While some of the ideas are predictably extreme, these shows do keep us on top of new trends and innovations.

4. What do you think makes Anglia Factors stand out from the crowd?

Here for the long term

 

After 40 years, we’re here for the long term. If a client calls in and, for some reason, doesn’t buy from us at that time, they can return decades later and find the same family. We will likely still have a record of the first conversation! We have become part of the community keeping our clients informed of developments, organising cookery demonstrations and helping to demystify new appliances (sous vide) and materials (like the variety of composite stone worktops). We sponsor local sports events and support a local Hospice– raising money through demonstrations and cycling events.
Anglia Factors also runs a successful and growing apprenticeship scheme because we believe in providing quality training and jobs for local people. We have skilled designers as well as carpenters and joiners working in our workshop with tonnes of experience and expertise to pass on.

5. What has been the biggest kitchen trend that you have seen this year, and what do you anticipate to be the biggest trends for next year?

Bigger and better

 

Recently, our customers are coming to us with bigger spaces for their kitchens – sometimes MUCH bigger. We’ve seen larger and larger kitchens which incorporate dining, seating and even outdoor areas. The kitchen continues to be recognised as the absolute hub of the home and its land-grab of other rooms seems relentless.
Hot taps are a huge trend at the moment with hot taps from specialists such as Grohe providing the perfect solution for homeowners who can have normal, hot and cold water running through the same tap as the boiling water. It’s certainly our most popular kitchen gadget of the moment. So much so we’ve fitted one in over 90% of the kitchens we’ve designed in the last 12 months.
Extraction is another hot topic at the moment. We’re seeing more downdraft extractors (those that disappear into the worktop or kitchen island when not in use) and less obtrusive ceiling extractors. The requirement for appliances to blend in or even add to the overall kitchen design has inspired some very stylish and discrete options.
As for next year more of the above and electronics that will continue to creep into the kitchen with smart technology, wireless phone charging, clever bins and fridges that re-order what we use.

6. What does being a Studio Partner mean to you?

Quality products

 

We and our customers like quality and that’s why we shop with Häfele and incorporate their products into a lot of our designs. When you do what we do, you want to recommend and fit reliable, well-made fixtures that make the customer happy. Being a Häfele Studio Partner has strengthened our relationship and increased our awareness.

7. What is your top tip for a homeowner who is considering redesigning their kitchen?

Pain-free planning

 

Download our Free Kitchen Planning Pack and complete it – this outlines the project phases and contains tips on how to make the process as pain-free as possible. It also talks about setting a budget and highlights areas that are frequently forgotten when budgeting like building works, lighting, flooring, heating, appliances etc.
There’s space to note down your preferences so that when you visit a kitchen designer you have addressed most of the questions they will ask you.

Feel inspired? You can find out more about Anglia Factors on their Studio Partner profile.