"Free design survey" can sound like a sales appointment wearing a lanyard, so it is fair to ask what actually happens when you book one. Here is how an ABJ design visit runs, what you need to prepare, and what you walk away with, whether or not you go ahead.
Before we arrive: you do not need measurements
People often apologise for not having sizes ready. You do not need them: measuring accurately is our job, and rough ideas are a better starting point than rough numbers. What helps most is knowing how the room frustrates you now: not enough worktop, nowhere for the recycling, a corner cupboard that eats saucepans. Saved photos from Instagram or Pinterest help too, even if they only show a feeling rather than a layout.
The measure
We measure the full room, not just the run of units: window and door positions, ceiling height, where the services enter, which walls are true and which are not. In older Peterborough homes the walls are rarely square, and knowing by how much is exactly what made-to-measure manufacture needs. If a wall is coming down or a doorway is moving, we talk through the sequencing there and then.
The honest conversation
A kitchen quotation is only useful if it reflects how you actually live: who cooks, whether the room doubles as homework space, what appliances you would keep, and what the realistic budget is. As a guide, straightforward fitted kitchens can start from around £5,000, with larger projects rising with premium worktops, appliances and installation work. Being open about the number early means the design is built to it, rather than the disappointment arriving with the quote.
The 3D design and itemised quotation
After the visit our designers prepare a photorealistic 3D design of your fitted kitchen , so you can see the layout, colours and lighting before anything is manufactured. Alongside it comes an itemised quotation: cabinets, doors and finishes, worktops, appliances, installation and any associated trades listed separately, so you can compare it fairly and see exactly what is included.
What it costs and what happens next
The survey, the design work and the quotation cost nothing, and there is no obligation at any point. If you go ahead, your kitchen is manufactured in our own Peterborough workshop and installed by our own team, with a 10-year manufacturer guarantee, and 0% finance may be available subject to status. If you do not, you keep the ideas, and we part as neighbours: we have been making furniture in Peterborough since 2017 and our reputation locally is worth more than a pushy afternoon.
Book yours
We visit homes across Peterborough and roughly an 80-mile radius, including Stamford, Market Deeping, Huntingdon, Oundle, Ely and Cambridge. Call 01733 686767 or book your free design survey and we will confirm a time that suits.