Dec 27, 2013

Espiq Kuchen - German Modular Kitchen

 
Espiq Bangalore
Courtesy: Espiq
Espiq Kuchen is a German modular kitchen brand which is possibly new in India. Looks like they have a tie-up with an Indian partner named O'teak. However I can't really confirm these details. They have a new sales office in Ascendas mall in ITPL, Whitefiled. Unfortunately for the sales manager ( if he was one ) we managed to troop in there during one of our mall visits. For a second or 2, it seemed like we should not have entered the office. However I stubbornly continued " We have come to look at the kitchens. ". 

There wasn't much to look at honestly. Two extremely small layouts of few cupboards and modules. One of them had a counter. Just like my experience in Gilma-Spagnol, I had to ask very specific questions on what material was present. Was it veneer, or lacquer or something else. I believe the sales guy called the veneer material as wood. Of course by then I had given up hope of getting proper info. 

I proceeded to inquire about the pricing. Often pricing tells you a lot about the brand etc. That was when I faced the next bouncer of a question. " What bhk flat do you have ? If it is 2 bhk then it is Rs X Lakh and if it is 3 bhk then it is Rs Y Lakh". ( For some reason I can't remember the exact pricing. However I do remember that the kitchen for 3 bhk was priced at less than Rs 4 Lakh ). Well there wasn't much of a problem with that , except that despite the number of bedrooms, flats can have different sizes. Hence their kitchens would have different sizes. As a result, the cost would automatically differ. So  I was a bit surprised to hear fixed quotations for the different number of bedrooms

Finally I decided to just collect the catalog and make a quiet exit. Unfortunately they didn't have catalogs. "How am I supposed to get to see your designs to choose. You don't really have too many designs here". The guy promptly pointed me to their website www.espiq.in and handed a business card with the details. Although my hand flew out right away to collect the card, he decided to hand it to  my silent partner who was just aimlessly staring away while I carried on the conversation. Being used to such behavior, I just flicked out the card from the recipient's fingers and left with a "Thank you". Of course I can't remember what I was thanking him for. 

To be honest, I am not sure I liked the materials that I saw. Apart from the few modules and cupboards, they used an Elica chimney and professed to use Hettich fittings. I am assuming that according to the conversation customization might be limited. However the pictures on the Espiq website are rather nice. There are also some offers on total interior packages which include wardrobe, dressers, etc which might make for a good value proposition. 

Location in Bangalore:
EspiQ Kuchen
Shop N.2F22, II Floor, Ascendas Park Square Maill
ITPB, Whitefield Main Road, Bangalore 560066
Tel: 080-28026650

Website"
www.espiq.in
www.oteak.in

Email:
sales@espiq.in
sales@oteak.in

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Nov 2, 2013

Bulthaup Kitchens - German Modular kitchens in India , not in Bangalore

This blog is about modular kitchen brands in Bangalore. Hence mentioning a brand that is not yet

Bulthaup India
Courtesy: Bulthaup
present in Bangalore is probably not relevant. However, even in this age of excess of information, I know how difficult it is to get just the correct amount of information. Hence, anybody looking for Bulthaup should find this useful.

Browsing through my favorite home décor magazine , Elle Décor India. I was making a list of the modular kitchen brands and their contact details in Bangalore. Half of the time, the details are not always present. You will probably need to make a call or rely on dear ole Google. Anyhow I chanced upon a page with a wonderful display on Bulthaup. I loved their clean lines and simplistic design. Desire led to action and hence , Googling led me to their Indian website which listed only Delhi and Mumbai as their locations.

I guess I should have stopped there and not searched further. But for some reason, my inquisitive-ness got the better of me and I decided to contact them by email. Calling stores in the past, has always produced disastrous results, especially if the store is located in Delhi. I usually get a very chatty person on the other line who has no information other than the fact that the only person who has any information is not present. Despite leaving my contact details, I have never received a call back from that other person.


Bulthaup India
Courtesy: Bulthaup
Anyhow,  I sent a cursory email to the Bulthaup India contact id asking for details of their retailers in Bangalore. Few days back I was surprised to get an email response from them. How nice! They respond back. Quite some information about the brand and it's partners, which are all available below. Despite a very specific question on whether they are present in Bangalore, I get an invite to visit their stores in Delhi and Mumbai. Leave it to my addled brain to figure out that it means " No we are not present in Bangalore and don't have any idea when we would be . However, if you are really desperate, you should visit us in Delhi or Mumbai." Thanks for the invite, Bulthaup. Much as I love the designs ; I'll take a rain check. Some other day..

Below is an  edited communique from Bulthaup. For more details, please visit their website or get in touch with them over email, call or best visit their store:) !

"Top Products India Pvt. Ltd. (TPI) is an authorized bulthaup and Sub-Zero/Wolf partner with exclusive distribution rights in the territory of India. Furthermore, we recently signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Mercedes Benz furniture collection!
TPI's policy is to provide the customer with the full scope of service, including Sales, custom-made Design, Installations, and after-sale Technical Support for the kitchen and appliances. We are already associated with very prestigious houses and luxury projects in India, aiming to the highest standards and performance.


 Further information can be found at the websites:

1.bulthaup – a top tier kitchen brand from Germany www.bulthaup.co.in

2.Subzero/Wolf – the leading company in the category of high-end Kitchen appliances 
www.subzero-wolf.com

3.De-Dietrich – an innovative brand from France, well known for its technology and cooking performance, but yet economic pricing
www.dedietrich.co.uk

4.Mercedes Benz furniture collection – presenting Italian genuine design, inspired by the top gears of Mercedes Benz and uncompromising leather material. "


Bulthaup India
Bulthaup in Mumbai:    
Construction House A,
24th Road off Linking Road
400052 Mumbai
Tel. 0 22 61 311411

Bulthaup in Delhi:
Splendor Forum, Ground Floor
Plot #3, District Center, Jasola, New Delhi - 110025
Tel: 011 42 425959


Email:
sales@bulthaup.co.in

All pictures in this post are copyrighted to Bulthaup

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Aug 17, 2013

Italian Modular Kitchens from Cucine Lube in Bangalore


Cucine Lube India
Courtesy of Cucine Lube India
I had actually planned to visit the Veneta Cucine showroom that afternoon. Unfortunately I wrongly assumed that all shops are open on a Sunday. I walked up to the showroom to confirm that it was really closed and not appearing so due to less employees and dim lighting. Unfortunately it was really closed. Damn! Considering I dragged my behind out of the house for this trip, I was now determined to see at least one shop related to kitchen design. I looked around and realized that there was one such shop very nearby which seemed open and was conveniently located right above one of my favorite restaurants.

With my skeptical partner by my side I huffed and puffed my way up the showroom. Aha! The results of recession or possibly slow business. The showroom seemed open but had only 1 employee , less lighting and no air conditioning. The lady looked at us from the office or office space and prayed that we would go away. Unfortunately I was in my " will explore and look around" mood. Hence I smiled innocently and eagerly  and announced "We are interested in a modular kitchen". The lady realized she had to get up and endure our presence for some time. I still don't remember why she was so apparently reluctant to show us around . Possibly she was resigning, possibly the variable component in her salary was low , possibly she refused to "work" on a Sunday or most probably she judged our appearance found it ridiculous that we would even consider to buy! My bets are on the last one.

So we , rather I , dragged her along to each and every kitchen set that was present there. 
There are about 15 modular kitchens present ( approximately ). Most of the designs were based on a modern look which looked good with lacquer than the veneer options. Of course some models with veneer were good as well. The ones using glass are really nice and if your budget permits, I would actually steer you to that direction. Unfortunately you will not be able to use the beautifully designed chimneys for Indian cooking. There are some semi-spherical, cylindrical designs which add a whole new dimension to your kitchen design but are woefully low on suction design.

Cucine Lube India
Courtesy of Cucine Lube India
For those who prefer a nice old-fashioned but classic design, there were 2 in wood (one of them was possibly cherry? ) with huge pyramid shaped  chimneys coming down over the counter-top. Wooden kitchens also have the advantage that they can be painted in different colors . I don't think the lacquer, veneer and glass offer that option. I was longing to see a yellow kitchen but was unhappy not to find one. The colors mostly ranged from reds, blacks, a nice lavender, mint, other green, magenta, black and wood of course.

It's very difficult to talk about pricing to any sales person for modular kitchen. But the good ones till now usually give you a correct base price . In fact sometimes I feel you can determine how good and knowledgeable a sales person is based on the way they can help you figure out basic pricing. Till date almost each and every sales person I meet ,drones on  how they can tell us the pricing only when we sit to design, choose the modules ( how many pull-outs, shelves, fittings, brands, in-built appliances or not and so on..). I still fail to realize why it doesn't strike their pretty heads, that I would never sit to design with you unless I know what value you can offer to me. And without any information on price it is very difficult for anybody to do a valuation.

Oh I forgot, after much prodding, the lady finally conceded that the starting range should be Rs 4.5 - 6 Lakhs. The shipping time is 3-4 months since they will ship the entire kitchen from Italy . I  pray for the day modular kitchens are manufactured in our dear country and lower prices are passed on to us !

 The lady looked so happy towards the end of the visit. We were finally leaving.

My Rating: 3/5

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Aug 2, 2013

In the search of a Modular Kitchen in Bangalore

Quite some time back I chanced upon an Elle Decor magazine and that introduced me to the world of interiors. Since a lot of my work touches upon Design Thinking and related problem solving design methods ( I did end up using Jobs To Be Done for designing my laundry and store space successfully), I realized that good design isn't about pretty objects. It's about making things work they should and making the life of the user easier. One of the products of that understanding was that a well-designed modular kitchen would make my life easier. I was very particular about the shutter finish and since I didn't have contacts of really good contractors and designers, modular furniture (and  hence kitchen ) brands seemed to be the other option.

Once I was settled on the fact that I would be purchasing a modular kitchen from the available brands, choosing one became a hell of a job.

How do you compare one brand to another? 

Most importantly how is the experience after you make the payment. 

Is the installation handled well? 

What about post-sales service? 

Interestingly, although the modular kitchen brands have been around in India for many years, there isn't enough info about them. Apart from one review on Veneta Cucine  which is not encouraging obviously none of the opinions floating around are from actual owners. ( I believe Veneta Cucine lost a lot of potential customers because of that extremely objective review.) All this makes things very difficult. What I tend to assume from this is that either the owners are extremely satisfied or the negatives aren't extreme enough for them to come and vent online. 

Either ways, assumption wasn't enough for me. I hoped that when folks would come across my blog they would share their experiences. While that hasn't happened a lot, the blog and some of the comments would be quite helpful to anyone on the same journey as me. And my only request would be to add your experiences here so that others can also benefit from the knowledge. 

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