Courtesy: Gilma Modular Kitchens |
I
visited the Gilma Spagnolia modular kitchen showroom at Indiranagar the second
time. A big difference since the last time I visited it. Unlike before, they
have an adept sales person who is not overtly pushy but helpful enough; a far
cry from the lady I met previously. But less about the lady and her faux pas and
more about the kitchens.
There are few kitchens on
display with different finishes and configurations. The showroom is smaller
than other brands and hence the number of kitchens on display is also lower.
The positive effect of this is lesser confusion. I remember getting very
confused at the Veneta Cucine and Nolte showrooms when I visited them. GilmaSpagnolia sells Italian kitchens (Spagnolia is their Italian brand) and Indian kitchens. The Indian kitchens are locally
manufactured in India while the Italian kitchens are imported totally. Prices of
Indian kitchens are obviously lower. I think starting price for a 10 X 8
kitchen was quoted at `3 Lakh for an Indian kitchen and `4.5 Lakh for an Italian
kitchen.
However, if you want lot
of variety and colors, then the Italian kitchens are a better bet.
There are a
wide variety of finishes like glossy lacquer, membrane (includes a PVC foil
over the MDF without edge banding), glass and wood. The doors have soft closing
and better finishes.Very typically, the kitchen with a wood finish is designed
in a typical country style and similar chimneys. I can’t remember the exact
pricing but it is probably around `8 Lakh without appliances. While I loved most of the Italian
kitchens on display, the bigger kitchens caught my fancy. One of them was a
black glossy lacquer with a curved island, white glossy lacquer with a huge
island and a dark wooden laminate one.
Courtesy: Gilma Modular Kitchens |
For
people interested in buying a kitchen soon, the renovation of the GilmaSpagnolia showroom would be an interesting opportunity. The kitchens on display
would be available at a considerable discount. In fact quite a few modular
kitchen brands sell their kitchens on display at a discount. I am aware of
Hacker and Nolte and now Gilma is a revelation. Of course, this will work for
you only if the measurements of your kitchen space are comparable and the
cabinets can be mapped into your kitchen layout.
The
proof of the pudding is in the eating and in case of modular kitchens, it
depends on the product and the service (design efforts, installation and after sales).
While the designs and colors of the kitchens are attractive, I wasn’t very
impressed with the shelving material in few of the kitchens (laminate and
membrane). One can get an idea of the service from checking out Mouthshut.com or inquiring with their past customers. The latter is preferred because most of us do not take the time to write a glowing review if satisfied. However this particular review on Mouthshut is probably enough to scare one away.
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