Diamond Interiors, Heathcote Industrial Estate

This visit started badly as I wasted 10 minutes getting lost on the trading estate. However, once found Diamond Interiors welcomed customers with a bright blue-and-white sign and a smart blue door clearly labelled as the entrance to the showroom. The buzzer on the door alerted Sam who promptly came downstairs to show me round. There were a few displays of Crown kitchens, but the number of boxes and parcels on the floor made it impossible to take a close look. Sam apologised for the mess explaining that they were due for collection. "We supply customers, but also to the trade so it gets a bit busy in here," she said.
I explained that I was looking for something modern and Sam pulled out the Pyram brochure and a few door samples. "We have just started working with Pyram, it is excellent quality and a good price." Sam made a number of helpful suggestions regarding door options and showed me how I could bring warmth to a white kitchen with the addition of wood-grain doors. As I left she said, "Have a look on our website, you will see we are an established family business run by a husband-and-wife team."

Service: 4. Showroom: 3. Score 7/10
Sam was good but the showroom was a mess

Modern Homes, Longfield Road

The Modern Homes website is attractive, user-friendly and promises a 'huge showroom full of fitted kitchens and bathrooms.' Either Modern Homes does not live up to its impressive online image or I went to the wrong place.
Tucked away on the Sydenham trading estate, the entrance to this business unit looked tatty with a crumbling parking area. I opened an unprepossessing door assuming it would lead to the showroom and found myself in a manufacturing space with stacks of timber, a few tile boards and tools, but no people.
A banner at the back announced Bathroom Showroom but the space beyond the partition wall was in darkness. After hunting around for a light switch, I wandered through and found some reasonable displays including Utopia, Ideal Standard and Mereway, but no product details, prices or literature. The whole place was so deathly quiet I felt like an intruder. As I crept back out, switching off the light on the way, I noticed doors to the ladies' and gents' loos were wide open affording a parting view of toilets with the seats up and cleaning materials - it didn't look great.

Service: 0. Showroom: 3. Score 3/10
Two words - Mary Celeste

Regent Bathrooms, Regent Grove

In a quiet side street close to Leamington Spa city centre, Regent Bathrooms had an attractive exterior with period windows highlighted in a pretty, pale blue paint. Neatly printed A4 sheets were suspended in the window announcing the Summer Sale, the colour pages featured individual items available in the shop with their discounted price.
Inside, the showroom was fairly small and extremely crowded with WCs, basins and taps jammed together with boxed items taking much of the floor space. A cluttered showroom can be appealing with the thrill of delving into an Aladdin's cave and the hope of discovering a bargain. But if you take this concept too far, there is a risk of not being able to see the wood for the trees. I asked about a square-ended shower bath on display and the salesman said a P-shaped bath would be cheaper, then flicked through a brochure to find me an image. I reiterated that I preferred the square design and asked about sizes. He was friendly enough, but not forthcoming with product information regarding the bath or what I would need in terms of a shower screen.

Service: 3. Showroom: 2. Score 5/10
Less is more

Mark Wilkinson, Parade

Stepping into the Mark Wilkinson showroom was like stepping into a library. Beautiful wood everywhere, soft lighting and a sense of calm which was quite an achievement given the major road works just outside the door.
Terry greeted me on my arrival and left me to admire the craftsmanship of these kitchens. I particularly liked the pale blue New England display, before asking if he could help. He offered me a seat and we discussed my requirements in great detail, including type of property, my preference for a range cooker rather than built-in ovens, thoughts about colour and design. This was all handled in a gentle manner interspersed with conversation about where I live, work, and anecdotes about the local area
Before I left, Terry took my details and handed me the weighty Mark Wilkinson bible. "Do you know a bit about Mark Wilkinson?" he asked flicking through the pages full of glossy images of affluent homes and beautiful people. These included a real kitchen featuring burr walnut, which was created because a customer wanted the same feel in the home as he had in his Bentley Azure.

Service: 4. Showroom: 4. Score 8/10
First class

Nigel Heron, Oxford Street

This attractively presented showroom included neat kitchen displays, but I was particularly interested in the bathrooms. There was a square-ended freestanding bath, walk-through shower and granite basin at the front of the shop, Utopia furniture and displays of Samuel Heath accessories towards the back.
Everything was bright, clean, nicely tiled and there were some imaginative display ideas, such as a wicker basket full of granite sample blocks. Roxy Music was playing gently in the background and, as a fan of Bryan Ferry, this certainly enhanced my shopping experience.
Nigel said: "You do have to pay for quality so we are not going to be the cheapest, but you would be surprised that we are not expensive either." We looked at a few of the items on display and Nigel explained that this was a family business, which he ran with his wife. "We have very reliable fitters who we have worked with for many years. Just recently a lady came back to us after 15 years and asked if our fitter Colin was still working for us, which he is."
My only criticism would be that Nigel twice mentioned he had a selection of images of recent projects on the flat screen TV, but as this was switched off I didn't see them.

Service: 4. Showroom: 4. Score 8/10
Nigel couldn't do much More Than This

Smallbone, Parade

After visiting Mark Wilkinson at the bottom of the Parade, it would have been remiss of me not to trot up the hill to Smallbone.
Through the elegant shop windows I glimpsed the distinctive Mandarin kitchen. Ben sat at the russet-painted island unit and greeted me as I came in.
It felt a bit awkward standing in front of him as he asked me questions from the comfort of his high stool, however once he had dismounted and taken me on a tour of the showroom, things relaxed a bit.
We chatted away about my taste in furniture and the architecture of my house. Ben made sensible suggestions regarding the style of kitchen that would suit an Edwardian property pointing out the design details of the kitchens on display and emphasising the bespoke nature of the product.
We touched on the merits of granite rather than composite worktops, different cooking appliances and the history of the Smallbone brand. Attentive, and confident, Ben clearly had an impressive knowledge of architecture and design and an enthusiasm for the kitchen he would create for me.

Service: 4. Showroom: 4. Score 8/10
More than a kitchen, it's a lifestyle choice

WINNER'S PROFILE: Nigel Heron

Nigel Heron knows his stuff, he worked for a builders merchant after leaving school and then set up a kitchen and bathroom business in Leamington Spa, which ran successfully for 20 years. Two years ago, he parted with his business partner, bought his own premises and now runs his eponymously named kitchen and bathroom showroom with wife Irene.
Nigel says 2010 was his best ever year: "It's because we have got the showroom 90% right. It's not a big space, so we haven't gone for room sets, instead showing little snippets from the range. We've invested in good lighting and sound system and we try to keep it fresh and trendy. We have had a few really buzzing Saturdays, Irene is making the coffee, I'm showing customers plans on the big screen, the chrome accessories are sparkling in the middle of the shop. I think it just makes people want to buy."