We meet the legendary interior designer to talk about his new kitchen range and his (very candid) thoughts on design and retail.

Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and today we're in a dreary old loft in South London and our challenge is to turn this empty bit of audio space into a fully-fledged podcast episode in just 45 minutes BUT we only have a budget of 20p, some MDF, a bag of screws and a router.

And yes, today we're talking to Changing Rooms legend Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen - but of course we're doing him a massive disservice by limiting his extensive career to just that one show, no matter how impactful it was.

He was - and is - an extremely accomplished interior designer of course, but he has also been educating the public about design on TV for, brace yourself, nearly 30 years - Changing Rooms started in 1996.

After a bit of back-and-forth with manufacturers, he has just designed and launched his own kitchen range - called Quintessential - specifically for independent kitchen showrooms and, as you'll hear in this interview, he LOVES independent kitchen showrooms.

This is, genuinely, a fantastic interview - mainly probably because it's actually Andy's kbbreview colleague George Dean doing it - and Laurence is as fabulous as you would expect but he is also incredibly candid and open about his thoughts on kitchen retail AND his previous endorsement deals with multiples - listen out for the bit where he gets slow hand-clapped on a plane thanks to his association with Moben.

It's all brilliant stuff and it's clear that he really does love design and what it can achieve if done properly and with conviction so we really can't recommend this one highly enough!

So over to George Dean and Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen…

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andy Davies.

Neptune has grown from a humble start in the 1990s to become one of the UK’s most distinctive premium home and kitchen brands. With around 30 of its own showrooms and 80 more retail partners it has become one of the largest independent kitchen retail networks in the UK with little fanfare.

And 'brand' is the most important word. Neptune, as far as co-founder John Sims-Hilditch is concerned, means something more than just a logo or a name, it is a philosophy that permeates every aspect of the business.

Andy went to meet him at the company's impressive HQ and showroom just outside Swindon...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this episode comes LIVE from the InstallerSHOW 2025.

This is the third and final LIVE episode we recorded at the show and we’re finishing with a question every single KBB showroom has on their mind– what should I be doing with social media?

And in particular we’re looking at small to medium sized showrooms that don’t have social media teams and instead are trying to fit it into the rest of their very busy days. So if you’re time-poor and have limited resource – this is the episode for you.

• What works and what doesn’t?
• Where should you be spending that limited time and resource most effectively
• How do you even know it’s working?

We have some top experts from the frontline to talk it all through, Kira Blume from Krantz Designs, Adam Jones from Cwtch Haus and Hayley Simmons from agency KBB Marketing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and we are LIVE at the InstallerShow 2025!

This is our second of three shows we did at the show, and this is such an important one as its about an area that gets to the heart of what good kitchen and bathroom design is all about – the combination of style, aesthetics and practical solutions tailored to the needs of the individual, whatever they may be.

And for those with needs that involve limitations in physicality or, as we will hear, cognitive ability, their designers and installers need to have the knowledge to be able to meet them.

So, this is an area that is often called ‘accessible or multi-generational design’ and we’re scratching the surface a little bit with three top experts.

Jo Jeyes from Joanne Jeyes Interiors - an interior designer specialising in dementia

Adam Thomas from the Adam Thomas Consultancy – specialist in all areas of accessible design, especially for wheelchair users

Tony Passmore from The Passmore Group - specialist in accessible bathroom design and adaptation

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this episode was recorded LIVE today (June 24, 2025) at the InstallerSHOW 2025.

Today we’re talking about the most important topic of all at the moment – and that’s the health of the kbb independent retailer market after a difficult couple of years.

We did a snapshot survey of retailers a couple of months ago and the results were very mixed. Nearly a quarter said they're more confident than ever about the health of their business, while one in five said they are worried or extremely worried about the future of their business…

Nearly half said they expected the market to get better before the end of the year, but 15% still say they think the market will get worse in 2025.

So what’s going on?

Joining Andy today were top retailers, and friends of the show Trevor Scott from RFK in Rugby; Tina Riley from Modern Homes in Leamington Spa; Luke Wedgbury from Coalville Kitchens in Coalville and Liz Pantling-Jones from Lima Kitchens in Milton Keynes.

We're talking....

• How their business is right now
• How increases in supplier prices are affecting their business
• Whether supplier service levels have dropped as they manage their own costs
• How consumers are behaving and whether they're decision making process continues to drag
• How difficult it is to find good staff - including installers
• How they're tackling the market head on to drive footfall and leads

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this is Episode Three of Season 15.

We've got a great interview for you today - Phil Cole, the co-owner of Clive Christian.

Founded in 1978 by Clive, it has become one of the few well-known kitchen brands in the ultra luxury arena - certainly in the traditional style.

It's had it's ups and downs though as we will hear, going into administration in April 2022. That's where the then global sales director Phil Cole bought the company with Jim Denos - the owner of the US operations.

So we'll hear all about that, how the luxury market is performing, what people expect for the kind of costs they deal in, how discretion is a valuable skill, finding skilled artisans, how to keep growing and lots and lots more.

Andy met up with Phil at their flagship London showroom - which is actually a beautiful townhouse in Kensington and sat at a desk in a proper wood-panelled office...

But first….

We're only a WEEK away from the InstallerShow at the NEC where everyday at 1:30 on the Kitchen Of The Future stand we'll be recording a LIVE episode of this very podcast.

• On Tuesday the 24th we'll have a panel of top retailers discussing the health of the market
• On Wednesday 25th we've got some greatest accessible design experts giving us some proper top tips
• On Thursday 26th we're looking at how small to medium, sized KBB showrooms can use social media to grow their business.

So that's 1:30 on the Kitchen Of The Future stand come along listen in, join in or just say hello.

Go to installershow.com to register for your FREE ticket.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another very special bonus episode of The kbbreview Podcast, you host is Andy Davies and today we've got a really interesting conversation with Rob Ginsberg from hib.

Until very recently it was better known as H.I.B and was founded by Rob's father Warren Ginsberg 35 years ago. But it has undergone a major rebrand - and subtle name change - to underline its status as one of the leading accessories suppliers in the bathroom industry.

So new name, new brand, new ranges, new products and new philosophy and strategy all underpinned by decades of heritage, industry knowledge and experience.

And Rob is going to talk us through it all.

You can find out more about them at hib.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andrew Davies and this is Episode Two of Season 15.

This week we're building up to the InstallerSHOW - the huge exhibition of all things plumbing, heating, electrical, renewables AND, of course, kitchens and bathrooms.

It's at the NEC on June 24th, 25th and 26th and it is packed with loads of product, obviously, but also networking, demos, seminars and training as well as, most importantly, LIVE recordings of this very podcast.

You can come along and see us at 13:30 every day at the Kitchen Of The Future stage.

The InstallerSHOW may be in its 10th year but it's still growing all the time. While the dedicated kitchen and bathroom section is relatively new it is also growing and this year it is packed with loads of top brands and content 100% relevant for KBB retailers.

So we really do recommend coming along but if that isn't enough - and it almost certainly isn't - then we really recommend listening to this episode with the organiser MIke Costain. You can let him tell you all about the show, what's there, what to see, what's in it for you and what's next.

You can register for your free ticket now, as well as find out everything you need to know, at installershow.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.