Room for living, Cowbridge

Room for Living in Cowbridge has built a fine reputation for offering kitchens for the discerning customer. Mike McNabb introduces us to their new Miele range.

The company has now added the outstanding kitchen and appliance manufacturer Miele as its flagship product and is proud to be the only Miele dealership in Wales.

Congratulations on acquiring the Miele dealership.
Thank you. We are absolutely delighted. We pride ourselves on being able to supply quality and affordable kitchens and being able to offer Miele kitchens and appliances, along with our other brands, will really set us apart from other suppliers.

How did that come about?
We had several meetings with representatives from Miele at Room for Living and we visited their headquarters in Germany. We were completely blown away by the scale of Miele’s operations. Their floorspace is easily three times the size of Cowbridge. Miele’s representatives were very impressed with our showroom and our philosophy to the business and I believe that’s the main reason we got the contract. Can you explain more about Miele and their philosophy? Miele is a German manufacturer of high quality domestic appliances and commercial equipment. It was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann and has always been a familyowned, family-run company. Since the beginning, the Miele motto has been ‘Immer Besser’ or ‘Forever Better’ and this philosophy is still reflected in the legendary quality and longevity of the products. They pride themselves on having the best products with unsurpassed quality that really set out the Miele difference.

What do you think sets their kitchens and appliances apart from the rest?
Miele have been leading the market for 100 years and consistently comes out on top when tested independently in many products categories. They produced the first ever electric dishwasher, the first ever fully automatic washing machine, and the first ever washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher to be controlled by microprocessors.

Due to their high design life, Miele products don’t need replacing as often as many other types of appliances. They also care for the environment as all of their products lead the market for energy and water efficiency.

It’s really all about quality and reliability in that all of their products are designed to last twenty years and are subjected to rigorous endurance testing during development. Every product goes through an end line test before passing quality control and many of their products are then randomly checked against further quality criteria.

I’ve heard that Miele are big on design and innovation. Is that so?
Absolutely, their designs are mostly contemporary and very stylish. They have invested in technology to make complete carcasses. We don’t offer flat packed kitchens at Room for Living and that aspect particularly appealed to us. That and the attention to detail such as touch drawers and special lighting effects. Miele’s kitchens reflect what we’ve always strived to offer at Room for Living which is the concept that the kitchen is the centre of any household. It’s far more than the place where you cook. It’s more a place to eat, relax and entertain. It’s a room for living!

Who are your typical customers?
We have local customers and also customers from further afield such as London, Lampeter, Llandeilo, Abereiron and Tenby. They might live in a barn conversion or a more contemporary home.

Do they have their own design ideas or can you help in that area?
Some have a good idea of what they want but we offer free design as part of the Room for Living service. We also have the expertise to re-design the layout of a customer’s kitchen which might include knocking down walls, re-tiling and underfloor heating. With Miele’s motto of ‘Forever Better’ and ours of ‘Exceeding Excellence’, we have a winning formula.