How it works
Buying a kitchen in France, in a language that is not your first, is mostly a question of knowing what happens next. Here is the whole sequence: who does what, when you pay, what you sign and where.
Five steps: you send us photographs and rough dimensions; we meet on video, at our showroom in Brive or at your house; we produce a 3D plan, a written specification, a net price and a dated lead time; you order — signed at the showroom or electronically, never at your house; we deliver and fit, and we sign a handover certificate. Payment is staged and agreed in advance, and in a home completed more than two years ago the units we fix are charged at 10 % VAT instead of 20 % — in the fully fitted options and in Assistance de pose, where our fitter does the fixing while you do the carrying.
- 01
Tell us what you have
A few photographs, rough dimensions, and where the water and the electrics come out. That is enough for a first conversation and a realistic budget bracket. No obligation, and we do not need your life story.
- 02
We meet
Thirty minutes on video, an hour at our showroom in Brive, or two hours at your house within 80 km. On video and at the showroom we look at the plan; at your house we also measure.
- 03
The plan and the price
A 3D plan, a written specification, a net price and a dated lead time. You take it away and compare it. Nothing expires at midnight and nothing is “only valid today”.
- 04
The order
Signed at the showroom or electronically, never at your house. The payment schedule is published in advance, and the delivery date is written on the order.
- 05
Delivery, fitting, handover
Cabinets arrive assembled. We fit, we adjust, we take the packaging away, and we sign a handover certificate with you. If you are fitting it yourself, we stay on the end of the telephone; and if we are fitting it together, our fitter comes for the technical work once you have the units unpacked in the room.
Choose the one that suits your week.
Video call
The usual first step if you live in the Périgord or the Lot, or if you are still in the UK. Screen shared, plan drawn while we talk, budget bracket at the end of the call.
Book this →1 hourThe OXIA showroom, Brive
A private design studio at 122 avenue Ribot, not a shop floor. One household at a time, with a designer, doors and worktop samples in your hands. By appointment, Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 7 pm.
Book this →2 hoursAt your house
Within about 80 km of Brive. We look at the room, the services and the access for delivery, and we take the measurements. We do not sign anything at your house, and we do not take payment there.
Book this →All three are free and carry no obligation. If you are visiting the region for a fortnight, say so when you book: we will fit the survey into that fortnight and do the rest remotely.
We come, we measure, we leave the pen behind.
A contract signed in your home is an off-premises sale under French law. It comes with a 14-day cooling-off period, and no payment may be taken during the first seven days. It is also the setting in which people are pushed into signing something they have not read properly.
So we do not do it. We visit, we measure, we go away and we write the quotation. You sign at the showroom, or with an electronic signature from wherever you are — including from the UK, which is exactly what second-home owners need.
Lead times, payments, VAT
| Option | Lead time | Payment |
|---|---|---|
| Prêt-à-poser You fit it | 4 to 6 weeks from order | 40 % on order, 60 % before collection |
| Assistance de pose We fit it together | 4 to 6 weeks from order, fitter’s visit arranged after delivery | 40 % on order, 60 % before collection; the assistance is invoiced after the visit |
| Sur-mesure posé We fit it | 6 to 10 weeks from order, fitted in 1 to 3 days | 30 % on order, 50 % on delivery, 20 % on handover |
| Clé en main We handle everything | 10 to 14 weeks from order, 4 to 5 weeks on site | 30 % on order, 30 % when work starts, 30 % on fitting, 10 % on handover |
VAT: 10 % on units and fitting in a home over two years old; 20 % on appliances. The same 10 % applies in Assistance de pose, because our fitter does the fixing. Supply-only sales are at 20 %.
Two years old, and the rate halves.
The single most useful thing to know about buying a fitted kitchen in France — and the one most often left out of a sales pitch.
10 % applies
Home completed more than two years ago, and the units fixed in place by us. That is the Assistance de pose, Sur-mesure posé and Clé en main options, and it covers the building work in a Clé en main project too.
20 % applies
Appliances, always. Supply-only sales, because there is no fitting. And a home less than two years old — a new build handed over by a French housebuilder, for instance.
What you do
You sign a short declaration attached to the quotation confirming the age of the property. We keep it on file. On a kitchen of any size, halving the rate on the units and the labour is worth having.
This describes the standard French rule as it applies to our work. It is not tax advice on your own situation — if your property is let, run as a business or newly converted, ask your accountant, and we will supply whatever paperwork they need.
Frequently asked questions
Why will you not sign a contract at my house?
Because a contract signed at your home is a distance-and-off-premises sale under French law: it carries a 14-day cooling-off period during which no payment may be taken for the first seven days, and it is the setting in which pressure selling happens. We sign at the showroom or electronically, after the visit. It is a protection for you, and it costs you nothing.
When do I pay, and how much?
The schedule is agreed before you order. Prêt-à-poser: 40 % on order, 60 % before collection. Assistance de pose: 40 % on order, 60 % before collection; the assistance is invoiced after the visit. Sur-mesure posé: 30 % on order, 50 % on delivery, 20 % on handover. Clé en main: 30 % on order, 30 % when work starts, 30 % on fitting, 10 % on handover. In the Clé en main option the trades are paid directly through an assignment of payment, so you always know who has been paid for what.
Can I get the 10 % VAT rate?
Yes on fixed units and the labour to fix them, if your home was completed more than two years ago and we do the fixing — that is the Sur-mesure posé and Clé en main options, and the Assistance de pose option too, since our fitter does the fixing there even though you do the carrying. Appliances stay at 20 % in every case, and supply-only sales are at 20 % because there is no fitting. You sign a short declaration attached to the quotation. This is a description of the standard French rule, not tax advice on your particular situation.
How long does it all take?
From the first appointment to a working kitchen, allow about two months for Prêt-à-poser and for Assistance de pose — with, in that option, the fitter’s visit arranged once the units have been delivered — three months for Sur-mesure posé and four for Clé en main. The manufacturer’s factories close for three weeks in the summer, so an order placed in June or July is delivered in September. The date is written on your order, not promised over the telephone.
What if something is wrong at handover?
We list it on the handover certificate and we put it right — that is what the certificate is for. The furniture is guaranteed for ten years by OXIA, backed by our manufacturer’s ten-year commitment to us; our fitting is guaranteed for two years by OXIA; appliances, sink and tap carry their own makers’ guarantees; and in the Clé en main option each trade carries its own statutory guarantee on its own work. The French statutory guarantees apply on top of all of it.
Let’s meet
Thirty minutes on video, an hour at our showroom in Brive, or two hours at your house anywhere within 80 km — including the measuring. You choose, we prepare the rest.