Totally overwhelmed with new kitchen decisions.... help appreciated

[AClearShotOfTheStreet]

I think the problem is the space doesn't exist yet..... extension going up but I am having to choose my kitchen now! I am usually pretty good at visualising the finished room and making decisions to get there but totally at sea with this.

New extension space will be ,half dining and half kitchen.

This is the kitchen layout. We are hoping to imitate deVol to some degree so have gone for the Helmsley Kitchen from DIY kitchens.

www.diy-kitchens.com/kitchens/helmsley-alabaster/details/

The run along the wall we are planning to have painted in Mizzle by F and B
www.farrow-ball.com/mizzle/2013-new-colours/farrow-ball/fcp-product/100266

And a worktop of marble effect quartz www.geraldculliford.co.uk/profile/stone/denalicloud

We will have a single and combi ovens in the oven housing and a large induction hob and sink in that run.

Island will be white units with a walnut work top
www.worktop-express.co.uk/wood_worktops/walnut_worktops.html

Floor will be asphalt grey oil engineered wood
www.staki.lt/Products/gallery/provence-collection.html

The other side of the extension will be a dining area.

Was thinking about getting a copper sink but tap will be a Quooker which only comes in stainless steel or chrome so not sure.

Any feedback at all? Does it sound a bit hotchpotch? I feel like we've picked things we like but not sure about it going together. So confused.

[AClearShotOfTheStreet]

A pic of the plans

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

I think it looks really nice

We are currently in the same quandry. Just started to design the kitchen. Our builder is keen on howdens snd will give us his discount but wonderkng about DIY. Is it horribly complicated to order?

Also, can I be cheeky and as roughly how much your units are?

[mum2015]

The top oven seems to be too high up. May be put one oven under hob or in island.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Ps - I wouldn't go for the copper sink. I think it will date

[GraveorExtension]

I will be where you are in a month's time, so waving a support flag from my corner. I know exactly what you mean about being difficult to imagine when the space doesn't actually exist!

Sorry I can't be of more help. Have you tried looking through Rightmove at photos of similar kitchen sizes so you get a feeling for the actual space?

Everything you've chosen looks fantastic. Have you got small samples of everything & painted a bit of old wallpaper with the F&B, so you can see how they complement each other?

Best of luck!!!

[Anabanana2]

Hi mizzle by F & B is a great choice. It looks different colours in different lights.
The most important thing with a new kitchen is having a good fitter. Have you got recommendations or seen their previous work? Good luck!

[snowy1982]

Any chance you can move either your sink or hob to the island? You don’t have much space between hob and sink and the sink looks a bit tucked away in the plans, also doesn’t seem to have stacking space around it for doing the dishes.

I moved to a new build last year so brand new kitchen going in, I disagreed with where the sink was going, it didn’t have any real stacking space around it and I knew it would be a pain in the ass doing a big pile of dishes and have to stack the pots and pans on benches behind me etc. Builder, kitchen designer and DH outvoted me, so sink went in the awkward place they planned. Now DH complains almost every time he does the dishes and I feel a little bit smug (but also annoyed that i’m stuck with the awkward sink)

[QuitMoaning]

I am going to be really picky and query the amount of room on the right of the hob. It seems the sink is really close. Will that work for you?

I have a lot of space either side of the hob and the sink and like the space but I note you do have the island behind you. Just check that if you are moving pans off the hob, you have somewhere easy and safe to put them down.
(and I could never reach the top oven, I even bought a small set of foldable step stool so I can reach top of my cupboards but I am quite short)

[ftw]

Yes, definitely consider moving hob or dink to island. By the time you’ve got a couple of pots to wash, there’s no room by your hob for other cooking paraphernalia.

Also what PP said about top oven being too high.

And also about tap dating.

[ftw]

Oh, posted too soon.

Also, where are you going to put things like toaster, kettle, coffee machine? If it’s for the back wall, you don’t have a lot of space. If they’re to go on island, they’ll need anchoring to something. I’d consider putting a little raised bit through the middle of your island to give you a kitchen half and a dining half.

I’m right in the thick of this myself at the moment - it’s harder than it looks!

[namechangedtoday15]

That's more or less the exact same layout that we had (although we have one large window instead of 2 narrow windows so dont have an extractor there) - I was in your position 18 months or so ago.

We put all the tall units at one end so there was a bank of them (at opposite end to garden) so that as you looked out towards the garden it looked open and uncluttered. We also didnt have any other wall cupboards. We went with large pan drawers instead of cupboards, they are much more practical. I also wanted a uniform look so wanted similar sized units all the way along rather than a mixture like you have.

We put our sink in the island - would be inclined to put it near the dishwasher in the island as it will be cumbersome to rinse plates and load the dishwasher where you have the sink now.

[QuitMoaning]

Oh yes, pan drawers. Love them.

I actually have 18 drawers in my kitchen, 6 shallow and 12 deep pan drawers. Only one actually has pans in, the others have random stuff in like Pyrex dishes, and then some have non kitchen related stuff eg gift wrap. I love my pan drawers.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

I am totally going for millions of pan drawers

[AClearShotOfTheStreet]

Thanks everyone.... its great to have some feedback.

Re the oven housing, the top oven isn't actually going to be there. Also pretty much all the back wall run will be pan drawers, I think that the kitchen designer just put cupboard doors there. Agree the hob and sink is a little tight but we have a good metre to the left of the hob for putting pans. I don't tend to stack too many pots.... I have lived with a tiny sink area for a few years now! I really want to keep the island clear so I am going for this.

As we are having a boiling water tap, only appliance out will be a toaster which I will tuck in the corner next to the hob.

For who asked, the units are costing 9.2k which is inclusive of VAT.

Do you think the mix of unit colours and work tips will work together, along with the floor?

[AgnesSkinner]

If you have lots of big pan drawers you can keep the toaster out of sight in a drawer when not in use.

[crumpet]

Really check the space you will have available for the dining area, to make sure it’s big enough. I have seen more than one kitchen designer prioritise island space etc over the dining space, leaving the final kitchen looking very beautiful but with a cramped dining area.

[Oblomov18]

I still think there isn't enough space, next to the hob. Even though you've said you don't stack pots (you don't? Seriously? - how do you manage not to?)

But I think maybe you're looking at it the wrong way round.

as you say,you're so used to having a tiny kitchen, but you should be thinking about this as the opportunity to get it right : to cook and use the area in the way that you want.

You must think of your ideals.

I take on board the pp also, who wished she had gone with her gut instinct about the sink when the husband and architect overruled her - I use my kitchen the way I like to use mine (Dh and as suggesting things last night for ours, but I know how I use the space and some of his suggestions just wouldn't work for ME!)

and you must make sure this new space works for you.

We are at the early stages of knocking through kitchen into dining room, so I am currently considering my layout.

[tickingthebox]

Your sink/hob/fridge are way too close together (I assume fridge is concealed in large unit on right?

I would go to 3 or 4 more kitchen places (particularly high end ones) and get more plans done. You may have to remember what they do as they won't give you the plan unless you buy, so take a notepad and be sketching away while they are doing it!

You need to find a good planner as that layout just isn't right!

Light units/light worktop may look a bit light?

Copper - I would avoid as it will date massively.

[AClearShotOfTheStreet]

There's quite a big space to the right of the hob.... a metre. There isn't a huge distance between hob and sink but there is still a decent sized double sink and draining board to stack on (ignore the architects drawing for kitchen layout and look at the pic to see what I mean).

We are having a long dining table but seating one side of it will be a bench so space should be fine.

[AClearShotOfTheStreet]

Oh gosh.... why isn't the layout right?

[snowy1982]

Maybe your drawing isn’t quite right because looking at it again, there only appears to be a single sink, draining board and straight into hob. That would drive me mad. Also, and I point this out as it happened in my kitchen and infuriates me, but your sink seems to have sink right beside what I assume is the fridge unit, draining board to left of that. There is no room for stacking anything before loading into sink (unless i’m looking at drawings wrong). I would at very least swap the sink and draining board.

Your island looks massive though, if I were in your position I would put hob with fancy hidden extractor on island and sink on back wall

[DustandRubble]

The kitchen sink does look cramped to me, would it be comfy standing there to wash up? I get that you are fine with the worktop space, but would you feel cramped standing there to wash up?

We have a similar layout and have put our hob in the island and sink along the wall.

[AnneWiddecombesHandbag]

I wouldn't recommend oiled floor in the kitchen. Not easy to clean.

[picklemepopcorn]

I like all your choices. Why are you having different units in the island though?

If you rotate the sink and drainer, you'll have more space next to the fridge for loading and unloading fridge items.

What about a large sunken sink, with no drainer? You can wash up, put dishes in a rack on the side, then put the drainer in the sink when you have finished.

[QuitMoaning]

I think you are very close and it will be magnificent but I also agree with others about thinking of putting the hob on the island.

I love cooking and my hob is on the island with a downdraft extractor (it hides in the island when not in use) and I love it, I love it when my OH sits at the island whilst I am cooking and we talk about our day and plans and other random rubbish. It is a really sociable experience. I hate cooking and looking at the back wall.

My island is about 190cm wide and 120 cm deep with a 75 cm hob and a 90cm extractor and there is loads of room.

my back wall has a sink in it an then space either side of it, to the left is tea and toast (I didn't want a hot tap) and to the right is stacking area and space to put hot items out of the oven. Lots of room but a very sociable space.