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What extras does your kitchen have that you use/don't use?

68 replies

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 17/10/2019 18:59

Starting to toy with replacing our kitchen and we've only ever had kitchens that came with the house. Never done a kitchen refurb before.

I have lost myself in Pinterest with all the extra ideas you can add (ironing board that pulls out of a drawer/thin kickboard drawers for Tea Towels etc).

Does your kitchen have any extra features aside from basic cupboards, drawers and typical white goods? Any must haves? And waste of money?

OP posts:
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Wallywobbles · 17/10/2019 21:21

We have veg baskets next to the compost bin. It's in a slide out draw so just swoosh the debris in. We have a big ikea board with a lip which we slide to the correct place.

I have a large sliding up doored cupboard with all my machines in at surface height already plugged in. So out of sight in a flash and no heaving then about.

Pretty much all deep draws.

Our triangle is table to dishwasher to plates cupboard.

4yearsnosleep · 17/10/2019 21:21

Oops also induction hob & pan drawer love

Meh: our gorgeous river white granite. It's beautiful but the company didn't seal it correctly and I've had a nightmare with stains

bellsbuss · 17/10/2019 21:33

Deep pan drawers for plates, pots and pans and cookware. Side by side integrated larder fridge and freezer, as others have said far more spacious than an American fridge freezer. Wine fridge, induction hob, pull out larder cupboard. USB sockets and 2 dishwashers.

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Cherrysoup · 17/10/2019 23:17

Never had wall cupboards, it makes the room look huge. Dh has just put a cupboard in an awkward corner, blocking off an unusable crawl space. Added shelves to a cupboard for extra storage.

We swapped regular size cupboard doors for narrower ones so they open fully. We put in integrated appliances so everything is smooth, nothing sticks out.

The room has 2 halves (no physical separation bar a ceiling beam where a wall used to be) so one half is the functional kitchen, the other half is a lounging/watching TV area.

Titsywoo · 17/10/2019 23:28

We put a new kitchen in 4 years ago. Things I love:-

Large island - best thing about the kitchen, it's 1.2x2m has two sets of triple 90cm wide drawers on one side (top ones are cutlery drawers and they are both full to bursting so lots of cutlery/utensil space is important, bottom two are large pan drawers where I have plates and food etc) and other side has 30cm wide cupboards on each end and under counter seating in the middle. The counter is all worktop with a pull up triple socket in the middle. It's definitely the most used bit of the kitchen and everyone congregated around it.

Range cooker - 5 hobs is very useful, 2 ovens although I mainly use the one but it's good to have 2 for Xmas and when you have things that need to be cooked at different temps

American style fridge freezer - got the biggest we could and I love it. Ice and water dispenser makes me very happy!

2 dishwashers - prevents the pile of dishes building up when the other one is running

Pull out larder unit - so much easier than cupboards for all my tins, herbs etc

Toastymash · 17/10/2019 23:32

Big double sink. It's been so much more useful than I ever thought it would be.

We have an induction hob and I hate it. If you're ready into cooking then stay away from an induction hob. Takes forever to heat up and is never really quite hot enough to effectively do anything that requires a very hot pan - ie stir fry, pan fried fishcakes/chicken etc.

Titsywoo · 17/10/2019 23:32

Oh yes and the dishwashers are either side of the sink with glasses cupboards above and the plate and cutlery drawers opposite. Emptying and loading the dishwasher is so much quicker as i just turn on the spot and dump things in drawers.

LauraPalmersBodybag · 17/10/2019 23:42

On my wish list is:
-two eye height ovens
-A large pantry style cupboard that holds breakfast things so the toaster can be permanently away
1.5 sink
Cupboards to ceiling height
Boiling water tap
Integrated bins
Plenty of drawers

LauraPalmersBodybag · 17/10/2019 23:43

Oh and an induction hob.

@Toastymash it sounds like you have a bad quality one. A good one is amazing to cook on, though does require heavy bottomed pans

BIWI · 17/10/2019 23:46

@4yearsnosleep

I think you must have a faulty tap then! Ours works perfectly with a cafetière; we use it every day, several times a day

And @Toastymash I think you must also have a dud one. We have a 5 zone AEG, which is brilliant. Heats up really quickly and has a range from 1-14 depending on how hot you want it. Sometimes it's actually been too hot.

AthollPlace · 17/10/2019 23:49

I have a breakfast cupboard. It’s a full height double door cupboard with a worktop inside for my kettle and toaster, a built in coffee machine, and space to store cups, coffee, cereal etc. I love it so much!

What extras does your kitchen have that you use/don't use?
AthollPlace · 17/10/2019 23:54

Oh and I also have a pull out larder which is amazing for food storage. A drinks fridge which frees up loads of space in the main fridge. A pull out bin for rubbish and recycling. Lights inside the drawers. And a cling film dispenser which is utterly amazing.

The tea towel rack in the cupboard never gets used because it’s a faff to keep hanging them up and they don’t dry in there.

Bouledeneige · 17/10/2019 23:54

I don't have some of the extras others have. But I do love:

  • pullout pantry
  • draws for crockery and saucepans
  • 4 built in recycling bins - easy to keep clean and remove
  • double britannia oven - great for Christmas and big events!
  • a microwave/ combi grill
  • built in dishwasher with slide out cutlery tray

I dont have space for an island or large american style freezer/fridge. I could do with a larger fridge.

RJnomore1 · 18/10/2019 00:15

@AthollPlace could you possibly link to your cling film dispenser please?

minipie · 18/10/2019 01:07

Have and love:

  • Quooker tap
  • Charging drawer for phones etc
  • Larder cupboard
  • Telescopic rails in ovens
  • Double door fridge freezer with ice/water
  • Built in soap dispenser

Have but not sure about:

  • Microwave inside larder. Having it out on show would have looked worse but been more convenient
  • Hide and slide door on ovens - not been as useful as I thought

Chose not to have, don’t regret

  • Waste disposal (noisy and bad for the water system)
  • Draining grooves in worktop
  • Tea towel rail, we just use a cupboard handle (was inevitable!)
blaaake · 18/10/2019 01:23

I've done many, many kitchens over the years.

Useful:

Big wide drawers. Excellent for pans and baking trays and I would never go without them now.

Eye level oven. I have 2 in my kitchen next to each other (not a double oven - don't like those) but realistically you only use one the vast majority of the time)

Plug sockets on the inside bit of the island (where your feet go) - hidden well as I don't like the look of pop up ones, and very useful for charging devices

Induction hob - I would never go back to gas now. So much easier to clean and gives a better look to the kitchen.

Didn't like:

Eye level microwave. They just look ridiculous and I have mine in a larder cupboard now (perfectly safe - I checked)

Boiling water tap. Didn't like this at all - makes a terrible brew and was always fretting that the children would get confused and scale themselves.

Ironing board drawer - ridiculous, look tacky and always break.

American fridge freezer - the freezer on my last one was annoyingly thin and didn't fit pizza boxes in. Also can look tacky in smaller kitchens.

Aga - just not my thing to look at and I hated it always being on.

Pop up extractor fan - had one of these in the island in the last house and they are monumentally shit. Such a gimmick and a waste of money.

I'll try and think of more tomorrow as I'm about to go to bed.

RhinoskinhaveI · 18/10/2019 01:25

Two dishwashers, that's my must-have 😇

blaaake · 18/10/2019 01:25

Oh warming drawers!!! I have one of these and I genuinely love it and use it every day.

DeRigueurMortis · 18/10/2019 02:30

Double dishwasher drawers. Game changer. No waiting to fill a big dishwasher and taking things out to hand wash as you need them, but still having the capacity for a full load when you need it.

Massive range cooker (6 burners plus grill plate, 90cm and 30cm ovens both with a rotisserie feature - meat cooked this way with the "drippings" falling on the roast veg is fabulous). Also has a warming drawer.

Large double door fridge freezer with filtered water and ice dispenser. Can't tell you how lovely it is to have ice available on request without pfaffing around with ice cube trays.

Integrated bins. Goodness I hated having the bin "on display". Now I have good sized pull out bins and can separate re: recycling.

Cooks cupboard. Stores all my large appliances (food mixer, processor etc) but easily accessible with internal power sockets. It's a bit like the breakfast cupboard picture posted by a PP.

Pan drawers...loads of space especially for large items like stock pots.

Toyed with the idea of a Quooker but given I'm not a tea drinker and DH is committed to his nespresso machine I didn't bother. DM has one and loves it - but she and DF drink copious amounts of tea daily. It's also a shortcut when boiling veg/pasta/rice but not one I felt justified the spend. Very much an each to their own option I think.

I did get a great kitchen tap however. The type with a pull out hose and that has a direct vs shower stream. Brilliant.

Worktops. Granite. Pricy but indestructible and looks beautiful.

Keen cook so was glad I had a (large) bookshelf as part of the design so all my cook books are available in the kitchen rather than previously being on shelves elsewhere.

The only thing I wish I'd done differently was to have a few more power sockets - especially the pop up ones on the worktop. It's the sort of thing you can never have enough of.

LostInTheColonies · 18/10/2019 03:41

Best things: big central island & breakfast bar; much-used and great for visitors to sit at- 3.2m * 96 cm (have just realised what a strange size that is). SInk in the middle of it. It's awesome.

The mixed
Pantry as attached - looked good in the shop! The shelves in the door are amazing - full of sauces and oils; I cook with the door open usually and it's much easier than a pull-out below counter-level. HOWEVER - the inner shelves, which pull forward when you open the door, are a nightmare. Wasted space below for the mechanics, and at the back, and at the top. The little fences that are supposed to keep the food on the shelves make it very difficult to put larger boxes on the shelves themselves. Can only fit smaller boxes of weetabix, for example, and I have ot cut the tops off cereal packets to fit them in! Packets also fall down the back.

The full-height pantry door is 1/2 cork and 1/2 blackboard paint. Brilliant.

Would have loved one of those pull-down roller cupboard things to hide appliances in.

What extras does your kitchen have that you use/don't use?
BIWI · 18/10/2019 09:09

Oh yes! I have a free-standing unit which is bookshelves at the top for (some of) my cookery books, and a cupboard underneath that I can put appliances in that I don't want out on the work surfaces. My aim with this kitchen is to keep it as uncluttered as possible!

What extras does your kitchen have that you use/don't use?
What extras does your kitchen have that you use/don't use?
BIWI · 18/10/2019 09:09

... and the inevitable tea towel Blush Grin

minipie · 18/10/2019 09:12

Double dishwasher drawers. Game changer. No waiting to fill a big dishwasher and taking things out to hand wash as you need them, but still having the capacity for a full load when you need it

Depends on the size of your household I think. My parents have these and they work well for them as they are only 2 people so take ages to fill a full size dishwasher, plus there’s no bending over to load or unload. But for a larger family (say 4+ people) I don’t think they work so well as one drawer fills really quickly so you either end up doing multiple small loads or have to use both drawers each time, either is a pain.

YY to pull out spray on tap- especially if you have a big sink, makes it so much easier to keep the sink clean.

LahLahsBigBand · 18/10/2019 09:19

I love our induction stove but I were to renovate my kitchen I would have induction plus a Single gas wok burner hob. Induction is perfect except for the really high heat a wok requires, then it’s hopeless

reluctantbrit · 18/10/2019 09:22

Only deep drawers instead of cupboards under the worktop, so much more storage space and easy to access.

Overage high cupboards as we have a small kitchen and so could utilise space normally lost.

1 1/2 or double sink, I would never go back to a single one.

Rubbish bins next to the sink, we have a pull out drawer for recycling and general rubbish.

Lots and lots of sockets, our builders were amazed where we asked for them but we use all of the areas.

Decent light underneath the cupboards.

Under floor heating means only a small towel radiator which means more wall space for cabinets.

Slim Pull-out cupboards like these www.howdens.com/kitchens/kitchen-storage/tower-storage

We have them in small and medium, they fit a lot of smaller items in you normally forget in the back of your cupboards but a normal bottle of oil also fits.

All of these fancy bits did bring the bill up but the kitchen is so much more usable than the standard one we get when we bought the house.

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