What is your absolute must-have for a great kitchen?

[BrandoraPaithwaite]

Getting the ancient, grubby, falling to bits kitchen finally ripped out and redone in the Autumn (Covid permitting).

Please help me plan an ideal kitchen!

It's roughly 4.5m square. Door to porch and back of house which we use as main entry/ exit to house. No scope to extend or have bifold doors. Family is 2 adults, 1 dc, dog and cat.

What is your absolute must in a kitchen? Or what have you got in yours that you couldn't live without?

All we have already decided is to have a range cooker in the chimney breast, a big cupboard near the door for coats and shoes. And no island unit or breakfast bar.

Thank you!

I love my warming drawer.

Pull out larder slimline.

Make sure you plan where you are going to hang your teatowels/oven glove etc...otherwise beautiful kitchen will constantly have a towel draped/dumped somewhere.

When we did ours I wrote a post-it note with everything I needed to put in the kitchen (so, plastic tubs, cereals boxes, pans, baking trays, baking stuff, jugs, daily cutlery, cooking utensils, bakings stuff, tinned food, herbs,etc etc). Then I sat and worked out where everything would go. Really, really helped fine tune the cupboard/drawer combo.

Thank you for all the excellent suggestions so far.
Just been and started to thrash out the range/ Rayburn in the chimney alcove V cooker elsewhere debate w DP. There's kid of nowhere else to put a big cooker. One wall has the exterior door and massive windows, the wall opposite that has the door through to the rest of the house and the door into the pantry and cellar stairs.
The other walls are chimney breast wall, and then a wall that can't have much sticking out because that's the way people are walking up and down to door all the time.

I'm going to ask the kitchen designer to do a design both ways. Plus I'll ask her to do a wild card one with a totally different layout and see if it blows our minds.

Mainly deep drawers instead of cupboards.

If you are up for an Aga type range cooker, look at www.everhot.co.uk/. Everhots are cheaper than Agas (no idea v a Rayburn), really straightforward (ie plug in to a normal electric socket, no flue required, no annual service needed etc) and have the most amazing customer service of any company I know. Not cheap, but worth looking at in your debate!

The only things I like about my kitchen is the corian worktop. It’s ten years old and looks fantastic, easy to clean and hard to stain.

I hate almost every other aspect of the kitchen

I am so sold on the deep drawers for pans and other storage after this thread. My sister said "long drawers" as a kitchen tip to me the other day and I didn't understand but now I get it. Also hidden pull outs for things like spices, oils etc. Also definitely high cupboards all the way to the ceiling. And clever stash aways for tea towels and oven gloves. Big fridge- already got and will keep.

We will probably end up with the cooker in the chimney alcove because we are period property geeks and bought this Victorian wreck because of romantic notions of "character". Don't know how big alcove is yet because it needs a hideous stuck on fireplace and gas fire chopping out.
Ditto likely we will end up with the annoyingly deep single Belfast sink.
Confession: I go on Rightmove and look at clean, slick, modern kitchens in new builds sometimes just for a fantasy.

Induction hob- it’s life changer
2 eye level ovens one also being a microwave
Hot water tap
USB ports
1.5 sink plus dishwasher
Wine fridge - I went for this over a fitted bin.

I wouldn't want fitted bins, it would annoy me having to open a cupboard every time I wanted to use the bin instead of using a pedal one. I don't like minimalistic streamlined kitchens though, I'd never buy integrated appliances either and don't like bare counters.

I'd say deep drawers too but if you get very wide ones make sure you can open them with one hand. We've got some at work that have two handles and won't open if you try and just use one which is really annoying.

I don't like minimalistic streamlined kitchens though

I do. I hate clutter. I really like the clinical look

Will there be work surface either side of the cooker alcove? If so, it doesn't really matter that the cooker is in the alcove - you've still got the space one/both sides to prep and place dishes. You've also got the inner alcove walls to hang the big utensils, right above the cooker -very convenient.

Remember your golden triangle - cooker-fridge-sink. Ideally it's not crossed by 'traffic' coming in & out of kitchen.

Very exciting - happy planning!

I don't want clutter everywhere but I like having a fruitbowl, a shelf of cookbooks, appliances on counters rather than hidden away. I don't like the clinical look at all. We have a Victorian house and it wouldn't be in keeping.

Yes surface to the left of the alcove at least if not both sides.

I had a range cooker in a chimney breast in my last house and it worked fine as the chimney walls were set well back and I had lots of worktop space to the side of the breast, it was perfectly accessible.

I wouldn’t hang utensils above the cooker, they get hot when cooking and sticky too.

Another yes to deep drawers - I’ve seen drawers in drawers so you pull open the big one and the cutlery one above is nested inside. That gives more space and a cleaner look. We got rid of our waste disposal as it was smelly and noisy. if you have a big fridge you could build it in and have a large cupboard with horizontal hinge to open upwards above if you need more storage.

Big pan drawers
2 sinks , one big baby-bath one and an a veggie prep one

Hobnobs and a kettle...

If you’re limited with space, drawers can be fitted under the base units instead of plinths. We had this in Germany, it just looked like a normal plinth.

We have a range master in the chimney alcove in our kitchen and it works well. There was enough space to put a built in cupboard each side with worktop on top. All the pans etc are there right next to the cooker in those cupboards.

@BrandoraPaithwaite my parents have their cooker in the chimney alcove. It is a bit of a pain not having worktop right there to put stuff - what saves theirs is that they have a huge Rangemaster so plenty of space on top. It does also slightly feel like you are cooking in a cupboard so good lighting is a must.

They had a Rayburn in their old house, but my Mum never really got on with it and had a combination oven / microwave for baking and summer use. No idea if they've got better since then, but she likes the Rangemaster a lot better.

Is the period feature-ness of the fire place worth it? I'd have the chimney breast taken out. Have two relatives who put a range cooked in chimney breast and both regretted it because not enough room for pan handles to stick out. One has since moved and the other has had the chimney breast taken out.

I am also not a fan of boiling water taps (unless you are also going to have a kettle) because the water isn't a rolling boil, which you need to make a good cup of tea. It might be that some are better than others?

We have an open bin in under the sink. It's perfect because out of the way, but can also take out and move it round (it is the inside of an old brabantia pedal bin) if want somewhere else for a specific job (e.g. Sharpening pencils)

Moved into house with newly done, inoffensive kitchen. Would never have put in an induction hob, but love it. Also love waist height oven, "shower hose" tap, bank of tall cupboards, pan drawers and pull out panty drawer for spices. We have some cupboard that open upwards (like the boot of the car) at eye level. I love them for mugs and crockery etc. Because the doors don't get in the way when emptying the dish washer, but DH not so much because if they are left open the doors are actually at eye level.

Gas hobs are an absolute bugger to clean. Induction all the way.

Something to consider if you are installing a cooker hood. Don't make it too low. DH has often bumped his head on our cooker hood, and cooker hoods in rented holiday cottages because they are just too low. He is 6'2", so not excessively tall.

Most things in here but also range ovens are not good if you start having mobility issues. I should know

Another thing is a pot filler - I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned near the hob. They are brilliant.

Definitely double sink, 2 dishwashers, 2 ovens & microwave oven & drawers drawers drawers. No cupboards. Pantry - I love mine. I have built in trays. Best thing - my induction & quooker tap.