New Kitchen, what mistakes did you make and what went really well?

[Flossiecotton]

It is many years since I bought a new kitchen. Please will you share with me what things you wou,d not do or buy again. What was totally worth the money. Also how did you survive the hassle?
thanks

Best decision ever = lots of pan drawers instead of cupboards

Regrets = not spending decent money on the taps. Was the wrong place to try and keep costs down.

Ours is 20 years old now.

The units are shaker style and timeless.

The granite looks dated.

The wiring behind the tiles for the cooker can only be used for a certain spec of cooker without ripping the tiles out.

We have a v big island which also feels dated.

So - happy with simple style of cupboards, pull out larder and deep cupboard for microwave.

We got lots of drawers for bowls and plates rather than cupboards. Absolute game changer and I love it. I also made the aisle wider than recommended so you can open the dishwasher and the drawers on the other side which is great but pretty contingent on your kitchen layout.

We pretty much never use the breakfast bar at all but I do like it when we do (just at parties really). Also, I love our hot water tap but DM absolutely hates it and brings a kettle when she comes to stay so that's a bit marmite

Oh and I put the plugs in the wrong place, so we've got too many next to the fruit bowl and not enough by the toaster / DM's visiting kettle. So really think that through!

Used DIY kitchens, who I wholeheartedly recommend. We designed and fitted ourselves as complete novices and they made it as easy as it could realistically be.

Agree that pan drawers are amazing, much better than cupboards. We never found a good alternative to corner cupboards though, so that would be my regret. We ended up going for a standard corner cupboard, knowing that we'd just loose stuff in it, but not being happy enough with the alternative options to pay the extra. I wish we'd thought more about that

Pan drawers are a game changer, also extra-tall wall units, they reach the ceiling so provide extra space ( I'm tall!) and you don't waste any space. Don't bother with boiling water tap, they are heating water constantly so can be expensive.

Ooh, and far more plug sockets than you think you'll need!

Pan drawers and larder .Also big island with no sink or cooker in it .I am not sure I would have as many top cupboards .Would have saved some money ! Now there are pull out shelves for kitchen aid mixer which I don't think we're available then .Might be tempted to have one of them .Other than that I love my kitchen .Classic shaker .

Plenty of deep drawers, as above. Two ovens (although that's pretty standard nowadays) including a high-level Neff one with a sliding door. Nothing I would really change but there's an annoying gap in the flooring just inside the back door which collects dirt. We've turned the door mat through 90 degrees to hide it.🙂

As the kitchen came with the house, here is my list of what not to do

• have the fridge next to the oven
• have an integrated washer/dryer under the hob
• have drawers so shallow that no sodding cutlery tray fits in them
• have a micro bin for everything in the cupboard
• have cupboards that you need to empty or you cannot get to that last tin of baked beans at the back (use drawers instead)
• have a corner cupboard next to appliances as it's hard to access when the washing machine/dishwasher is open

Make sure you know what kind of oven you really want. I went for a one and a half built under oven combination and have regretted it from Day 1. No room for a range but a single oven would have suited my needs far better.

Not me but a friend recently got a new kitchen and now has two doors whose handles bang off of the cupboards behind them. Theyre looking into various door stoppers to try and stop the doors from opening that far, but in my view it is really poor planning for this to even be an issue, especially in 2 places in a small enough kitchen! That is something I hope to remember when we come to redo our kitchen!

We inherited our kitchen when we bought our house. Make sure you have somewhere sensible to hang tea towels and hand towels. We have ended up hanging them on the oven handle which irritates me. Also think about rubbish bins. My other irritation, which is perhaps quite niche, is that the sink has been installed very close to the window (not a standard depth worktop) and it was really difficult to find a tap when we had to replace it.

Pan drawers
Extra tall units as we have a tiny galley kitchen
induction hob - more flat space but can be damaged easily
Neff sliding door oven
no tiles, we have granite splashbacks
more sockets than you think you need, our builder was "you want what" but so far they are all in use
if you have the space - a big pull out larder

Like @Kpo58 we also have an oven right next to the fridge freezer.
And then there's a cupboard above the oven, but if that cupboard door is open you cannot open the adjacent fridge door because the handle clashes with the fridge door (and damages the glossy finish).

Big mistake was gloss units. They show every finger print! They need cleaning every day. I would also steer clear of the Matt cupboards too

pan drawers are good

I have two ovens side by side at eye level - this is good

if going with howdens don’t by their own appliances. They are awful

white composite sink - bad move, very difficult to clean, just stains

love my granite worktops and glass splash backs

huge pantry cupboard , love this too

I like my huge drawer under the sink

we had lights put in under the cupboards- never use them

I have induction hob. Takes a bit of getting used to but nice and clean.

hate my luxury vinyl flooring, always looks dirty, although I do have a dog.

we just packed everything away and had a little camping stove outside ( it was lockdown) we couldn’t even go out for dinner or get a take away. We started it at the beginning of March, went into lockdown, lost our plasterers as they furloughed, luckily our builder was a neighbour and decided to continue working. We ate a lot of beans on toast! The refit was planned for four weeks. It took three months in the end as we couldn’t get plaster or a plasterer. It was just the two of us so wasn’t a huge problem. If you have an airfryer you’ll be fine. buy paper plates etc.

I love having mostly pan drawers (with extra sides rather than pointless rails) instead of cupboards. I love the induction hob. It heats water faster than as electric kettle! Love the under cupboard lights. Love the composite sink and am so glad that we didn’t go for under mounted as the support would have taken up a lot of space under the sink. We got solid laminate worktops which are bloomin brilliant, waterproof and such easy maintainance.

I regret the location of the plugs, not enough and should have had one on the island, but thought it would be too much of a hassle. We should have insisted. Should have had a full size dishwasher rather than the slimline one. We love the tap except that it doesn’t reach the center of the sink. It’s one of those with a removable spout, but it splashes all over the back of the sink when it’s in its locked position.

Pan drawers.
a little pull out rack for oil and stuff in cupboard near hob
we have a pull out tall cupboard that is ace.
boiling water taps keep water under pressure sotheyarent using electricity all the time
infuction hob
quartz work top
bin under counter

less good, white composite sink that stains.

No to....
The number of plug sockets. More is more.

A rotunder. Bloody nightmare, wish I had one of those swish ones that pops out.

Dark natural slate floor. Always looks dirty. Get a honed one if you want slate.

Oak tops, cheap and I love how they look but maintenance is a pain.

Yes to...,......
...

Gas hob,

small kitchen island on wheels

Cheap IKEA cabinets

Expensive bespoke tiles in gorgeous colours

Raised washing machine to reduce bending

Good quality sink and taps

Massive fridge/freezer

Microwave in a cupboard so you can hide it.

Under cupboard lighting

2 dishwashers.

Wide drawers.

Induction hob.

Frost free freezer.

No to wall cupboards make the kitchen seem much smaller and don't hold that much.

We should have painted the room before the kitchen was fitted, it would have been 100x easier, so I would put time in for that.

We have quartz worktops which look lovely but we should have got a stainless steel draining board. The quartz looks good but realistically the draining board needs continually wiping down to keep it that way!

We have stacked our washer and dryer in a cupboard and I wasn't sure about it but it is AMAZING, they're still freestanding so they're proper sized but the cupboard keeps the noise levels significantly lower. I don't use the dryer much though - I leave the doors open so it doesn't overheat which would be a pain if you used it all the time.

Oven in a tower unit at eye height is also brilliant, I am never going back to one under the counter!

Yes to:

Pan drawers
Under cupboard lighting - we rarely use the main lights now
Hot water tap
Single large white ceramic sink instead of 1.5 which we had before
Quartz worktops
Lots of plugs and really think about positions, double the number you originally plan for
Main prep counter between fridge freezer and cooker (with FF opening on the counter side)
Range cooker
Flat fronted cupboards, we had shaker before and flat are easier to clean and look sleeker (our kitchen is small and the shaker ones emphasized that somehow)
Gloss finish - we get the odd fingerprint but they are so easy to wipe clean.
Decent extractor fan

Given the size constraints of our space we couldn't have done it much better but of we had more space I would have had fewer high cupboards and more deep drawers in base units.

I would say really take time with your planning, we took months and changed it many times, tweaking and tweaking and it paid off.

My mum’s glossy kitchen drawers and cupboards all split at the 10 year mark, and the company refused to replace them.

Dont buy glossy, it was expensive too.

I too love my plain gloss doors .

Easy to keep clean, reflect the light etc.

what went well
Two double ovens - makes cooking for big groups easy
everything integrated - bins, fridge, dishwasher
boiling tap
larder cupboard

induction hob - it’s good but wish I had got a bigger one
should have got pull out shelving or drawers in larder