Tell me your new kitchen must haves!

[MiddleClassProblem]

We are having a new kitchen designed and I would love to know what are your kitchen must haves!

Whether it’s appliances, storage ideas, practical or innovative designs, inspire me!

Currently doing this. Again!
Pan drawers, pan drawers and more pan drawers. Deep as possible.
Separate cutlery draws for cutlery and utensils. But close together. if you entertain a lot, separate compartments in cutlery drawers for starter and main course cutlery.
Induction hob with no knobs (I will die on that hill)
Really good extraction - no one wants to smell the curry they have made the night before, the morning after. That means no cooking or hob in your island. Ever. The extraction is always shit.
Pantry cupboard or actual pantry. All your food in one place.
Somewhere to store chopping boards. I have a dishwasher safe set that live in a pan drawer.
Decent, solid pull outs in any corner units.
Tall Fisher Paykel dish drawers. 2 of. Expensive, but you can’t beat them.
I am a cook, I love it and I will never have a Neff Slide and Hide again. All the heat fucks off when you open the door! A solid range cooker will always be my pick.
Wine fridge (a decent one. The cheap ones are shit and a waste of money) If money is tight build in some wine spaces and chill in the fridge as necessary.
Quooker tap (at a seperate sink to your main sink if you have the space. I love mine but I wouldn’t have it as my main tap - it’s too temperamental!) Fizzy water one if you can stretch.
I don’t have a draining board (I never buy anything that needs hand washing up) but I do like a big deep sink for things that need soaking pre dishwasher.
Enough ovens. I cook a lot for a lot of people. Whatever your set up, make sure you have enough ovens.
Lighting. If you have a kitchen living or kitchen dining make sure you sort the lighting. Bright for when you are cooking, more low level options for when you are not.
Soft close everything
Built in bins for both rubbish and recycling.
Enough fridge space. Take what you think you need and double it.
Flooring. EASY CLEAN. If you have tiles, pick those with minimal grout.
Coffee station (but I am an insomniac and a massive coffee drinker)

Sooo many question! This is like the Jetsons!
I’m going to look up all these cupboards as I can’t picture them.

What is the photo in the splash back or is that not what it means?

And an extractor under the hob? Do you have one over too?

Thank you!

Bin drawer! We did our kitchen a few years ago and it is hands down my favourite bit of the whole kitchen. It’s a standard cabinet with 3 separate bins for recycling which pull out. They lift out the drawer easily to take out to the wheelie bins.

If you have an island get a pull up power bar. It goes almost flush into the worktop when it’s down but has 4 extra plugs plus 2 USB ports when lifted. We use it all the time and it’s so handy for things like the mixer or slow cooker.

Pan drawers
Pull out larder cupboard

These are the two things I love the most about my new kitchen

Lots of pan drawers.
Induction hob (if like me you lack patience).
American style fridge freezer with cold water & crushed/cubed ice dispenser.
Large dishwasher with top flat cutlery shelf (we put things together on way in, e.g. forks), when emptying it's easy to grab the same utensil in one go.

Pantry.
Pan drawers
Quettle (cheaper version of Quooker)
Bin drawer
Slide and hide oven or give your oven placement far more thought than I did (I have to stand side on to mine because I'm too short).
Water softener (if you're in a hard water are)
Large American style fridge freezer
We went against advice and had wooden worktops. I'm still thrilled at how fab they look.

A great extractor
Good lighting
Tall cupboard for ironing board, mop etc.
Somewhere for tea towels to hang

Me too. We don't have room for a pantry, but the pull out larder is good. Swing out corner cupboard shelves. 2 deep pan drawers on one side 600 wide. Two deep pan drawers 1000 on the other with the cutlery drawer above.

My DIL has an island with hidden pop up sockets which are good. Boiling water, and a breakfast bar cupboard. So the kettle, coffee machine, toaster. Are hidden away. Plus the breads, cereals, crockery, cutlery are out of sight too.

If you've got the room go for it.

Absolutely this. We have a big kitchen that we also live in a lot of the time (TV, comfy chair, woodburner etc) and have managed to get this SO wrong with the spotlights (32 of, on two different switches, one half and the other half) but never over the work surfaces. We use lamps on Alexa a lot of the time, not the main spotlights, but if you turn the whole lot on, we could bring a spaceship in from Mars, yet still struggle to cut an onion. Epic fail.

Big surface space. Our kitchen has the surface so you have a little bit of space then the cooker then a little bit of space then the sink, then a little bit of space and it is so annoying because you can't spread out when you're cooking or baking.

Bins in a drawer (game changer to keep kitchen neat). Drawers, lots of them,
Would recommend DIY Kitchens as they have an amazing range of units.

@TheM55 I've got one set of lights out at the moment, haven't got around to getting the electrician in yet. Chopped, frozen onions are a godsend. Do let us know when the little green men arrive though!!

The very wide drawers, drawers over cupboards every time.

2 dishwashers! Never empty the dishwasher again.

Flat easy clean drawer/cupboard fronts.

Coffee station (but I am an insomniac and a massive coffee drinker)

I think the two might be related?

Dishwasher
Ceramic sink
Larder
Pantry

We’d be lost without these now!

Wide, deep drawers. The more the better. Soft close everything.

Pantry with sockets to hide the uglies like microwave, air fryer, toaster etc

Boiling water tap so you don’t need a kettle.

Enough storage so you don’t have ‘stuff’ out. I like completely clear worktops.

Our kitchen has the pull out rubbish and recycling bins, very useful. Don’t put these in the cupboard next to the dishwasher though.

Wall cupboards that reach the ceiling means that you get more storage and don’t have that surface that gets dusty and greasy.

Pan drawers hold a lot and it’s easy to find things in them.

Gloss finish cupboards show every sticky finger mark, especially if your kitchen gets lots of natural light.

Just go for a Qooker. You won't regret it

I was never going to get an island until the guy helping us said ok, so how much preparation space do you actually have and I realised we had practically none! Also a kitchen table has proven invaluable even though I didn’t see how we could have both. Good lighting, nothing fancy just bright

Prep space - unless you have an island you’ll want to prep between the hob and the sink, so make sure there is a good stretch between them. Also quooker, designed in bins, good lighting, worktops you can put a boiling hot pan straight on.

Pantry cupboard with shelves for appliances. Kick boards that are actually drawers that roll out under the units. Separate over a grill which means I have two ovens which is fantastic for cooking things at different temps. Boiling water tap, Plate warmer, plenty of sockets.

The best bits of my kitchen are plenty of worktop, integrated dishwasher, fridge and freezer, a powerful extractor fan, pan drawers, a five burner induction hob, two ovens and plenty of lighting over my worktops.

Drying cupboard above the sink/draining board. Essentially a drying rack for if you wash anything by hand, hidden in a cupboard so it’s hidden away.

also agree with the drawers in place of cupboards for the lower units

Wish I'd tiled the floor under my cabinets. I love my big sliding door pantry and pan drawers. No wall units or corner cupboards

Things I appreciate in new kitchen

Ceiling height contemporary gorgeous color flat door , extra wide soft close drawers top 2 with cutlery and all the cooking shizz, middle drawers cooking gubbins, bottom two Tupperware doom and cookware , no knobs hob, hob on island w amazing overhead extraction so no odours ever, double over microwave at correct height no stooping, metal (forgiving!) deep sink with garden view, waterfall corian worktops , pale oak floors, Bosch appliances , island & units right size (neighbours too big makes kitchen look small ) Under cupboard soothing lighting & the lighting generally being perfect , triple aspect windows so bright ++, pull out waste bins x3 with a hidden segment for chopping boards and placemats , corner pull out units , shallow cupboard w everyday plates bowls cups next to dishwasher & sink so easy emptying & avoids need for 2nd dishwasher- prob best feature is this and the small work triangle - I stand in front of sink and then empty easily (actually if dishwasher was higher up it would be absolutely perfect )
-pull up charging tower on island , plate warmer

Wish list in future …
bigger fridge and double sized freezer (had to get one for garage)
cocktail station /wet bar and attractive crystal glass storage
wine fridge
breakfast coffee station
better broom storage
pantry or more pantry drawers
quooker at accessory sink
built in air fryer
bread drawer
school shizz cupboard
extra storage for mixer and baking accoutrements (in theee separate cupboards at mo would like them together)
built in speakers & maybe disco lights
pet stuff drawer
storage for big platters and flower vases

following for more ideas 💡