to ask what KITCHEN mistakes you made?

[Albadross]

I needed this after the bathroom one - we're about to get a new kitchen (replacing the 90s disaster of worn chipboard and a cupboard you have to open the fridge to access).

Our kitchen is a disaster - the house is a new build but the builder went bankrupt during the build so the house was finished off by lots of different tradesmen. We knew the back story before we bought the house but not seen the shoddy finish until we moved in
The top 3 things that piss me off everyday are:

1. none of the work tops were flat - all of them slope!
2. there's a 'seam' in the worktop above the dishwasher. The whole worktop is now started to warp from the steam from the dishwasher!
3. The plastering round the windows and door is sloped as well! Not one single part of the plastering round the window / door is straight - in fact round the door is 'twisted' so badly that we had to take part of the skirting board off and sand another part so we could open the back door more than 45 degrees!!!

Not having enough usable work surface. We have a large kitchen diner but actual work surfaces was limited until we moved the fridge and built more.
Having no where to put the kitchen bin.

Oh, I was going to tell you about he time I undercooked a roast chicken.

Um. Makes sure you have a 1.5 sink, or a double. Don't have a worktop seam anyway near the sink. We've lived in a few rentals with badly designed kitchens and those two things have stood out for me.

Oh, seconding the bin thing!

What an unkind post, FlabulousChic - have reported.

OP, I would add in think about any future appliances you may want to purchase. In our last place for example (rented) there was already a washing machine and technically there would have been loads of space for a tumble dryer too, but because of the configuration of the cupboards and pipes you could never have actually put one in without ripping apart the kitchen. So do consider any future expansions as you might be able to save yourself a future headache!

As beautiful as they are I wouldn't get wooden worktops again. I've got two black rings where they were damp and someone put tin cans on them. They reacted somehow and the stains are too deep to sand off.

Well, I clicked on the thread because I liked the one about bathrooms. No need to be so bitter.

Our kitchen has beautiful pale grey flooring. It looks stunning and makes the room brighter. It also always looks dirty. Si does the white kickboard

Flabulous what a horrid post. Seems like an eminently sensible thing to do to me as many readers can obviously benefit.

In fact I am off to look at the bathroom one right now so thanks OP

Unkind Flab the other thread is great and this is hardly going to overlap - unless you lot are frying sausages over your toilet?

Mine was the wine fridge. I could only fit a small one in and lots of bottles are too large for it.
It's also a temperamental bastard so it's usually turned off.
Granite worktops, I'm too lazy to use the correct products and 'buff ' so it's often got bleachy streaks along it.

But - get blue spotlights along the kickboards. It's amazing.
Check the appliances you like are going to fit / be hidden. We ended up replacing nearly everything.

Not mistakes but some of my checklist when I did mine.
As much work top space as possible.
No glass fronted cupboards - hate cleaning them and look messy unless just for display.
Deep drawers for pans.
1.5 sink.
More plug sockets than you think you need!
The best thing I got was a tall narrow unit that pulls out and has shelves that slide in/out. Get loads in it and you can see stuff.

RE- black marks on wooden work tops. Sand lightly to remove surface oil/ varnish and then use Bar Keepers friend on it. When it's gone, re oil/ varnish. It's easy!

Get white or beige work tops (ours are some kind of speckled fake granite stuff). They show up no dirt at all.

Gloss cupboard fronts are surprisingly easy to keep clean. Smears just microfibre straight off.

Don't get two small ovens next to one another. They're too small. But two full-size ones instead. That way, you can actually cook Sunday lunch.

Get an island by all means, but remember you will lose all the worktop space that you would have got if you had a peninsula. If an island is your only worktop space and you need a hob and a sink on it, it's not going to be enough unless it's huge.

Wooden worktops round a sink, it's all stained black now - - as I am the only fucker who can mop up water - -.

Also, sounds stupid but make sure your builder knows where to put the tap. Ours fitted the sink then realised the tap was bigger than expected and it's at a really annoying angle.

When we got the kitchen done we decided against getting the old larder knocked down because it would have been extra time and expense. I regret this most days.

Mainly though, I'd suggest not hiring the same people we did.

Thought of some more
Black high gloss work surfaces look great for 30 seconds after you have wiped them down. They show every spec of dust.
My pare ts have grey high gloss cabinets that are about 3 months old. They have marked easily which is a shame as they were not cheap.
Cupboards that are too tall. We rented a place that had such high cupboards I had to stand on a step stool just to reach the bottom shelf.

Getting to the plug for the integrated fridge freezer is too hard.
I regret the wide pull out larder cupboard and wish we had got two narrow ones, or some extra freezer space.

Love huge double sink, love bamboo worktops and breakfast bar. Think they are bamboo anyway. Look like oak but cheaper.

Thanks op! I'm currently designing a kitchen and hearing others stories is helpful :)

My current kitchen has tiles that have ridges in. Never again. They attract the dirt

I have a beautiful pale stone coloured tiled floor. It really helped to brighten a north facing kitchen. Unfortunately is just doesn't go with our black Labrador!
We chose porcelain tiles which are difficult to chip, unfortunately anything you drop on them does.
On a positive note, five minutes with a steam mop and they look brand new.

Would never get a low down oven again. It's a nightmare with toddlers.

I would never ever recommend intergrated appliances
You have to dismantle the kitchen if anything needs looking at

Make sure your kettle, bin and cutlery drawer are close to each other. When making tea it stops you dripping your teabags all over the floor and that the spoons are easy to get to.
If you get an extractor fan check where the vent comes out. We didn't think it through and it is right next to the bedroom which can make the bedroom smell.
Get pan drawers. So useful.