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).

On the whole I am really pleased with our kitchen and have no significant regrets. I would like to have somewhat better lighting - we have LED down lights and if you're in the wrong spot then the lighting's pretty poor. I also underestimated the amount of freezer space we would need, so we've ended up with a stand alone freezer in the room which is a bit of a shame. Also, with the benefit of hindsight, I would have checked the spec of the range cooker more carefully - ours is great in most respects but the grill is pretty much useless for anything other than toast. It also surprised me that despite having two large ovens, it can only fit fairly small baking trays inside - my mum's 50cm oven can fit in bigger ones!

But overall, I'd say we managed to avoid many of the problems described above. Thank goodness as I don't want to have to do it again!

Ooh. I love my teeny tiny kitchen. I had it refurbished 8 years ago and it still pleases me. Nothing wrong with trying to get it right. The only regret I have is I didn't get the pulley out drawer doodads in one of the 30cm cupboards either side of the hob. It's always a bloody mess even with my best attempts with baskets in there.

A thing I learnt from buying a beautifully appointed flat with a lovely kitchen many years ago...if you can't fit in two sinks do not get a sink and drainer with the drainer in the middle. You'll never be able to use it. Get one with the drainer on the outer side.

Oh! And also try and get as much worktop space in long stretches as you can.

We had special non-slip laminate flooring put down. It's great, it's non-slip. It's not great when you move the backdoor mat, see how clean it is underneath and realise that the reason it's non-slip is the design. Tiny grooves. Which you can only clean properly by getting on hands and knees and scrubbing. It's a freaking nightmare.

I hate stainless steel sinks. Much prefer white ceramic, easier to keep looking nice and easier to clean.

Make sure you have space either side of the job for pan lids/spoons/whatever other stuff you need when cooking. (I'm often found frantically waving a pan lid around as the gap is too narrow to put it down!)

Get big pan drawers and the ones with hidden drawers within - they are great. We couldn't afford to tile the kitchen floor as we'd spent all our money on doing up the rest of the house so got vinyl that looks like quarry tiles instead. It is amazing how many people think it is tiled - I'd rather have the vinyl anyway, it is easier to clean. Also, no kickboards under the cupboards, they are all on little brushed chrome feet - makes the kitchen look even bigger and no scuff marks.

One last thing - if you have room get either a double or a one and a half sink. Best thing ever.

Not measuring the gap between granite lip and wall sockets. Can't plug any friggin worktop appliance in.

Not wiring power to the island - total waste of workspace.

Not planning space to conceal bins

I could go on......

I would never ever have wooden worktops again. I have only once had a brand new kitchen, and chose wooden worktops, because they looked so lovely, but the upkeep was a real pain, and around the sink, where it got wet, it turned black and horrible. And ds1 managed to put a hot pan down and burn not one, but three circles into it.

If I was getting a new kitchen, I would choose a hard work top - either something natural like granite, or a man made one like corian.

Not a regret but on my next kitchen wish list - induction hobs instead of gas. I hate cleaning the gas stove.
We have a granite work top and the designer oh so cleverly added a decorative groove at each edge. Terrible, I am constantly cleaning the dirt out with a toothbrush!

I agree about the wooden work tops, they are a bad choice if you like things looking perfect. They scratch easily, need oiling and go black at the back of the sink. I wish I had spent the extra and bought granite. My big regret is the sink, I just wasnt interested enough in looking at the options. So dull though it might be spend some time on choosing carefully. In defence of wood work tops, if you prefer the lived in look with a bit of character then they are fine.

Thank you deedee I'll get some.

Our sink and tap is the wrong way round for right handed people, so think carefully about this. The draining board is on the right and I think it should be on the left. Makes filling the kettle a bit awkward but not a disaster.

We have a massive island with a hob on it, which is great but we were very limited in choice of extractors and they cost a lot more than wall mounted ones so I'm not sure I'd go that way again.

Drawers in Base units with hidden mini drawers are great though, really pleased with those.

I wish I had more worktop space and I'm sick of kicking the bin around our tiny kitchen (move it to get into this cupboard, move again to get into that one grrr)
Also I find stainless steel backsplash a nightmare to clean - always smears, see if you can get one to match worktop
More plugs - all around the kitchen. I've 3 on one side and none on other so it limits where the kettle and toaster can go.

I've banned my mum from shopping alone for oven - hers has shelves that are more like buckets - whatever happened to flat shelves? So dangerous. Also a deep grill is great but the bottom oven is then really low and difficult to lift things in and out of (especially with the dodgy shelves!!)

Things that are the wrong height, yes. Not just shelves, but having to reach up to a built in microwave.

Fancy pull out shelves attached to the doors of corner cupboards - too easily broken. Normal shelves are fine.

Not one I've experienced myself, but high maintenance worktops. There was a thread the other day about quartz being a pain to clean.

Overly hi-tech appliances which are harder to operate than cheaper standard equivalents.

Built in tables or breakfast bars - I dislike these where there is enough space for a standalone table.

Storage hooks and racks above or just beside a hob - look lovely and rustic, but the items get greasy, and unless you or your cleaner has time to polish it all off regularly, they're a pain. I'm not a fan of open storage for anything but the most regularly used items because they can attract dust and grime.

Plenty of space on both sides of a sink

Bins in cupboards in smaller kitchens. Better to use the space for storage.

Kickboards that are secure but not completely impossible to remove for cleaning. Like the idea of having none as well.

Freestanding appliances with a few inches of space either side are easier to replace than built-in ones that are an exact and unusual size.

Light fittings that take expensively large quantities of bulbs.

Fridges that are too big for the household's needs - too easy to get into the habit of buying food that won't be eaten before it goes off

The amount of fuel used by Aga style ranges is shocking.

Positive: lights under cupboards / above worktops, which can be switched on and off individually or in pairs at most. It can be a really nice cosy atmosphere using these in the evening rather than the main lights.

If you have high ceilings, the Scottish style washing pulleys.

Space for a comfy seat or two so people can relax whilst things cook, but still keep an eye on them.

If you want an outside tap, get it fitted before you put the floor down.
Or just get a builder who listens when you tell them to put in an outside tap.

Check the depth of your sink. Mine is too small as it never occurred to me that sinks come in different sizes.

Drawers are more space efficient than cupboards.

Black cooker tops hide dirt better.

I love the 15cm slide out cupboards either side of the cooker for keeping trays and chopping boards in and my pull out larder.

We rented a house with a lovely kitchen, much of which I'd replicate if we ever replace the one here. The kitchen was 40 years old in a house rented out for at least half that time, so had lasted brilliantly. Things we learnt:

A double drainer sink (draining board on either side) is great if your work surface doesn't like getting wet.

Teak work surfaces seem to be bomb proof - no marks, not even the time a guest took a wok straight off the heat and put it on the work surface. It did need regular oiling though.

Everything was solid wood, no chipboard anywhere, so easy to repair (e.g. when a hinge on a cupboard came loose).

The work surfaces were 1m high (the standard seems to be 90cm). Even at 5'4" I found this a better working height. Instead of a larger plinth, there were small drawers above the cupboards all the way round the work surfaces. You can't have enough drawer space! We think the kitchen had been hand built by someone who really cared, so would probably be very expensive to replicate.

In our current kitchen we've covered one section of work surface with toughened glass - it gives a large heat resistant area that we can put pans and dishes from the oven on. It's a bit scratched, but only cost ~£30, so could be replaced regularly if necessary.

Any suggestions for good ways to use corners very welcome!

I rent, but things I love in this kitchen are all the plugs and down lighters under the cupboards.

Things that drive me to distraction are the corners of the u-shaped run of cupboards are just deep pits of awfulness. Get twirly things or proper corner cupboards. And space for the bin. Ideally a big bin inside a cupboard. Those small ones are too small.

Wooden work surfaces.

I regret not fitting a tall cupboard for brooms/mops etc. They're all kept under the stairs which is miles away.

Bins in a cupboard, one behind the other. You can separate recycling and ordinary waste.
Under cupboard lighting, task lighting, downlighters
I can recommend Amtico flooring. Looks like tiles, but isn't and is much easier to clean.

Ceramic floor tiles look lovely, but as well as shattering anything that drops on them, the grouting is a pain to clean. Having once done the kitchen and hall grouting on hands and knees with a toothbrush, never again.
Splahbacks are much easier to maintain than tiles. We have no tiling in the kitchen and the splash back needs just a quick wipe.
Induction hobs are the most easy and simple to maintain and keep clean, as well as being efficient and safer because they're cool immediately you turn them off. Only hot with a pan on them.
Pan drawers are excellent. One for saucepans, one for frying pans etc. Colander will fit too.
Integrated appliances give a streamlined finish.

Double ceramic sink, drop-in rather than underset, means no black mouldy edges to wooden work surfaces - Ikea Domsjo is perfect. Avoid lower cupboards - drawers mean you can access the full depth without getting down on your hands and knees. Lighting round the work surfaces means your working area is lit; central lighting throws your own shadow over the prep area. No upper cupboards - bare walls or open shelves create space. Non-fixed kitchen island/breakfast bar means you can push it out of the way if you want to increase central space. Pull-out recycling bins under the sink are a godsend. Stand-alone instant hot water supply to kitchen sink means no more waiting for ages for hot water to arrive through main system. Work out how many electric sockets you need and double it. Get USB charger combo sockets in the kitchen to keep your phone nearby when charging, without using up a three-pin outlet.

Make sure your work top has a deep enough overhang over the cupboard doors, especially near the sink or any splashes will run straight down the front of the cupboard and damage the doors

Lots of warnings about the down sides of wooden worktops, granite worktops and high gloss worktops. Is there a perfect worktop material that has no downsides other than (presumably) price?