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).

I would never have a glass door cupboard again. It's only suitable for glasses and considering there has only ever been the maximum of 2 adults living in the house at any one time all those glasses are unnecessary.

More power points.

I currently have a draining board which doesn't drain! Next time I am taking a marble with me to ensure the drainer drains when having my next kitchen.

I have a wine rack in the kitchen but I don't drink wine. It is used to store mugs. Why I have so many is another story.

Would love a pantry type cupboard to store bread maker, food processor, slow cooker, baking tins, spiralizer, hand mixers, smoothie maker, maslin pan, tagine etc etc.

A 5 burner hob as my paella pan is too big for the largest burner I have.

Unsure if I would have a dishwasher again considering there is only the two of us.

Mine has everything to hand (my design)dishwasher, sink, then crockery and cutlery at 90 degrees to that. Loads of drawers. Downside turned out that only one person can access sink, toaster, kettle at a time. So not suitable for a family.

I have boring plastic coated mdf work surface (or whatever standard worksurface is made of) have had granite and wood in the past. Stainless steel single sink, have had ceramic (stuff can chip), and only an upstand at the back of the worksurfaces, tile breaks up the kitchen too much imo.

And used row of ceiling downlighters on teh wall above the sink/worksurface. Can actually see what I'm doing in the winter when daylight is poor.

Not me, but the previous owner. Huge kitchen diner, massive plumbed in American style fridge, but she obviously wasn't a cook. Looks great, white shaker style, but so limited in storage space, not much worktop space, so cooking big meals is a struggle. Big L shaped kitchen diner, maybe 20 feet in each direction, but cooking is a struggle. I am loathe to rip it out as has been fitted to a very high standard and looks amazing, but a crap workspace.

Stayathomegardner - that is lovely!

I have a tiny, tiny kitchen. One sink with a drying cupboard above (really great idea).

Thank you Allegretto, not moved in properly yet so just nipping across to cook occasionally and then back to current tiny kitchen that was rescued from the neighbours just before it went in the skip. So appreciate it even more.
Drying cupboard is a brilliant idea.

So let me just try to summarise - if you have anything to add to this list, copy and paste with the addition, I've left out ones where two people said opposite things:

• More powerpoints
• No glass doors
• No wooden worktops
• Dark/beige speckled worktops (as much space as poss), Corian/marble/pretend marble all mixed reviews
• Allow room for large plugs/taps
• larger ceramic sink with big drainer (test with marbles!) and space both sides
• No seams on worktops near water
• Bins hidden away
• Pantry if room or special space for appliances
• Kettle near bin
• Freestanding white goods (think about where plugs are)
• Avoid built-in spice racks/wine racks
• Avoid hardwood floors
• No kickboards, or removable ones
• Spotlights along kickboards
• Dimmer switch for lighting
• No hanging pots/pans above hob
• Eye level oven
• Induction instead of gas
• Draws below counters with space for pans
• Proper corner cupboards with spirally bits
• Cupboards to ceiling
• Plain tiles with no ridges/patterns where dirt can collect
• Under cupboard lighting
• Avoid stainless steel splashback (or backsplash - they both sound like when you use the toilet particularly zealously :/)
• A comfy seat for cooking
• Toughened glass panel for hot pans
• USB combo sockets
• Dark grout/flooring
• Quooker / Insinkerator
• Magnetic strip for knives
• Shopping list board
• Fire extinguisher/blanket
• Gloss cabinets
• Good ventilation - not near bedroom windows
• Check how doors open
• Twin ovens with slide and hide door, no range cookers
• Kitchen Triangle formula!
• No open shelves

I agree re the work surfaces and type of worktop.

When I bought here luckily my aunt owned a tile company (since sold) but got me trade prices and/or presents on granite, units, white goods and tiles.

My granite work tops are amazing compared to the Formica before and got terracotta flooring tiles where there was Lino before on the floor.

The double sink compared to a single sink is great too. Could've got a butlers porcelain/ceramic sink but did stainless steel and I prefer it.

Also like JaniceBattersby I got gloss fronted cupboard doors which are so easy to keep clean and wipe down.

I wish we'd not economised, and had solid wood cupboard doors instead of laminate. The laminate on the doors over where the kettle steams is coming away from the chipboard and looks awful.

I also got dark grout and Matt granite!

You'd think my aunt having her own tile company would've been some help (no not really she knows what she wants) but I went for stuff like two ovens etc. she for some reason suggested a range oven which I didn't like.

Also I'm really lucky - got a lean to with separate toilet so washing machine and tumble drier and one of those French wooden hanging drier systems from roof of lean to (clear corrugated plastic) all goes in there, plus there are cupboards for cleaning stuff etc out there and recycling system there plus cat's litter tray.

Currently having attic converted and getting a tiny kitchenette fitted there with slimline dishwasher etc in case I decide not to sell and rent it out at some point. Just going for basic IKEA kitchen and not too many bells and whistles as I don't intend to use it!

Agreed whoever said about glass shelves too, one cupboard has them (about 2-3 shelves) and its a bloody nightmare.

Magnetic knife strip is excellent.

Oh and also if this pleases you get the nicest tiles yiu can afford. I got fired earth and also handmade ones, liked the fired earth ones so much I used them when redoing toilet with washbasin in lean to. Get compliments on them all the time and the handmade one offs too.

I designed our kitchen and my dad and dh fitted it. It was quite basic but nice from Focus do-it-all, back in the late 1980's. I still love it. It was well fitted and there is nothing wrong with it at all although some would say it is dated now! Oak doors and manmade worktop. I didnt have intergrated appliances, thank goodness or i would probably be on my 3rd or 4th kitchen by now. We have been through quite a few changes over the years as the kids arrived and grew. Had the washer under the draining board for yrs but then needed more freezer space so moved the washer out onto the conservatory with the dryer (hidden in a stylish cupboard) and had an under counter fridge and replaced the fridge freezer with an upright freezer. Love my low level, double oven cooker, the work top flows the length of the kitchen. The 2 end corner cupboards store stuff in large stacker boxes that are easy to access when needed. Extra shelves put in cupboards to maximise space. Bins are in the cupboard under the sink. Microwave on counter top. Vinyl floor, looks like tiles is fab. Its just what suits you best.

Tile the kitchen floor. Costs more but so does replacing the laminate click together flooring that gets ruined when the washing machine/dishwasher/sink pipes leak!
On the other hand, I love my floor to ceiling 300cm wide pull out cabinet. Great for spices, cans, cereals. I also love my dimmer switch, so that when friends are over and I've finished cooking, I can dim the lights, put on the music and crack the wine 😁

Lots of worktops, lots of power sockets, space for a bin, hot water tap. I have had wooden worktops which looked lovely originally but looked all stained and warped quickly. And I have had white quartz which looked sleek and modern but required bleaching se several times a day. I will go vlor stainless steel next time.

Think about siting your dishwasher when using the work triangle. Mine's under a right-hand draining-board then a full worksurface to the right of that, which means that when the dishwasher door's open, it's awkward to get to the sink.
Not a problem if there's only you in the kitchen but a complete nuisance if someone else wants to load/unload whilst you're working in the kitchen.

We designed out kitchen very carefully. We decided where things like the microwave would go, and put a plug next to it. Unfortunately when we got the microwave we found it had to go diagonally as it's the corner and otherwise we can't reach it. Which mean it blocks the set o plugs the other side for the kitchenaid. If I want to move the kitchenaid, I have to move the microwave to unplug it.

Going against the grain here but I love my walnut worktop. Still looks beautiful and v little maintenance. We just made sure we oiled it about 8 times when it first went in.
Also totally love my quooker. Don't try to economise and get a cheaper branded boiling water tap - they don't keep the water boiling! The quooker is fab, safe, and love not having a kettle sitting around.

We've got slate worktops. They're entirely bomb proof. They're horribly abused on a daily basis but never change their appearance. We got them from a reclaimation yard. They're not actually reclaimed, as in old and repurposed. they worked out cheaper than IKEA wood.

I love love love my boiling water tap, induction hob, in-cabinet waste bins for recycling, eye level oven with slide and hide door, and freestanding fridge-freezer.
Best advice I can give is to spend as much time thinking about / designing any compromise you may need to make as you spent designing the kitchen in the first place.
Most of us have to compromise on something, and careful thought about what that should be will save a lot of remorse later when it's too late or very costly to change.

We've just had our kitchen done. I love our corner larder...it's massive! A bin cupboard is brilliant. We went for a built in microwave...it cost a fortune, but looks brilliant.

We chose Quartz worktops. So far they have been easy to clean and look brilliant. I went for Tungsten (grey with mirror flecks)... It was a good choice as you can't see dirt on it. I have a friend who has black flecked quartz and she hates it as it shows limescale and is hard to keep clean.

We have grey porcelain tiles. They are meant to be indestructible, but the painter managed to make 3 tiny chips on the edges.

We're not ready to do ours again yet but on my wish list (i.e. things that bug me about the current kitchen)...

A provision for the recycling..I can't be arsed taking each individual bit out so like to store it in a big box or something and then decant it into our mixed recycling bin. I want a deep drawer which is a designated recycling bin.

Somewhere to keep your bin. Hated having mine 'out'.

Dark grey tiles show up every fucking crumb. Don't do that.

I have a large larder cupboard. Only need one other cupboard for food.

Great thread and so many ideas here! In the middle of an extension right now so this will be really helpful thank you!!!

We went for large pan drawers under the new induction hob. I am liking induction so far, but have spotted a few scratches in a short time where DH has moved the pans when cooking. Lighting is important too...we took out the old bar of spotlights and replaced with inset LED spots in the ceiling....brilliant!

I chose wood doors (painted oak) as I was fed up with the old cupboard doors...they had peeled their plastic coating around the oven and kettle. I have been told oak will last (and can repaint in the future), but could warp as natural. The fitter was impressed with the door quality, though.