To ask what one thing you’ve done to a new kitchen that you can’t live without

[LaPampa]

Finally planning our first kitchen and looking for ideas from people who’ve done it before - What’s the best thing you put in or chose in your kitchen? (Or indeed, the worst)

@PinkAvocado our island has 4 pan drawers, a cutlery drawer, a utensil drawer, a shallow cupboard for miscellaneous crockery, a bookshelf facing the dining table and two pull-out bins, one for recycling and the other for general waste. They pivot open from hinges at the bottom rather than wheeling out. They are fab.

bins a bit like this except integrated into the end of the island

An Insinkerator is the one thing we got that I wouldn't consider essential.

But a very big yes to all the rest - lots of sockets, integrated bin, deep drawers. I'd say integrated microwave as well, as you don't need one cluttering up your worktops. The Lessons Learned thread is a godsend - MN should look into publishing an abridged version.

IMO a dishwasher is absolutely mandatory but I chose not to get an integrated one as invariably these things break and the hassle of replacing it didn't bear thinking about.

How is it that in a first world country people insist on NOT having a dishwasher? I get that some people can't afford them but to get rid of a dishwasher sounds like madness.

Our kitchen has extra deep counter tops. This means plenty of work space even with nutribullet, slow cooker etc. I would really miss these if we moved. Also love having a range style cooker and 2 separate fridges.

Laundry stuff in a different room like utility room so the washing isn’t in the food prep room

@NamedyChangedy can you link to the lessons learned thread?

Here it is

Didn't realise it was started in 2012! Should be in Classics if it's not already

Lessons learned is here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1554664-The-MN-lessons-learnt-kitchen-thread

Cupboards that go all the way up to the ceiling.
Pull out larder cupboard
Pan drawer and plates drawer
Lots of sockets
Granite worktops with standups and cover window sills as well, plus
Glass splashback (whole wall) - so no tiles

Obviously I wouldn't literally die without it, but having a dishwasher isn't something I'd choose to do without now we have one.

Great thread. Things I would change about ours (new build house when we bought in 2011):
Smaller sink (too deep/wide)
Raise height of extractor fan (It's at forehead height
Deeper wall cupboards
Electric doors on said wall cupboards
Cupboard door in front of small (cutlery) drawers
Lack of pull out larder

Things I like
Quartz worktop
Induction hob
Neff ovens
Dishwasher
Pan drawers

We're having a new kitchen fitted very shortly and glad to see so many people are recommending the pull out larder cupboards, pan drawers and Qooker taps - we're having all three.

We looked at Quooker taps but when i thought how many kettles/nice non-boiling taps I could buy for a grand I just couldn’t bring myself to spend it. Plus experience from friends’ houses suggests that they don’t get the water quite hot enough for a really good cup of tea.

These are all excellent. So many good ideas, thank you. We already know we can’t live without a dishwasher, and that we are agreed on some kind of Quooker or boiling tap... now to consider larders and cupboards and whether to stick with our instinct of no wall cupboards!

Quooker is absolutely the DBs. It heats super hot so none of that slightly tepid tea you can get from some hot water taps.

I very nearly got a boiling water tap but decided against at the last minute when we had to find something to cut. What turned me against them was finding out that they aren't - as I thought they were - a system to instantly bring mains water to boiling temperature by turning a tap, but rather a way to dedicate your under-sink cupboard to a reservoir of hot water and a system to keep a kettle running at all times in case you want a cup of tea. And it's recommended that you switch the whole thing off if you go away for a couple of days, after which it would take ages to get back up to temperature, so when you are really desperate for a cuppa would be when you needed to get out a backup kettle.

But I had the electricity supply run to under the sink, in case the "real thing" - an instant boiling water tap with no reservoir, which only consumes power when the tap is running, gets invented.

Larder with pull out drawers.

Use the electricity supply for an insinkerator instead tenorlady.

To me a dishwasher is essential and I've had one for over 16 years so I wouldn't even think to include it in a list. Just like you wouldn't think to include a washing machine, would you?

So after that my top 5 would be
1 induction hob
2 masses of worktop space
3 bin in a cupboard (another essential that it wouldn't occur to me to include... makes the kitchen look and feel so much better)
4) pan drawers
5) self cleaning (pyrolytic) oven

I have the pull out larder, boiling water tap, and spray tap PP have mentioned and while they're nice to have I wouldn't list them as essentials. The spray tap can be a bit awkward if I'm honest.... maybe it's the one I have.

Things I have that are nice but obviously a luxury so not essential are

Large island
Quartz worktop
Mid level ovens
Two ovens

Moved the guinea pigs into one end of it. They wheek for treats each time I open the fridge and it totally melts my heart.

Oh yeah, and open shelves all down one side - enough to house all the pans separately, each with its own lid, and all the equipment. We now actually use stuff because it's not a faff to get out and put away again.

I've never done a new kitchen (violins) but I do enjoy my larder cupboard

Integrated appliances are usually a standard size though, can't see why they are so hard to replace- other than the faff of getting them in and out of their spaces- they look so tidy though so think they are worth the hassle.

Same here. I had my last kitchen for five years then moved house but in that time never had to replace an appliance. Surely replacing appliances doesn't happen that often? (Actually, I replaced my gas hob for an induction one but there was nothing wrong with the gas one, I just hated cleaning it).

@Ginmakesitallok

Reading replies a bit worriedly. We've just finished designing our new kitchen. Decided against larder cupboard, and getting rid of fridge freezer and replacing with under counter fridge and freezer. Getting rid of dishwasher. Decided against boiling water tap and a spray tap... Only things we needed were more counter space, a double oven and a beautiful under counter sink.

18/10/2018 19:39 Ginmakesitallok

Oh, and no bin cupboard either, waste of a cupboard.....

"Is it too late to make changes? No dishwasher; no hidden bin; no boiling tap after all the wonderful reviews on this thread... I’d be reconsidering my design!"

I agree with wonder... I do think you will regret the design you are going for. The fridge will annoy you, so if you have space I would go for a larger and if possible a not low level one. You must have a dishwasher already so must know how amazing they are. But then last week I read a post on here from someone who grew up with dishwasher and they were all she knew but she hated loading them. When she moved to a house without one she suddenly felt very sorry for being ungrateful as she realised life without one was tough

I have a larder cupboard, boiling water tap and spray tap. They're nice to have but I wouldn't say you'd regret not having them. Then again I did have a little device called a hot cup in my last kitchen which dispensed enough hot water for a cup of tea each time, so I've not really noticed a massive difference since getting the tap. But I did adore the hot cup when I first got it. Also my last kitchen had oodles of cupboard space so I've not really noticed anything different with the pull out larder cupboard.