What would you do differently on your extension/kitchen refurb?

[BabybabybabyOooh]

We’re embarking on a side extension for a new, bigger kitchen and I feel like I’m making a lot of decisions that I have zero experience or expertise to be making! This is a massive outlay for us so I really want to get it right.

I’d love to hear any tips or things you learnt along the way if you e done a similar exercise. Especially anything that in hindsight you’d do differently?

Thank you for all your wisdom and help so I don’t bugger up this very costly project!

Did you know your dishwasher can be raised with a drawer underneath. We did this and it's great when you have a bad back.

I also didn't build my fridge and freezer in. Both are taller than me.

In my last kitchen we left a correct size space for them. When the time came to replace them that height didn't seem to exist so we had to go lower and have a dusty gap.

I love our wood effect porcelain floor tiles, long plank size in a pale yet warm oak effect. But I got standard grout instead of resin grout and it gets filthy

We’re ripping out an old kitchen and the main things I hate about the current kitchen are the dual coloured doors , dark aubergine on the bottom and cream on the top , they’re gloss doors and always look dirty especially the aubergine ones , the handles are big and sharp edged, I’m forever catching my hand on them when cleaning .
The worktop is a black sparkly composite one that again always looks dirty ,the only upside is I can see that the blasted cat has walked all over the top .
im definitely going to try to get a silk finish for the doors and preferably no handles and a light coloured top .
I want to keep the large slim pull out larder cupboards as i find them very handy and this time round I'm having drawers instead of cupboards . I also do a lot of cooking so the hob is staying in the island space as i don’t want to face the wall while cooking , i love my spray tap so that will be a rebuy .
we’re also considering getting a corner larder unit to hold all the oven trays, gadgets , dry foods and mixers etc .

Making so many notes… thank you!

Grout seems to be a big issue. With 2 under 5 I’m not going to be giving it much love. Is the solution to go with a dark coloured grouting? Or is resin grouting the solution?

Built in larder and you don't need the expensive kitchen company ones. We got a carpenter to make ours.

What did everyone use for those corner cupboards? Or is that where everyone hides the pandemic breadmaker and ice cream maker?

What is better, deep or shallow pan drawers?

Make sure they measure up once insulation & walls finished, & think about where the bin will go if freestanding. Have a light over the cooker, ours is a bit dark.

I'm happy with most of our kitchen. The things I would change is that the hob isn't quite in the middle of the splashback and the lighting isn't all quite the same colour. I do think our electrician should have got the same colour lighting throughout, but it didn't occur to me to specify that.

Dark colour

Our utility garage is actually in our garage (joined on to the kitchen and in a partitioned room). It has the ugly surface things and the rarely used things, but because it's in the garage everything can be on a work surface, not hidden away and difficult to find: microwave, air fryer, old kenwood mixer, ice cream maker, pasta maker, soda bubbler etc. Makes it all so much easier to use and gets used more often because it's not hidden away in an inaccesible drawer.

Small things like which side of your sink the drainer goes... We have 2 sinks in different areas and one of them has the drainer in the wrong place. Would change that.

I love, love, love, my white moulded corian worktop but do not beleive anyone who tells you thatit does not stain. Bloody turmeric! Damn red wine!

I hate islands and love peninsula units.

If you make your kitchen the lovable place to be, you need enough seats. We only have 3 stools in ours. Then we have to get in the 3 wooden stools from the garage, and a couple of extra chairs from the dining table because everyone congregates there as I cook and chat.

My pans are in it. The really big ones are at the back as I don’t use them so often. Admittedly it’s a pain in the arse when I do want them! I have deep drawers too but some of my big pans are Le Creuset so I’m wary of putting something so heavy in a drawer.

When we re-do our kitchen I’ll keep a lot of the current layout but am absolutely getting a double with pantry cupboard.

Remember that walls are very well insulated now and are made up of blocks, insulation and bricks to a depth of about a foot (I’m old). If we’d realised we would have gone out about another 18 ins.

Plan where the bins go. Mine live in the hall because there's nowhere else.

This is the exact opposite of ours. DP changed the design as we were ordering the kitchen and I still hanker for those stools@

Have you tried Barkeeper’s Friend on the worktop? I’ve got curry and red wine stains left overnight out of ours with that.

Pan drawers pan drawers and more pan drawers.
Built in microwave to maximise work told space but research...lots of built in ones are small. We did eventually have a choice of 3 that easily fitted our large Denby dinner plates.
Bin space.
Extractor - not sure there is a good one available...good imo being not too noisy and actually sucking stuff out. Have it vented out not circulating.
2 dishwashers.
More sockets everywhere than you think you need.
Windows with built in blinds between the glass - means you can maximise windowsills, light and cleaning is quick easy and a dream.
Don't have a white sink.
Don't have wood or quartz worktops unless you love oiling, cleaning and polishing.

Love our white sink and quartz (still white despite turmeric, coffee and wine).
Really disliked our old stainless steel, which always had dried water marks.

Agree re: bins and recycling- it would be a shame to have a beautiful kitchen ruined by a bin (however fancy the bin is).

Also think where the hand towels will go!

1. Avoid "wrapped MDF" cupboard doors. If you've never heard of it (I hadn't) it's something to look up. It isn't waterproof or water droplet proof. It bubbles up permanently. You need to be on high alert all the time, with a tea towel at the ready every time you splash, and you can't safely train as yet clumsy young ones in the art of the sink.

2. Ensure all the plumbing under the sink is secured and doesn't wobble. If it does you might knock something in the cupboard that causes a flood, then see my point 1...

Plan in advance where you intend to store things, rather than getting cupboards and then trying to figure out what should go where, e.g. glasses and drinks cupboards close together, cups by the kettle etc. Try to create zones.

Drawers are better than cupboards for most storage.

Think about creating a small utility room for laundry/ cleaning products that you can shut the door on.

Even if you don’t plan to get an IKEA kitchen, they have an online planner which can really help you to visualise the space.

Avoid wood work surfaces around the sink - go for granite/ some kind of stone .

Where DO people put bins? I've always had one just lurking in a corner

Pull out bins under the counter for CLEAN recycling so no smells. Recycling needs to be clean anyway in our council.
We have a bin in the utility directly off our kitchen for other rubbish.

Pay careful attention to the ceiling height. At the lowest point our pitched roof side extension was only barely high enough to fit normal full height kitchen units. The installers actually had to reduce the heights of all the legs and plinths a mini bit to get them in. We could do easily have been less luck!

Also, be aware of the positioning of any roof windows. One of ours ended up partly above a corner pantry unit, which is okay with the kitchen we have but would be a problem if you wanted units run right up to the ceiling.

Drawers, drawers ,drawers but hidden deep ones look nicer than lots of skinny ones. A spice drawer is the best places for spices.

Brass fittings aren’t the be all and end all, brushed nickel is lovely too ie don’t be sucked in because it’s all over Insta. So glad I went with what I love.

Spend money on the bones- quartz counter tops ( are so worth it, white doesn’t stain if you wipe up spills immefiately)and decent quality cupboards. Save money elsewhere. Decide on the must have cupboard fittings but recognise they are extra ££££ and decide the priority ones. We went for a larder cupboard but decided against kidney swivel things elsewhere to claw back money for it. A couple of simple cupboards are fine.

Built in bins aren’t worth it, are too small and annoying. Work out where a free standing will go, you can get nice double ones now for recycling too.

Get the biggest best quality induction hob and zone space you can. I sadly took in templates of my pans to check but was glad I did.

I had a big cull then made a list of everything I used before and ensured I had a cupboard or drawer space for it all in the design.

Triple check the space size for the built in American fridge freezer in the shop including depth and have a space it should be easy to get a replacement for. They vary in size( height, depth and width). Don’t assume your designed/ builder will.

Check your plates fit the depth of cupboards.

Check your sink is big enough for your biggest roasting tins.

White composite sinks stain however lovely white looks. There is a reason stainless steel is popular and there are lovely brushed undermounted steeliness sinks out there. Really pleased we went with the head on that one.

Work out radiators and potentially moving some( that costs).

Think which side draining grooves will go.

Dulux diamond Matt paint is worth it and really is scubbable. Don’t go for fancy brands that you can’t scrub. No tiles or grout- a quartz upstand and good paint is easier to clean. 6 months in and my walls are like new- I cook a lot and I’m messy!!!!If you go with no tiles and an upstand,test paint colours early before fitting- Dulux can mix up any colour in DM.

Get a decent electrician in to advise on lighting. It makes such a difference.

Add in a couple of open shelves somewhere even if small so you can personalise it.

Go for ceiling height cupboards if you can. No dust and extra space. We didn’t, they’re very nearly ceiling height but needed to save money as we had other priorities.

Oh and make sure you have space somewhere for the compost bin to be tucked away as you don’t want it permanently on your counter top.

Assuming a terraced house if side return?

I wish I’d gone for an inbuilt banquette to make the dining space slightly more compact vs a freestanding table.

Ours is fine but it would have been more efficient.