Fitted kitchen essentials?

[Mummymummums]

Please can anyone help? We've been to design our new kitchen. My existing kitchen is over 30 years old. The one in the last house not dissimilar. I've never chosen my own kitchen and I'm 50.
We really didn't get any guidance from the designer, and all suggestions were ours really so I'm worried we're missing something.
So far we have:

• The usual appliances - double oven, job, fridge freezer, dishwasher and microwave. (We'll have a separate utility room)
• sink and drainer
• Boiling water tap - this wasn't mentioned but I'd heard of them, so asked as I wanted one.
• bin cupboard with 3 compartments
• floor to ceiling pantry
• various drawers (inc cutlery) and storage cupboards with corner ones having slide out bits.
• breakfast bar and stools

Am I missing anything? I feel I might be. All the cupboards are bog standard with 2-3 shelves other than the slidey ones. Do I need anything else maybe like large pull out drawers? Any help / suggestions gratefully received. Don't want to get this wrong.

I like under cabinet lighting, small shelves for spices, big drawers for pans, nice extractor hood, glass splashback and those slidey shelves that pull out so you can get to the back.

Maybe check out Pinterest for ideas you might like?

The best thing I've ever had in a kitchen must be the waste disposal thing. All foodstuff can go down it - thus leaving no smell of rotting food in the kitchen bin.

I also had soft-close cupboards and drawers, as I hated the way that my husband used to slam all the cupboards.

Ah yes - I like under cabinet lighting too. Must ask for that. And something for herbs and spices.
Am also going to look into the food waste thing - this weather has highlighted the appeal of that!

There is a kitchen lessons learnt thread that I found really helpful when I was planning mine last year.
It helped me to choose an induction hob (love it, dh not as sold) pan drawers, we have 7 pan drawers which fits all of our plates, bowls, cups, pans and most food stuff in. We only have a larder cupboard, corner cupboards and under sink cupboard, much easier to get things from drawers than cupboards. I use a cutlery drawer (without the cutlery insert) for herbs and spices so everything is facing me when I open it.
Best advice I got was to imagine doing things in the kitchen, like making a cup of tea, am I going to have to trek across 5m room to get the milk? Landing space near an oven, etc. When I unload the dishwasher I never have to move more than one step away to put stuff away.

Have a look over on the Property/DIY board as there are often kitchen design threads on there and I second the kitchen lessons learned thread. We have three sets of wide pan drawers as a result and they are fantastic for storage as you can easily access everything. Btw - waste disposal units are awful: food waste should not go down the drain fgs.

I have ordered an induction thread so that's good to know! Looks like I need to up my pan drawers though!
I'll head to the other thread later, thanks all

Hob, not thread

I recently got a new kitchen, after thirty years as well. I love the under cabinet LED lighting which will cheer the place up in winter, but what I love best is the under sink drawer.
I could only have a single cupboard there anyway as the dishwasher is next to it, and the drawer is far better. I have soap powder and cleaning stuff in it, and you can see everything at a glance. There's also a shelf which is handy for cloths and sponges etc. It came with a couple of bucket-type containers which are easy to lift out for cleaning. Simple pleasures!

By the way, I also rationalised what cleaning stuff I really needed so it doesn't take up so much space. Your kitchen sounds much bigger but it's still a good feeling to have no clutter.

Can someone link to the kitchen lessons learned thread? I cant find it!

The lessons learned thread is amazing!

I am in a similar position to you OP (but older). I am going heavy on the pan drawers and light on normal cupboards. I'm perfectly fit at the moment but am looking (hopefully a long way forward) to when I don't want to be bending over and delving in the back of normal cupboards. I'm hoping to get away without wall cupboards, will have a mixture of under-counter and full height cupboards, so no wall cupboards to gather dust on.

As PP said, visualise what you do - dishwasher near crockery/cutlery cupboard for putting away, handy surface to put things on out of the oven, bin cupboard near/under prep space are a few things that spring to mind. The designers will go by what you want, but they should advise on the best way of configuring everything otherwise not much point in having them!

Do you have a food mixer ( kenwood/kitchen aid) if so think about storage for it and also where you will use it. I'm moving into a house that has an IKEA kitchen and under the mid height oven it's got a cupboard with wire drawers for baking sheets and cake tins etc which is very useful. Another thing a couple of friends da found was they couldn't store breakfast cereal in the wall cupboard as it's too tall given most have a fixed shelf in the middle

I'd say a waste disposal too, can't be without mine. Also as a pp said, deep drawers for pans.

Waste disposals are revolting: you should not be putting food waste down the drain.

Definitely pan drawers. The last kitchen we designed had only one wall cupboard, full height pantry cupboard (next time I would have a bigger one, or hopefully a walk in pantry), eye level oven and the rest pan drawers or corner cupboards.

Our current kitchen has loads of wall cupboards and I hate them, I find them very oppressive.

I know this thread is old but I can’t seem to read it without posting on it, sorry 🙄