Ever designed your own kitchen? Any pitfalls or tips to pass on?

[suzywong]

Thanks

I don't have a great deal of room and it will be open plan in the living area as well, I have an L shape with 5 metres of wall space, the wall with the window and about 2.25 on the short end, part of which will be taken up by fridge.

I have a 70cm free standing cooker

I also have a 60 x90cm stainless steel prep bench but the rest will be cheapo Ikea with a faux stainless steel work top.

Can't decide on what kind of sink

Will only be having one double doored over head cupboard.

Never designed a kitchen before, so if there are any HUGE HOWLERS one should avoid.

thanks

never have a fridge under the worktop

make sure you don't end up doing all you chopping in your own shadow or in front of the most-used utensil drawer

keep pans near the stove

don't keep heavy things in bottom drawers

get a rotating wire thing (name escapes me) so you don't lose things at the back of the corner cupoboard

keep tea / coffee / mugs near the kettle (people who don't do this drive me mad - wastes so much effort)

yes, yes that's the kind of thing .... good points

anymore for anymore

suzy it is worth dowloading the ikea kitchen planner, tis relaly good even if you do not use their stuff... tis sort of 3d and you get a good idea of what works

Aha, yes have looked at that but they do not do it for Apple Macs, only PCs. Effing Bill Gates, he's behind it I'm sure

you are supposed to draw a triangle between fridge, cooker and sink.

the most useful thing is to mock up a design you think will work and then test it to check for awkwardnesses
so make a cup of virtual tea:
(kettle -> sink, back again
fetch mug
fetch teaspoon
fetch tea
fetch sugar
pour water
bin teabag
fetch milk, pour, replace
teaspoon in sink or dishwasher)

then cook a virtual chicken stirfry (where's the wok? is there somewhere to prop a recipe? is the oil handy for the stove?)

etc etc

B&Q have a brochure with a kitchen planner in it. Does mean you have to use a pencil and a ruler though....

Just make sure you have no dead space - I've always fancied one of those carousel thingys fopr corner cupboards. Our current kitchen is a galley so no corner cupboards but the old one had 2 and it drove me mad!

Light is a pita - we have two central spot bars and were going to have pelmet lights but the money ran out. I would recommend them because wherever you stand you are in the way of the light.

And do not put your fridge next to your cooker (although I have just noticed that your cooker is freestanding so you are probably not doing that anyway)

I would not go for a stainless steel sink, we have one and it always looks messy.

online room planner

I hate hate hate ceramic sinks - IMO unless you have a dishwasher (I don't) they look lovely but are totally impractical and all your crockery ends up smashed.

Think about a stainless steel rail (or two) to hang your most-used pots and pans on with butcher's hooks. I have one, originally because it was an awkward space for a cupboard between two windows, but now I love it and would always make space for one in a kitchen. They are cheap as chips (compared to cupboards) and extremely practical as you can put your hand on any pan, and can just hang stuff on them straight from the washing up bowl. Only if you use the pans frequently though - don't hang anything used infrequently, or they get all greasy and yuck.

And agree that the IKEA kitchen planner is v useful, you can jig stuff around until it works.

hah - we have a white sink and it never looks clean either.

pelmet lighting less important if you have only one wall cupoboard, but if you can, use track lighting on the ceiling over the worktop close to the wall so it lights the worksurface not the floor (or the wall)

will look great reflecting off the shiny worktop too.

The only kind of sink that stays totally clean all the time is one which isn't used. My stainless steel ones has to wiped down with some sort of bleach to look lovely. As a consequence it looks lovely about once a week.

yes, I don't want a corner cupboard. Devil's work.

I am not in the UK so I won't look at the B&Q thingy but thanks for the link

yes, virtual breakfast lunch and dinner cooking a good idea

I am not too bothered about walking or reaching for equipment as that's what we do in at work and it's no dramas but worth thinking about all the same.

we have the double white (ceramic) sink from Ikea and looks great! I bleach it out every now and then and use a flat plastic film thing in the bottom so things aren't scratchign it or get broken.

thanks for that link, kindersurprise, will check it out

and I 'm liking the hanging thing

I have downlights, had to have them put in before the kitchen was designed - a time and budget thing.

I think I'll get some chalk and draw out floorplans on the actual floor tomorrow and see what space we have to work in

Am sure there are lots of kitchen design tips on the IKEA website or in their kitchen brochure if you can get hold of it - might be able to download it from the website too.
Also check out
www.ksa.co.uk/kbsaglobal/kitchenplanner/asistant.asp?SiteSection=Kitchens

I am drawn very much to the white sink from Ikea .... will finally have a dishwasher so it will only be the odd thing in it.

God this is makig me feel so GROWN UP! Am 40 and finally have own home

also they say to put your dishwasher (if you have one) next to the sink and bin, so you can rinse into the sink and scrape into the bin, and not get food/drips all over the floor padding between the two.

Check the size of your fridge against the ones that are on the market now.

The gap we left for ours fits a narrow(ish) fridge and it cut down the choice we had when we came to replace it (last week).

Manufacturers seem to be making them bigger.

A drawer for pots and pans (rather than a cupboard) is good.

What about the sockets for kettle and other things? Do you have a choice?

good stuff TYV I like a big bin so it may have to have its own niche under a work top.(is your name from that book, Daisy someone or other, my mum was always blahing on about it and it wasn't til I was in my 20s that I "got" it_)

thanks for the other link

sockets are in, but I may get the Lecky to swap a double for a four-top.

gosh this is SO exciting

Yep, you might take up breadmaking, or juicing or something else that you hadn't thought about before.

Have cupboards that go right up to the ceiling. I didn't do this as I knew I couldn't reach but have ended up putting things on the tops and it looke messy. Still can't reach but I could have used a chair in the other case!

Don't put handles on false doors. Pointless and just another thing to clean.

Squeeze out as much drawer and cupboard space as you can, you will alawys use it.

Get undercupboard lights.

Get pan drawers as they are fab!

I make my bread the old fashioned way, in fact I fancy keeping a stash of sour dough starter constantly on the go.

I do have a juicer, I will need a four top, good thinking, thanks