New Kitchen - ideas - what works - best value - well everything really !!!!

[Blessingsdragon]

Hi having my kitchen done from scratch - I have looked at so much and read so may home magazines I'm getting a headache so I thought I would as the professionals!

What have you got!!

What works and what doesn?t what would you do differently next time?

Where did you buy it and were you pleased?

My main concerns are clean ability/durability - what finish going for?

Value for money - have a limited budget

What extras did you have and were they worth it!!! I.e. do you use that coffee machine/steam oven?

Anything interesting really ;)

Pyroletic (sp?) oven
Worktops which are an extra 10cm deep (if you have the space)
Dishwasher (if you haven't already got one)

Love the idea of a Pryroletic oven - just not the price lol

Where do you get deeper work surfaces and do you have the cabinets the usual depth?

have a diswasher but need a new/bigger one

We've had 2 new kitchens (2 diff houses) and the things we repeated the 2nd time were:

magic corner cupboards - expensive but great for pans etc and very space-efficient.

Franke triflow filter tap - so don't have to have a big filter jug on the counter or in the fridge.

Granite worktops

integrated dishwasher - nice and streamlined.

Waste disposal (in-sink erator). I thought it would be useless now we have a counter-top compost bin but it's really useful for rinsing off plates etc.

have integrated appliances
range cooker
slate floor and u/f heating
plain matt white units with thick factory oiled worktops
have magic corner cupboards
No wall units just lots of shelves plate rack hanging rack etc
old school cupboard painted to match kitchen and fitted on a north facing cold wall to act as a larder It was the cheapest thing and my fave.

Noddy - where did you get your school cupboards? I searched high and low a few years ago and had no luck at all.

You can get deeper worktops from IKEA, but need to order in advance. We bought them from a company online.
Cabinets are usual depth but brought forward, so you have space behind them for pipes, plumbing, etc. (which will make you very popular with your builders as it will make their work a bit easier )

Wish I had thought of filter tap

Ooh some great ideas thanks - will have alook for the filter tap - was going to get an american style fridge freeser but we have a huge freezer in the utility and it seams a waste of space!

I love those big old cupboards but am lucky enough to have a larder thats fab

I didn't have splashbacks fitted, as I didn't want tiles in my kitchen. So I orders sheets of thin aluminium online cut to size and they were glued on. they look great. We spent most on our floor, solid oak with a 'vintage' finish, it looks like an old school floor. Under floor heating is nice too.

noddy your kitchen sounds very similar to mine...no wall units here either (trying to look like a Plain English kitchen on the cheap)