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Original poster

What do you love about your kitchen?

34 replies

Amelily · 04/05/2006 22:17

I'm planning a new kitchen and I'd really like to hear what people love about their kitchens - or hate! Flooring, what to put where, gizmos and gadgets... any suggestions welcome.

OP posts:
brimfull · 04/05/2006 22:23

I love my black granite worktop,I was nearly dissuaded by a friend that it would be hard to keep clean but I'm so glad I didn't listen to her.It's so easy !
Also love my big larder cupboard,all the foodstuff is in one place.

Original poster
Amelily · 04/05/2006 22:24

Quite fancy granite but isn't it hugely expensive?

OP posts:
dinosaure · 04/05/2006 22:25

We've just had our cellar converted to a kitchen and big living/play area and I love everything about it. We have big glass doors that open out onto a little paved terrace bit, which is great. The kitchen units are from Ikea (dead cheap but I really like them). Best thing is one of those pull-out larders, don't know how we managed before without one! Also like flooring - we have marmoleum. Nice colour, warm and quiet.

brimfull · 04/05/2006 22:29

depends how much you need,how many cuts you have in it for taps ,sinks etc.Think it was about £1000.

Original poster
Amelily · 04/05/2006 22:29

What is marmoleum? I'm imagining posh lino...which I'm pushing for but dh wants stone.

OP posts:
dinosaure · 05/05/2006 17:22

Yes, it is posh lino! I don't like really hard kitchen floors, my parents have one in their house in Ireland and I find it quite knackering on the legs, plus not good when small children fall over on it!

handlemecarefully · 05/05/2006 17:24

I'm not keen on my black granite worktops. If you wipe them they dry all smeary unless you want to buff them dry with kitchen towel every chuffin' time.

I like my retro Smeg fridge

secur · 05/05/2006 17:26

I coundn't afford granite Sad so went for a gloss granite type top - big mistake! They scuff and scratch really easily (like when moving a plate from one place to another!) and so loose the shine and look frankly cr*p very quickly!

Twiglett · 05/05/2006 17:26

everything .. redid it last year

love my breakfast bar
that we can now sit in the room
the black granite worktop
the real wood
the american fridge freezer (had that before new kitchen to be fair)
the fact that we can hide away ironing piles in a utility cupboard until ironing day
the beautiful tiles
uhmed and ahhed about slate floor .. in the end went with a B&Q laminate that looks like tiles .. and its fab .. warm and easy to clean and nothing breaks if you drop it)

Twiglett · 05/05/2006 17:27

HMC .. get an e-cloth .. wipe em with a normal cloth then wipe over with an e-cloth and it brings the shine back

dinosaure · 05/05/2006 17:28

My worktops (not granite) are probably my least favourite bit, but they do a job and look okay really. They are laminate. I would have liked wood, but the architect who was doing the cellar conversion advised against.

PinkKerPlink · 05/05/2006 17:28

the fact it was worth every £ of the 50k I spent on it

Twiglett · 05/05/2006 17:30

oh and don't forget to include draw / drawers for kids' crap .. like drawing stuff / pictures they bring home from school .. especially if you'll have a table in there

ladyjess · 05/05/2006 17:31

love my butlers sink. love the bare brick under all the units, love the stainless steel range cooker - prob not entirely necessary but it is nice to have room to cook loads of things at once (for all my dinner parties, not).
don't love the oak flooring as it warps a bit! don't love storage cupboards that are not tall enough for tall bottles, etc. don't love my wood surfaces - they look nice but they stain easily and go a bit mouldy near the tap.
good luck - choose well. try to go for a plain unit as if you go for anything fancy they tend to go out of fashion quite quickly.

secur · 05/05/2006 17:31

oh yes and stainless steele - even the "non - fingermarky" stuff, I end up wiping and buffing it forever because of the streaks and spots it gets Angry

Apart from that I love it!

BettySpaghetti · 05/05/2006 17:37

Love:
-big larder cupboard and the fact its next to the fridge/freezer (great for those moments when you're looking for inspiration of what to cook)
-tiles (were quite expensive but worth it)
-dark flooring that doesn't show every crumb or mark (grey slate)
-integrated dishwasher (hidden away, not obvious and a God-send)

Don't like:
-have to agree with finding the black marble ("effect" in our case) worktops a PITA especially as we live in a hard water area)

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 17:55

love:
yellow kitchenaid mixer
red dualit 4 slice toaster
Bridgewater china on shelves

will love when finished:
red stanley range cooker
slate floor

really want one of those new smeg 50's style dishwashers in red.

motherinferior · 05/05/2006 17:56

I love the fact mine contains gin.

expatinscotland · 05/05/2006 18:09

i love my new cooker. i keep it scrupulously clean. treat it right and get good food!

my mum has granite worktops and loves 'em. she also has an island w/a small sink for rinsing right next to the hob.

lovely!

Amiable · 05/05/2006 18:11

I'm with you mother inferior - pmsl!! :o :o

manitz · 05/05/2006 18:18

old kitchen (old house)
loved: underfloor heating
didn't love: fired earth floor tiles that are not smooth and need waxing, pull out full height cupboard that didn't pull out fully, stainless steel which marked up easily

new kitchen (being put in new house)
in utility room have cheapo ikea cabinets with rather nice laminate worktop (square edge) and underfloor heating - ratehr impressed iwth ikea but don't rate their glass cabinets at all.
in kitchen - aluminium appliances/cooker hood hoping with deal with fingermark issue, seems fine so far - miele oven and combi oven look good but not yet used, loooking forward to composite granit worktop expensive but hoping it will last a very long time and seems the most hardwearing. Not pleased to hear that about oak flooring but couldn't put tiles on joists just doesn't seem right iyswim, gotta be a concrete floor for me.

When I designed it I also identified where everything would be kept on the design. hth.

bea · 05/05/2006 18:48

i love the sloping glass roof we put at the end of the kitchen... lets in a lot of light!!!

love the double sockets we put in, as many as we could, to plug in all those appliances...

similarly so about the lights... have 4 inset halogen lights... one main middle light which has 4 spotlights going off it... and 3 separate spotlights over the sink area... and under cabinet lighting...

love my huge range cooker... 2 ovens/one grill/one warming ovem (usually kept to store all manner of baking /roastig tins), 8 rings/ one cast iron griddle...

hope all this makes sense.. dunno what the right technical terms are!!!

Pollyanna · 05/05/2006 19:07

I wouldn't say I love any of my kitchen (put in by previous owners). I would say avoid a limestone floor - gets dirty really easily and looks filthy all the time. Also avoid a habitat kitchen - ours is falling apart.

Heathcliffscathy · 05/05/2006 19:12

50K Shock! on what?????? staff????

zippitippitoes · 05/05/2006 19:15

pink ker plink I know you are joking..don't i ? Shock