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Original poster

We are remodelling our house - what do you love about and what works brilliantly in yours?

40 replies

NotVeryGrandDesign · 09/10/2011 19:20

We will be having some building work done in the next few months and are at "drawing board" stage.
We will be moving kitchen around (possibly new units etc)
I have been searching the MN archive and have found a couple of threads about avoiding high maintenance mistakes

We'll also be replacing knackered bathroom and moving the front door I think.

But reckon there are loads more:
So this is a fab opportunity to move things around in what's currently a poky and dark kitchen, and move the playroom which is clutter central.
Just wondering what works in your house? Thanks in advance

OP posts:
Holdmyhand · 09/10/2011 20:07

Think not just what would work now with children at their current ages but what will work in the future.
We love our woodburner. If I was remodelling our house I would put in a Rayburn that could heat water & radiators to be less reliant on gas / elec.

notcitrus · 09/10/2011 20:44

Thanks for that link to a great thread!

My tip would be make sure you or children can still get in and out the back door even when the dishwasher is open (and to anything else you need when the dishwasher is open), as it's my main peeve about my current kitchen - it gets in the way at least once a day.

There is no such thing as too much counter space. Glass-fronted upper cupboards can make a room look brighter but you will want only your best crockery in them!
Very tall and narrow larder cupboards can be wobbly.

Original poster
NotVeryGrandDesign · 09/10/2011 21:00

Thanks notcitrus. Yes my DW drives me up the wall too. BUt also we leave our buggy right by the back door and DHs shoes/briefcase get regularly run over.
These things sound so petty when written down but I am trying to think about the whole picture - and also as HMH says thinking about the future. Which is HARD as don't know if/when we would have any more DC etc etc etc

Thanks for that holdmyhand - have just watched a generally dire prog about remodelling kitchen with Kelly Hoppen on skyplus which was talking about expensive mistakes and I want to avoid those.

OP posts:
talkingnonsense · 09/10/2011 21:05

Lots of light and lots of storage. Get kitchen cupboards right to the ceiling so you don't have to clean on top. Have more sockets than you think you will need.

SamMiguel · 09/10/2011 22:18

Have a look at this:
www.sncollection.co.uk/my-perfect-kitchen/style.html

flatbread · 10/10/2011 17:10

My mum gave me this tip as we are remodeling our kitchen as well - if you are right-handed, make sure your cooker is on the right-hand side of your main prep counter.

Using free-standing tables and a portable cooker, I tested her theory and it is true! It feels so much more natural and comfortable standing to the left of my cooker (i.e., cooker is on my right-hand side)and tossing in cut veggies with my right hand into the pot, or giving something a swirl on the cooker as I am prepping something else.

Pannacotta · 10/10/2011 18:07

I think having lots of storage is important, ideally built-in and easy for kids to access if its for toy storage.

Designing kitchens and bathrooms so they are easy to clean is also key.

Try and create storage for coats/hats/shoes so they arent all in a messy clutter in the hall..

CristinadellaPizza · 10/10/2011 18:14

As many cupboards and bits of built-in storage as you can fit/afford. Make sure that you have your 'triangle' in your kitchen and that fridges/dws don't really, really piss you off when they're open.

Be wary of going too open plan - it can be draughty and not feel cosy - if you do bash walls through, keep one room where you can be cosy if possible. Neutral expensive items - kitchen cupboards etc. Go for classic rather than very stylish, they age better.

LowLevelWhingeing · 10/10/2011 18:20

Ooh how exciting!

We've recently moved house and the things I miss about the old house (where we did the kitchen and bathroom) are:

Big under sink drawers which are so much better for finding the bleach or whatever rather than having to bend down and knock over bottles and stuff trying get things from the back.

Carousels in corner units. So easy.

Small larder cupboards which I used for spices and oils etc.

However, I do like that my new kitchen has enough drawers to enable a couple to be allocated as Random Crap Drawers. Grin

WRT the bathroom, I miss having a large shower cubicle; the new one feels pokey. the bigger the better IMO.

Also, coincidentally, the new bathroom has exactly the same freestanding bath that we used to have in our old house, except the room is smaller so it feels cramped and you have to edge around it awkwardly. I would rather have a none 'wow' bath and have more usable space. Also, in the new bathroom the sink is positioned so that if a bloody child someone barges in while you're brushing your teeth, you get a door handle in the bum. VERY annoying Hmm

NotAGrandDesign · 13/10/2011 12:32

Congrats on the move Lowlevel - we have a "wow" Hmm bath -(not put in by us) I am OVER it.
Am terrified it will fall the thru ceiling on of these days as DS has splashed so much playing octonauts that the floorboards must be rotten
It is on The List

Any more for any more???

NotAGrandDesign · 13/10/2011 12:33

And also looking for ways of future proofing - ie will work for 2 bouncy preschool boys now but also for two grumpy adolescents

NotAGrandDesign · 13/10/2011 12:34

If you know what I mean.
Sorry v inarticulate today

CristinadellaPizza · 13/10/2011 12:38

Our attic has been converted here but we don't use it at the moment really because it has a fixed ladder for access rather than a proper staircase. I fully expect that to be a teenage 'den' in years to come.

I think making sure that there is space for teens to be teens and you to have a bit of peace and quiet is useful.

PigletJohn · 13/10/2011 12:53

I agree about those big pan drawers on ball-nearing sliders. Wish we'd got more of them. They are ridiculously expensive though. And carousels in corner units or you will put things at teh back and never see them again.

Also, unless your kitchen is for Looking At only, don't get a glossy or oiled wood worktop.

Stone and coloured sinks look very nice in the showroom, but nothing lasts as well, or is as easy to keep clean, as satin stainless.

Have a double socket every metre or so all along the worktop; and a DP switch above the worktop, feeding a single socket below, everywhere you have, or one day might want, an undercounter appliance.

Cooker extractor hood, absolutely essential. Not a recirculating one that just stirs the steam around.

CristinadellaPizza · 13/10/2011 13:06

Agree with all of what PJ said. Also, do not get a polished concrete worktop. I have one and I hate it

LowLevelWhingeing · 13/10/2011 13:14

Oh yes, lots of plug sockets. All our kitchen counter stuff is clustered around one corner Hmm

I would also add don't get shiney black granite. It shows up water marks like a bitch and needs bloody buffing to look clean Hmm

frenchfancy · 14/10/2011 07:32

We put in a prep sink when we redid our kitchen, and i love it. Much smaller than the main sink, but near the hob so great for draining pasta etc. We use it for hand washing, washing veg etc, so it keeps the dirty dishes away from the food prep;

Byeckersliiiiiiiiiiiiiike · 14/10/2011 07:52

We have just gutted our house, its now finished apart from pictures on the walls! Yippee!

All of these have already been said but mine are,
Woodburner, so lovely to light and snuggle round, they are quite dusty though, but worth it.
Storage, you will never have enough, shoe storage near the door is fantastic. Means everything can be hidden away so you can admire your beautifully remodelled home! [hgrin]
induction hob, this is a love hate thing i know, but i love mine, i already had cast iron pans so didnt have to get new ones.
Lots of plug sockets.
Our house had a toilet separate from the (big enough to house a toilet) bathroom, so we put the toilet in the bathroom, pinched a little from the end of our internal garage to add onto the toilet room, to make a utility room, single best thing we did, dont have to have clothes in the kitchen or a sweaty tumble drier, it can all be shut away. We have a few kitchen cupboards in there for the washing stuff and cleaning products, we even managed to get a sink in it for rinsing mucky stuff, the room is only abouy 4ft square, it's amazing what you can squeeze in!
Buy another set of crockery and cutlery, with a dishwasher (we hadnt had one before) you use so much more as it's sat in the dishwasher.

Bloomin heck, thats a long list! Sorry!

YouCantTeuchThis · 14/10/2011 08:25

larder cupboards that 'swing' rather than slide.
Adding a back porch has changed my life - if it could have been a utility room, my life would be complete but we didn't want to go through planning...
Back-to-wall toilet so you don't have pipes that gather sticky dust.
I love my wooden work-top (2 years and has some 'character' marks) but I know it is not for everyone...just DO NOT go for 'pretend' wood laminate yeuch!

YouCantTeuchThis · 14/10/2011 08:27

And, as for future-proofing, you probably want to make sure you have an additional toilet/shower-room - if you don't already.

Tomisinathewitchescat · 15/10/2011 12:19

try and fit in a walk in pantry. It is the best thing in my house. It keeps cupboards free of clutter and you don't need as many. You can see everything all at once. I have my micro and chest freezer in mine too. I love it.

Auntiestablishment · 15/10/2011 12:45

I have a huge chimney-breast in my kitchen. A previous occupant put the oven in it.

This is wonderful: an oven at that height is far more practical than one lurking around your knees, I get 2 more cupboard (under the hob), and there's somehow something "right" about an oven in a chimney breast.

champagnesupernova · 17/10/2011 09:46

WE have a store room - not quite a pantry as we keep other stuff in there, freezer and cleaning bits, vases, random crap as it has become a mini-dumping ground. But would love a proper larder cupboard.
These are all briliant. Work isnt set to start yet but I am Desperate for it to.

champagnesupernova · 17/10/2011 09:46

brilliant

Sleepwhenidie · 18/10/2011 20:52

We are remodelling our house and have just ordered our kitchen from LWK (made by Hacker) and I am ridiculously excited about it. We are getting corian worktops, two dishwashers (idea being that I use the same stuff every day, this will avoid the emptying and putting way stage for all but a few odd bits, you just take from one, use plate/whatever, put in the other and when cooking for a crowd you can get everything in), a boiling hot water tap, induction hob, teppan hotplate and a 3m island. I am also gaining a small walk in pantry just off the kitchen, a big storeroom and a utility room, I will not know what to do with myself after years of a tiny, impractical kitchen with barely any prep surface or storage Grin!

Having said all this, I too started with the ideal of no wall units too, but realised when I worked out what stuff would go where in the cupboards that I really needed them to have things like mugs, glasses, tea and coffee easily to hand. They are quite high on the wall though, so I'm hoping they don't "crowd" you when using the work surface below.