The MN lessons learnt kitchen thread.

[jollydiane]

I have read loads of kitchen threads so here is my conclusions.

1. Plan for where you bin is going to go.
2. Handless kitchens look lovely but can wind you up.
3. Floor Tiles look stunning but can be a bugger to keep clean.
4. Splash-backs are very practical for cleaning and can look stunning although some of you think they look naff.

What else should I add to the list before I make my purchase?

The one area I'm really stuck on is flooring. I want something that I can use my lakeland steam mop on (another MN suggestion) which I love.

Just one warning about zinc (presuming that it is like stainless steel work top) When you move pans/dishes about or chop onto it - the scraping noise is like nails down a blackboard - wincing.

We have a worktop that is a little higher (about 4-5 cm) than standard and I love it - why would you want to constantly bend when you are working - I'm only 5'6 it's much better (builders said it was 'European' height - whatever that is) You sometimes have to get the builders to cut a larger plinth but the appliances just need their feet raised. Also delays toddlers grabbing stuff as it is too high for them to reach.

I have put the bin on wheels - you can buy plant movers for round bins or the posh 'Westboy' bin stand on castors - fits large Brabantia models. I have a 4 metre long worktop (and no other workspace so I just wheel it up and down when I am up the other end shopping.

Never thought I would use my insinkerator - I adore it.

Make sure you have a 'useful' drawer - for crap like takeaway menus/scissors/keys/sellotape/candles etc

Underfloor heating is a godsend - nice mellow heat rather than radiator 'hotspot'.

Don't put your kettle under a low shelf/cupboard - paint constantly peels.

Make your extractor higher (and wider) than you think.

I like appliances to be on wheels or trolleys. In some cases you then have to take the top panel off the appliance to let it fit under the worktop, so I prefer the worktop to be slightly higher. The units (almost) all have adjustable legs these days so it's only the plinth to alter if you can be bothered

Good point BBear - think DS (2y3m) would move out if there were additional torturous scraping noises. He can't stand the whirr of the blender even if it does make smoothies and goes round and round. He's really conflicted about it.

Think about your corners - I like the turntables in corner units, and they work well for me, but others may disagree.
Think about where your kettle/toaster/bread bin etc will go, and where mugs etc will go in relation to this.
If you can, have a tall pantry cupboard - it's amazing! Measure large things like super-size cereal boxes to make sure the shelves are at the right height.

Keep nagging the builders. Mine started working on the kitchen at the beginning of June, and it's still not finished. It was only when I started maternity leave that I started nagging them, and they got a move on. Even so, when DS was born, we had no oven, no washing machine, and no running water downstairs. That was quickly fixed before I came out of hospital!

Had a new kitchen in January. My pride and joy is my instant boiling/cold filtered water tap thingy. I do not know how I survived 40 years without one.

Insinkerator is good, but does not compare to boiling water on tap.

Lots of advice already. My other piece of advice is Do not get a Corian worksurface. neighbours of ours got one same time we had our kitchen and it is already looking a bit tired and stained. They plan to get it all retreated every 3 years . Stick with granite if you can.

YYY to deep drawers, tall cabinets and eye-level appliances. Also YYY to raised fridges.

porcelain tiles - any plates/glasses that are dropped get smashed to smithereens. Also dark flooring shows every speck of dirt.

Cupboards as high as they go to make use of all available space.

Rhinofloor is brilliant - can be steam mopped, warm underfoot, china doesn't smash when you drop it usually.

Cheap wall tiles can look effective - plain white brick shape with or without bevelled edges are the cheapest at Topps (40p each) but look great if kept clean.

Would recommend www.kitchencollection.co.uk for excellent units, supplied rigid (cuts down on labour costs for fitting) and much cheaper than similar or same units supplied from high end kitchen shops, whilst quality better than B&Q etc (thicker board etc.)

Keep old units for garage storage solutions (if relevant).

Lever mix tap brilliant when your hands are mucky or if you have arthritis etc..

If room dark, gloss cabinets allow light to reflect more.

PS
And definitely go for an induction hob. They blow ceramic and gas out of the water. You need to have special wiring though (as your electrician), as may be the case of you move from single to double oven - but again worth it if you can.

We're just getting our new kitchen in and I'm very excited.

What you want to do is a tiled floor but with a really narrow joint, so you don't have massive amounts of grout on display. Very easy to keep clean with steam cleaner.

Cupboards all the way to the ceiling, as has been said already.

We first went for double sink, but then realized that we don't use the small side, so got one really wide one, that fits also baking sheets.

Corner unit carousels waste a lot of space. we got this for our corner unit: ultimatekitchens.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/blind-corner.jpg

My slate worksurface is one of my best things.
Also the pull out baskets in my island unit. Have designated one of them 'kitchen filing' for all the bits of paper you need (letters from school etc) but don't want lying around looking cluttery. Works brilliantly.
Tile-wise, I bought the metro brick ones in a peppermint green colour online for about 12p each, much much cheaper than Topps.
I have engineered wood floor, I don't know if you could use a steam cleaner on it, but before we bought it we put a sample plank in a bucket for a couple of days and it didn't swell at all.

I thought Quartz was meant to be harder wearing than Granite?

My wish list would be;

Boiling hot water tap, I used one at work. You wont know how you ever managed before.

Appliances on wheels.

Water softner (ok not strictly kitchen but saves getting limescale everywhere)

In built oven

Induction hob. We have gas here, I am fed up of cleaning the sodding thing.

"Special shelf built into peninsular bit for KitchenAid!"

What is this wonder you speak of porkyandbess? Could we pleeeaseee have a photo?

oh and

knife fork spoon

We dont use our kitchen sink for anything apart from washing fruit and veg and for dh to pile plates into when the dishwasher is empty but somehow invisable to the male eye. Maybe the Y chromasome blinds them to empty dishwashers.

So I'd want a small round sink with no drainer countersunk into the work surface.

We are in the middle of planning our new kitchen and this is all sooo useful, so glad I found this thread.

Hazlenut - did you get those corner cupboard metal shelves in the UK? They look amazing, I want them!

And for people who say tiles are too cold/break dropped things, what would you suggest as flooring instead? I'm worried about exactly those things (no underfloor heating) but can't think of a practical alternative.

We just have a new kitchen - love it.

Definitely work out where tea towels go - we seem to have forgotten this one.
Also spice storage.

We have the most brilliant shelving with pull down tambour shutters. We keep blender, mixer, cookery books etc in here. We have sockets in there so easy to use appliances. Pull down the shutters and you can't see them.

Get lots of quotes and possible designs. We were unimpressed with some of them who seemed to have spent 30 minutes coming up with something. The design we went for was by someone who thought it out properly (local mum who has a kitchen business).

Drawers definitely good. Find out about all the different types of fittings that can go into them - there are spice racks, peg boards which can make a big difference to how you can organise things.

If you hate fiddling about in the back of 60cm deep base cupboards, you can create a kitchen with IVAR cupboards at 50 or 30 cm depth, paint them and slap a worktop on top, leaving room at the back for pipes etc.

I "made" my kitchen with IVAR cupboards we no longer needed in the bedrooms. Was so chuffed with myself and happy that my "back of the cupboard" rummaging was over.

Do not order nice fat 80cm cooker until you have checked if anybody makes an 80 cm wide cooker hood ...that you actually like.

I had a new kitchen 18 months ago.

things I love :-

1 Induction hob - it is the dogs bollocks.
2 Everything under counter top height is a pull our drawer. No more searching for stuff hiding at the back of a cupboard.
3 Pull out larder now holds all our dried/tinned/ jarred food plus bread etc.

1. Complete glass splashback surround above all counter tops and sink/window etc. Takes 2 mins to clean with an e-cloth and looks stunning.
2. Flooring. We used Karndean and i steam mop it every other day.

Definitely drawers for everything below worktop: pots, pasta, plates - the lot.

Fisher and Paykel do a great drawer dishwasher and also a fridge. They totally make your kitchen.

Then all relatives over 70 years old who see and use it decide they need that same layout too, because there is no scrabbling on the floor, trying to reach items at the back of the bottom shelf. My knees and joints are fine, but I would find it a metaphorical pain too if I had to revert to shelving in these cupboards.

takingthestairs I'll upload a photo when it's done. Looks like a building site at the moment.

my thanks to everyone for the responses.

I have not considered the induction hob or karndean floor.

1. Do you have to use special saucepans for an induction hob or will my ancient saucepans be ok?

1. There seems to be a difference of opinion about Karndean floor. I don't think my lazy housekeeping is up to special routines. I basically want to steam mop it and return to my glass of wine ironing.

Where are these 12p tiles of which you speak?

Magnetic knife rack over the cooker. No knife block on the worksurface, and you can grab the knife you need much more easily than scrabbling in a drawer.

I also have magnetic spice jars on the side of the fridge which means I don't have to open a door to get the spices I want, I can also see at a glance what's running out.

A small bin inside a cupboard means it gets emptied before it gets a chance to smell. Apparently this is a huge problem with a bin that sits directly on a floor with underfloor heating (but I'm not posh enough to have that!!!)

I got them from tons of tiles here. They vary in price depending on the colour. I got samples from here and from walls and floors as well, both were much cheaper than Topps.

Karndean flooring is fantastic. Just as good as Amtico (have had both), and a damn sight cheaper. No need for fancy cleaning routines, mine did perfectly well with a squeeze of washing up liquid in a bucket of hot water, and a mop.

Lovely stuff, virtually indestructible.