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.

a second vote for shallow cupboards, I have floor to ceiling "wall units" set into a slight recess and it's so much easier to open them and find things than grovel about in deep dark cupboards.

butter no sorry no idea where to get the pull-out thingy in the UK, we're in France. But I'm sure it must be available, the mechanism is very simple.

"Oh and tile the floor before you put in the cabinets. That way if you decide to change them (or have to change them), you can keep the same floor and change the layout without having to knock up all the old tiles and start again because there are gaos where the old cupboards used to be. "

I'm not so sure about this one. I want to replace the floor in our kitchen, but it's laminate that goes all the way under the cabinets. So the cabinets will all have to come out. Not sure if we can take them out without removing the worktops. All a big pain! And the kitchen is too small to change the layout.

More on bins! How big a bin do you really, really need? Trouble with big bins is they get stinky, specially in summer, and the bag is heavy and sometimes splits when you get it out, so unless you really do create 50L of rubbish every couple of days (in which case, WTF?) consider sizing down. We now have a diddy 12L one (there are only two of us) and it has changed my quality of life not having to heave big stinky heavy binbags around.

Also plan ALL your bins, not just the "main" bin. I was surprised tother day when I calculated that we recycle about 50% of everything, and we do that through a carrier bag hanging on the corner of an IKEA omar unit, which is not ideal.

I am dreaming now of having enough cupboard space to put the recycling in cupboards. Only way to do that is to knock a hole in the wall somewhere!

Anything you've always dreamed of (insinkerator, hot water tap, plumbed-in fridge), now is the time to get it. Don't scrimp! Fridge with ice & cold filtered water on tap is the best part of our new kitchen, my friend absolutely loves her boiling tap (we didn't have space for one).

If you really like cooking, go for a gas hob. Ours has a triple burner for woks etc and it is fabulous to cook on, DH is making a prawn stir fry right now! Not easy to do with induction, but to each her own.

Had an induction hob on holiday, just couldn't get on with it. Took ages to get hot and to cool down.

All these ideas are great! We are about to move and kitchen is the first 'big' thing on the list.

We put a kitchen in our current house about 8 years ago, NO to carousel cupboards, why oh why! Everything falls off or drops down. We had shelves put in at different heights depending on tins/food or pans/baking trays. Really useful. Also had a 'gap' low shelf without a door put it where we store chopping boards, is really useful, all 6 of them fit in and don't get in the way, easy to grab when needed.

Also knives, forks, big spoons, little spoons, sharp knives that don't go in block, underneath a space for tin opener, peeler and garlic press. WE have BIG drawers !

AllPastYears I think you are talking about a ceramic hob. An induction hob is a thing of beauty different thing all together en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking

Don't get a wooden worksurface unless you're someone who will sand and oil them really regularly, and not resent doing it. We now have granite and it is bliss, comparatively. But laminate is better than wood otherwise, in all but aesthetic terms. Wood looks beautiful but doesn't like water. This is not ideal in a kitchen. I fell in love with beech block and still think it looks nicer than anything else, but it's totally impractical for anyone who dislikes DIY. Granite is hard to damage.

Could have been Bodmin, they look the same to me .

We also had new kitchen 18 months ago...

We love...
-Induction hob
-Pan drawers
-huge 2 drawer hot point fridge
-pull out larder
-oak work top... Had no probs so far with it
-karndean floor, sooo easy to keep clean I also steam mop mine.

Don't have a carousel ... Absolutely pointless..

I'd I had my time again I'd have had a hot water tap too..

Induction hobs heat up really quickly. In fact they don't heat up, only the pan heats. And the residual heat from the pan cools quickly too.

I would never go back to anything else. It's so easy to clean as well.

How I wish I could afford and have space for two dishwashers! - Fab idea.

And it's knives, forks, spoons.

I hated our wood worktop.

I always wanted a waste disposal unit till I heard of kids putting small animals in it. Put me right off them.

go for kardean flooring. We've just put it in our new kitchen (classic oak). Love it!

oops Karndean

I don't know if it has been said already, but I would invest on a granite worktop. It costs as much as solid wood, more or less, and it is so much nicer and stays nice forever.

I just read that perfectstorm suggested granite too. I agree.

Also, I would get a big big big sink. A ceramic (?) one, 1 metre long. I love mine, but I guess we need it as we don't have/want a waching machine.

We also have a drainer that is attached to the wall over the big big big sink, something like www.lami.it/scheda_prodotto_ita.php/cat=0/n=6/subattivo=scolapiatti. But I guess you don't need this if you have a dishwasher.

Is slate similar to granite or not really, does anyone know? Some people seem to think it's just as good and tough, takes everything you throw at it etc, others talk about it staining.

I much love my slate floor tiles but they show every single last crumb - have to brush it too often for my liking.

No to wooden worktops here too. Voice of (mouldy, black and slimy, must bloody sand and reseal every 6 months) experience here.

Always factor in somewhere to store long things, if not in kitchen then utility room, special cupboard. Ironing boards, brushes do not hide themselves away however much I might wish it.

Accept that however hard you think things through there will be at least one feature of your new kitchen that won't quite work and will annoy you.

In our kitchen it's the height of the cooker hoody type thing - wrong for tall dp.

Also, but this isn't one that crossed my mind before, when unloading the dishwasher, I have to push the door up a bit slightly to get at the saucepan drawers. So usually have to unload saucepans to the work surface, close the dishwasher door, open pan door.

Never had a dishwasher before is my excuse!

Can someone explain the hot water boily thing please - yes I have one at work which I use happily but it seems to be permanently ON. Does this mean you have to permanently leave it on at home for it to be any use, and what does this mean for energy consumption? I know kettles are horrific energy burners but is this actually better overall?

Essie can you post a picture of your cupboard with gadgets & plugs inside it? I have read about these on MN but never seen them in real life? I vaguely mentioned it to DP and he got very excited about the idea. As its the only bit of the whole kitchen plan he's shown any interest in, I feel that I should make sure we get this bit.