The MN lessons learnt kitchen thread (1 year on)

[jollydiane]

A year ago I sort the experience of MN when doing major house renovations. A year on I wanted to thank you for your suggestions and give you some of my feedback. Please let others have the benefit of your experience and any mistakes that you are trying to live with.

What worked well

1. Deep drawers. It makes looking for pots and pans so much easier than cupboards.

1. A large area for preparing food or dishing up.

1. Tiled flooring with underfloor heating but make sure you do not go for white grout or you will be scrubbing it forever (thank you for that tip)

1. A place of the recycling bin which is out of sight.

1. So glad I didn't have 'all white' kitchen as I know I would struggle to keep it clean.

1. Delighted with the induction hob it is so easy to clean and really easy to cook with.

1. If you are knocking through (kitchen dining room) seriously consider having a new ceiling otherwise you may notice the join (so glad I did this)

1. The glass splashback is a stunning feature. I used F&B paint shade which then blended in beautifully. I'm so glad I avoided tiles.

1. If you are looking for inspiration pick a piece of artwork with colours that you love and work with that.

Regrets
I should have gone for a granite work top as the one I picked is looking a bit scratched, an expensive mistake.

No drying

dontcallmemam/PharoahQueen - I have designed a wide larder pantry cupbaord on the other wall from my long work surface with double doors in the space that used to be where an old AGA stood in a big fireplace. The double doors open to reveal a table top in green glass and the walls covered in the same material as the kitchen units and the toaster, kettle and coffee machine are in there. I have had plugs and lights and an extractor fan pitted inside the recess. We put stools underneath the table top and the whole lot is concealed when the doors are shut. It just looks like a continuous run of cupboards floor to ceiling.

All my other machines are hidden in cupboards, hence the need for lots of extra shelves. Decanting everything is indeed about avoidjng spills but again much more space efficient. I did a course in a catering college where they did this and I copied the idea from them.

Please put up some pictures MoreBeta

Yes pictures please!

Brilliant thread ! Never be afraid to work and re work the plans until you are totally happy with them ! A kitchen is a huge investment - and it should be right for YOU - not just right to fit the space !!!
Another tip - be careful of high gloss worktops if you have lots of under wall cabinet lighting - as you will often see the glare / reflection of the lights - ask for defused under lights if you choose high gloss worktops !

Pictures would be a bit too easily identifiable basically we have a really awkward long low galley kitchen 3.5 m wide by 6 m long with a sloping roof that means one side wall is side is only 2m tall and the other side wall is 3m tall.

That has dictated the design as space is at a real premium. Clutter must be eliminated. This is not a cosy family eat in kitchen. It is designed like an operating theatre.

I have a continuous unbroken run of tall cupboards in gloss white full length of the tall side of the galley. I hide everything including the kettle and toaster in there. The other low side wall has a continuous unbroken run of waist height gloss white kitchen units with a black slab of granite on top and a Rangemaster Continental induction hob and ovens. No room for any cabinets above. Microwave is embedded in the other tall wall of cabinets.

I have taken apart the extractor and modified it to blow horizontally out of the side wall as the roof is too low to have a chimney in it. I have chosen induction and underfloor heating to keep the temperature down while cooking.

Lime green glass splash backs, LED spot lights in the ceiling, LED colour changing mood lights below cabinets and the whole lot is gloss white cabinets, white painted wall and ceiling white with chrome fittings and appliances. Grey ceramic floor tiles.

It is extreme functionality. Only I use it.

Yes, I agree with re-work & re-work the plans until they are perfect. You have a much more vested interest in it being perfect than the kitchen designer does so don't rely on them for all of the ideas.
We have nothing on our work tops either. We have a designated "corner of crap" where I have a really nice silver dish into which we put keys, hair slides & other random things with a black box file behind it and any paperwork that has to be kept is stored in there until I get around to filing it properly. Other than that, it's the bread bin (space for it included in the design), kettle, toaster & fruit bowl, knife block, utensils pot & chopping board stack. Then we also have a basket in which I store the children's bibs, baby wipes & other things which I need to grab at.
Because I knew I wanted the work tops to be clear, I thought about where the things which used to be on the work top where going to go. At first, the utensils and chopping boards where all in a cupboard but that looked a but too clear for me.
We keep our pasta, flour etc in wire basket drawers. About once a month, I pull out the bottom drawer & hoover out all of the spills. This saves cleaning out each drawer.
I have a "kitchen Hoover" which is a cheap & cheerful model used solely in the kitchen. It's so much more effective than a broom. It lives in the kitchen and there is a plug in the cupboard so I can just pull it out (or just the hose depending on what I want to clear up!) and Hoover up whatever has been spilled. I don't expect it to last for many years but it's survived one and, given how much it cost, has been worth it already.

What everyone says about drawers. I only have a shallow 30cm base unit and a 40cm one in the island unit that hve shelves insead. Everything else, including cup/glass cupboard and the larder, is drawers.

My other lesson learned is that I hate the island unit. I wish I had waited and thought harder about whether I could have a breakfast bar thing instead.

Oh just the thread for me.
My oven packed up last week and while I was bemoaning the state of the (28 years old) kitchen , DH said well if it's not going to last forever we may as well do it sooner rather than later.
So I am at square one.

So glad the thread might help you thecat any questions you will find one of us who has had the same problem. I agree it is such a big investment in time, money and I avoided so many mistakes just be listening to others.

i'm at the beginning stages of planning the new kitchen and my head is twirling. we've a big south facing kitchen with a larder cupboard already built into the house and we've just had delivered a massive dresser which gives us loads of storage already.

we're getting shot of a bright yellow aga style range and getting rid of the pale blue units and walls. we've already got solid oak flooring which I really like so we're keeping but trying to figure out where the hell to go from here.

I've had a couple of designers around but to be honest there isnt' anything clever to be done - we just need a run of units against one wall and an island in the middle as we currently have jack all work surface space (seriously the kitchen is 8m x 4m and the work surface is about 2msq in two different areas) and also to put the bins in.

interested in why the pp said they wished they did't have an island?

thinking of going for a grey painted kitchen (i'm done with colour after the above) with an oak worktop but worried that it might still be too woody with the floor and the dresser. hate the sound of granite so that is a pretty much no but dont' really know what to do from here.

indecision indecision indecision

Nothing shiny.

Except the Murano glass tiles. Arm and a leg. Bloody beautiful, and wipe clean in a trice.

Can I ask you all a couple of questions..
Where do you keep your recycling?
Over or undercounted sink?
For those of you that have everything put away that don't have Morebeta's fab cupboard where do you put the kettle, coffee machine, bread bin and toaster?
thanks

This is a fantastic thread as we're planning our new kitchen at the moment. We don't have mega bucks but it's only a small room so I'm hoping to get it done for a reasonable (ish) price.
If anyone knows fantastic but not too pricey kitchen fitters round Stevenage way, please do point me in their direction.
Right, now to sit and properly read all your posts for the very useful info!

This is a great thread! I am hoping to renew our kitchen this year!

I wonder if anyone would be able to recommend/give preferences on high street kitchens?
We currently have an MFI kitchen and whilst most of the cupboard base units are fine, I want to replace a couple which are falling apart and I want a new style too. I guess the best/easiest would be to get everything replaced?

Could you replace just one section of your laminate with a granite slab? You could do it for a couple of hundred pounds.

I've recently fitted ikea spice racks to the back of some cupboard doors. I use one for oils and vinegars, another for baking bits like yeast/ vanilla essence/ baking powder etc and one for plastic jars of sweets and sprinkles.

Another thing i've done I'm pleased with is buy easy clip boxes for all the cereals and lunch box fillers.

I've got the sistema 3.25l boxes for all my flours like these but much cheaper at Asda they have a sort of moulded grip one side so are easy to handle when full. I use giant kilner style jars for pasta and dried goods but with flour they are a bit heavy when full.

We brought our kitchen of ebay. Its hand painted solid wood and with corian worktops was £175. We sanded back slightly and repainted in farrow and ball Wimborne white. Its lovely. My dad custom built some open shelves for all my jars and crockery and these have been painted to match.

If you've got time and not a big kitchen there are some fantastic ones to be had on ebay. Go big then you can play around with the unit combination. We had enough for some storage cupboards in our dining room and to fit out a big utility shed.

dontcallmemam - we hid the recycling bin and waste bin in one of the kitchen cupboards. I thought that I was going soft in the head by agreeing to spend silly money on a couple of smallish plastic bins inside a cupboard.

However, I finally have now ditched the big Brabantia bins in a skip yesterday that we had in the bigger kitchen in our old house. I think it was the right thing to do.

MisForMumNotMaid, that sounds like a major bargain!

Whatever we get will probably have to fit the current layout as we recently replaced the oven and fridgefreezer and have integral dishwasher and washing machine. But the cupboards should be standard sizes...

I'm not with the put it all away group.
I cook a lot and my kitchen has to be comfortable and practical. My pans must be hung above the cooker so I can just reach up and pick one. minimalists would hate my kitchen. I did have it all brand new when the house was built 28 years ago though. So all mistakes were mine. For instance I let them talk me out of having everything much higher than standard because I am tall. Nightmare if selling. Hmm I'm still here.

hinkyhonk we had an island and I hated it. Got rid in fact after 10 years. It takes up a huge space and is inflexible even though my kitchen is quite big, about 24 feet square with a slight L shape.
It's kind of divided into 3 areas. A cooking area where all the units are, a sofa and tv area and a big table and chairs with bookshelves. We don't eat in there as I have a dining room but the table still gets used.

My recycling lives in the utility and integral extended store room garage

MoreBeta I think I will have an integrated bin, they are ££ but a free standing bin does take up space. Recycling in the woodshed.

We had a new kitchen put in last year and I spent a lot of time researching what other MNers had done - thanks to all of you whose ideas we pinched!

YY to pan drawers, brilliant idea. I also went for a pull-out larder, which I love. Minimal clutter on worktop - kettle, toaster, breadbin, bowl of fruit plus damned radio so dh can listen to wretched Radio 5 live whilst washing up, everything else goes in cupboards or drawers.

We went for granite worktops and haven't regretted it as they look so beautiful, but we do keep surfaces clear and wipe them over every night. If you have granite, use an e-cloth.

We got rid of our range cooker and went for an induction hob and built in oven and microwave, which I was a bit dubious about (especially the induction hob) but best decision of the lot.

We have a gap between end cupboard and boiler, and tuck our main bin in there, so it can't really be seen. The recycling bin is in the utility room (if I didn't have a utility room then I would keep it in garage). The food-waste bin is under the kitchen sink, we have to lift it out to scrape food into it but tend to empty it into the food waste wheelie bin on a daily basis so it's a tiny bin and doesn't take up much space.

We have a peninsular set-up with a breakfast bar area on far side (it's a kitchen-diner so on the dining side of the room) facing into the kitchen area, which is really sociable as people sit there with glass of wine cup of tea and chat to me whilst I'm cooking, without being in my way. there are cupboards either side of the breakfast bar area (so on the dining side) which house the things I don't use so often eg naice china for dinner parties, table mats etc.

I spent about a year planning and changing my "dream" kitchen, and have ended up with exactly what works for us. I was a bit sniffy beforehand about the "kitchen designer" from the company we bought kitchen from, but he was actually brilliant, had some great ideas about layout, what would work best etc that I hadn't considered. He didn't pressurise us into anything we didn't want or couldn't afford.

dontcallmemam I went for a bin that was in a cupboard but had two compartments one for the 'plastics' and one that acts as a normal bin. I went for this as I wanted underfloor heating and didn't want the bin being heated up and smelling. For me there was not an obvious place to put a free standing bin and I do like the fact that I cannot see it.

Great thread.

I went for black granite it does go smeary and I do dry it so will be investing in an e cloth.

Regrets....

Sink is a bit on the small side and stainless steel and has scratched quite badly already.

Not going for brushed aluminium socket covers, the white plastic ones spoil the effect of the glass splashback

Love...

Induction hob

Glass splashback

Pan drawers under the oven great space saving tip

Recycling bin unit

Not putting anything on the island (e.g. hob or sink) it is a really great food prep area, entertaining surface, breakfast bar LOVE IT

jolly good point about the bin & UFH, it hadn't crossed my mind.

we have wet ufh and a bin on the floor, no problems here. only heated the floor where it was needed, not under units or where bin is