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.

Dream kitchen almost completed. 1.5 sink overmounted unto white quartz with posh fangly taps. No quooker though! Amtico floor with UFH which almost didnt happen as i was trying to save money on the wrong things until builder made me realise that bathroom, porcelain and cold are a bad mix. Have more drawers in kitchen than I know what to do with which is just as I dreamt, having had the tiniest cluttered not fit for purpose kitchen in old house. Have yet to decide about bins but now have a couple of ideas of where to situate it. Went for breakfast bar rather than island, and even though it was a last minute decision I love it as it breaks up the open plan living nicely and will allow DD to do homework whilst I cook. Or at least in my fantasy!

Just want to move in and actually start using the space now but still have splashback to fit and pantry finished and new back door to go in. Off to Ikea next week for inserts galore so thanks for the tip

My tip is don't ignore light design and invest in fittings. I basically had a light score designed for the whole house and kitchen was no exception. Functional, task lighting and ambient light should be factored in from the beginning. Also think about where sockets are to go in advance to save cost of moving them later if they break feature sight lines like splashback for example.

And don't be afraid to source goods online!

We had our kitchen remodelled a couple of years ago now and I love it. Only problem is the cupboards above the build in oven and fridge freezer which we use to store all the usual kitchen equipment, mixers, pie dishes etc. Because I'm only 5ft 2 it's a pain to get things in and out so they're constantly a mess with things just rammed in any old way! Any ideas on how I can organise them better would be gratefully received

Can you just organise your cupboards to keep things you don't need very often there? I'm quite short too so my high over-the-fridge cupboard contains pie dishes, salad bowls, a steamer and the salad spinner. So things that i do need to be able to get to, but not stuff in daily use.

One really good piece of advice we got from our kitchen designer wss to think about how we used the utility room as well ( which we didn't have redone at the same time). We now carry our large, dirty saucepans, roasting dishes etc into the utility and let them soak behind a closed door.

We happen to have an enormous sink in our utility room, and should have thought about doing this years before but hadn't. It makes a huge difference to the look of the kirchen.

If everything has a place, then (in theory ) everything can be put away !! And if you have space for a junk drawer for anything else (post etc ) then you should be able to keep your new Kitchen looking lovely !!!
:-)

I designed a new kitchen last year. The thing I love the very very mostest about it is the double full sized sink in stainless steel. I can't imagine how I ever managed without it.

Anyone any thoughts on wicker storage drawers like these? I love how they look but are they practical?

Another question. Can you fit an Ikea Belfast sink to non-ikea kitchen units? Specifically the Domsjo double bowl one.

Re the ikea sink, we did this with the previous model of it. But the current ikea Metod range since 2014 is a different size and the units are at I think 4 cm deeper than standard ones.

My worry with the wicker baskets would be dust/grease, I imagine they're not that easy to clean.

But if you love them, life's too short not to have things you love.

Wicker drawers are OK actually if you like the look. We had vegetables in the lower one and all the tupperware in the top one in a previous house. Only the handle/rail at the front tends to get dusty and that's easily wiped.

I read your original thread! Gave mge some great ideas. Am hoping for re-fit to happen mid/end Nov, just awaiting final plumbing quotes, also having boiler replaced.

I have had to think really carefully about space, as kitchen is TINY. Thanks to your thread, I made sure I will have: for space -
pull out larder, pull out bins, one wall cabinet all the way down to work surface with plug socket inside. I even took out a base unit for the cats litter box to slot into. Then looks wise, no tiles anywhere, I've planned glass splashbacks in all the places wall tiles would normally go. Either vinyl or rubber flooring, (can't decide, anyone have experience of rubber?) all one piece, so no joins. Undermounted sink, with grooves in the worktops for a draining surface, composite, not granite with a satin finish, not gloss so I hopefully won't need to dry it off religiously. Units themselves are framed slab, so no grooves for stray drips to lurk in.

The tip about checking appliance costs online was ace, (as were they all) and the supplier matched the prices.

Also, I went into a v. spendy bespoke kitchen showroom to see what made their kitchens look expensive, and that helped me decide on in frame cabinets and v. small door knobs. And a slightly thinner worktop.

Can't wait to get started!

Great, we're doing the kitchen soon, good to get tips.

We just moved from a kitchen with oiled wood (it was oiled well, no marks) and gas to induction and granite with an island.

I didn't like it at first, but it is growing on me. Would like to get the stuff off the counter top when we redo.

It's also gloss which is the main reason for the change, plus tiles, underfloor heating etc

So much to think about, feel like my kitchen preferences have been challenged by the new one. (except the gloss, that is going)

We're in the middle of it with a wall down but kitchen not being fitted til mid Nov. I'm most excited by the ,kick board drawers we're getting & looking forward to the neff cookers.

Units to,the ceiling & thinking of mirrored splashback

So, folks that took a wall down and had a new kitchen fitted, how long did that take? Particularly if plumbing and gas/ electric points also had to be moved around.

What are the views on the hanging lampshade type extractors?

Nice or annoying. There's one here which is driving me nuts as I keep hitting my head but not sure whether to remove or just raise.

The handyman said they were worth a lot so googled and was :0 at it being £800 and having some design award in Elle Deco. Made me think a bit differently about it, but still I don't love it.

If you don't love the hanging ceiling extractor, maybe flog it and put the cash towards one that doesn't get on your tits? I think it would annoy me - they look faffy to clean. I like things that slot away in kitchens, so am having a Neff telescopic one. It's not a statement or anything, but my kitchen's not really big enough for statements...

Think I've decided to go with the rubber floor from The Colour Floor Company.

Agree. And just had an architect round who made me feel better by saying he didn't like it either. Will get the guy to take it down.

Think I have decision-fatigue and only just beginning with (a mountain of) house stuff. Floor sounds good.

Agree if you don't like it get rid. I'm not getting flooring that most would choose-going for wood as we love it.

Wall down, over 3 months from 1st day early Aug til kitchen in mid Nov & granite tops & finishing prob end of Nov.

I'd say pick things sooner than later-I've got fed up making decisions-one if the things I've just picked is pendants for the island, (had ordered some months ago in sale & they look too small now), so made a rush decision that's £££ & im not entirely sure about them! Also sockets & switches to order here & cant pick even though there's little difference in them all!

Can recommend a combo of the one ring portable Ikea induction hob, actifry & slow cooker if you've not got an oven for months though

Thank you for the new thread. The first was a big help in the initial stages of planning our kitchen extension. I'm all set to have lots of drawers, a good length of work surface, under cupboard lighting and have planned a place for everything as best I can. Big dilemmas now are do we have engineered wood or a good laminate floor? Gas or induction for the hob on my Rangemaster?

@chipmonkey - I have a similar rattan basket on the floor, which is supposed to be used for things like onions. The trouble is, that they leak bits all over the place.

Anyone have solutions to my current problem areas;

• bread and bread type products currently over flowing the bread bin with jam, martmite etc contributing to the mess
• onions, potatoes and bananas currently in a bowl on the side
• oils and everyday cooking condiments,
• kitchen roll

-chopping boards, trays and pot stands

And if anyone has a solution for toys in an open plan kitchen I’d be really grateful too!!