Those small Kitchen details that are worth the extra expense ?

[molesbreath]

Just about to finalise my new kitchen and I don't want to think I have missed anything.

What do you love about your kitchen and what could you not live without ?

Budget is big at around 80K - what 'toys' would you add ?

popup sockets in the island : you can just about see them on my picture .... it pulls up to have 3 sockets that take cake mixers and juicers but mostly phone chargers and vanishes when not in use

scrimper 2 dishwashers means never having dirty crockery hanging around when a dishwasher is full and running . Also obviously great when entertaining for getting everything cleared into them as the meal/evening progresses.

Second vote for pop up sockets on island, I think they look much better than sockets on the end panels.

I can't really join in a conversation about an 80K kitchen, but my tuppence worth is - get one a magic corner unit - fantastic way of getting use out of odd corners.
And insulate down the sides of your oven (saves energy)

I love the idea of employing a chef :)

Holy shit - I don't even have room in my kitchen for a full-size kitchen sink, never mind one dishwasher, never mind two!

Forget a warming drawer, with an 80k budget get an Aga. I'd recommend an electric one, dual control is what I'm getting when we move house next year. Best bit of kitchen kit ever

I know someone with an appliance garage and I am very jealous of it.

My tip would be to make sure there is no gap between the top of the wall units and the ceiling - avoid having nasty grease sitting on top of the units collecting dust.

Oh and I would love to have an oven where the door slides into it rather than just pull out as I have v short arms and hate putting things in and out of the oven as it's such a stretch! Obviously, if you have longer limbs, this may not be on your wish list!

I really want the op to have one of these.
www.lacanche.co.uk.

The new quooker is nice. Its an all in one tap so boiling, hot and cold.

A drinks sink. A second sink slightly away from the main cooking triangle where guests/ DH can get a drink without getting under my feet. Particularly good at busy times of year like Christmas when the house is full.

A second fridge for wine/ drinks. Not a wine fridge that costs loads and is hard to put anything in but wine. A proper fridge that you can fit your overspill catering in when entertaining and extra drinks which again guests don't need to enter your cooking zone to get to. (Bit of a theme with me, don't enter the cooking zone)

Combination steam oven so you can steam then brown food.

Easy pull out stool somewhere so you can reach those high up things - you can get under plinth ones that pull out.

Up and over doors are great for seeing what you've got in and from a safety point of view.

Loads of sockets.

A lighting designer to ensure all your task areas are well lit but you can also create mood lighting with maybe subtle plinth lighting.

If I could afford £80K for a kitchen I think I'd employ a cook housekeeper for a year or two. And keep the kitchen I've got.

American fridge with ice making - wouldn't be without it, it's my favourite thing eyes fridge lovingly

I am now googling quooker or however you spell it.

Underfloor heating means more room in your kitchen and is great. The right lighting is soooo important. Another must have for me is lights under wall cabinets so you don't have to have ceiling lights on.

Good induction hob
Quooker

Wouldn't go for built in coffee maker they're a pita, waste of space & usually awkward to reach. Select exactly what you like in table top version instead

Also would avoid separately cut bowl holes if you have double sink. The strip of granite between ours is a constant puddle. It gives me the rage! Really miss my old double sink mounted in one cot-out.

we have two dishwashers - sometimes works- sometimes means you have two full dishwashers to unload/to wash.

we have a huge sink (rather than a double) - big enough to put in oven trays etc fully - i love it.

I wish we'd had a warming drawer and steam oven.

Larder/Pantry

I think I'm in the wrong budget section, but in my kitchen I adore having the freezer under the fridge in my fridge-freezer (incredible number of models which are the other way round, why??), my pull-out larder (but the slim size so you can easily reach both sides, the full-width ones are a pain), and my very 90s, very lovely hanging rails for all the kit I can hang on them. And the metal shelves for all the stacking kit. And my laundry cupboard - ironing in the top basket, dirty washing in the bottom basket, next to the washing machine.

crossandcrosser my parents have a Lacanche and it sucks. Well ok, it's good in some ways but there are two very annoying things about it 1) the burners range from large to enormous so it is very difficult to cook anything gently and 2) if you want to light a burner you have to hold the knob in for ages or it will go out again.

They also have a double dishwasher (2 dishwasher drawers) - but they only really use one.

OP, on my list would be:

• Beautiful joinery, so the doors are never wonky and the drawers never stick
• Underfloor heating
• Built in (and ideally artfully concealed) plug sockets in lots of places
• Pull out drawers for pans, crockery, glasses, larder items - everything really, so there is no rummaging around at the back of a shelf
• In the same vein, built in cutlery/drawer dividers so there aren't loads of misc items rattling around in drawers
• Large fridge freezer (Fisher & Paykel do the best IMO)
• Have your laundry somewhere else in the house
• 2 or possibly 3 sinks
• Built in bins (but make sure they are big enough, many aren't)
• A TV that I can watch while I cook.

Make sure you build in a place for all the non strictly kitchen stuff that still ends up in the kitchen - laptops, phone chargers, paperwork, batteries, stamps etc - to avoid surface clutter. If you're feeling really clever you can build in appropriate internal plug sockets/holes for the wiring (so that for example your laptop or phone can be charging in a cupboard rather than out on a surface).

If you've a big house and you're rewiring...

Tv/ satellite points

Internet points - several by any breakfast bar/ table plus at the place you'd cook. I did this in my last house that had thick stone walls and the broadband didn't reach all corners. It was really useful. Great to sit the DC researching their homework at the table whilst I could cook and mumsnet.

I had a Lacanche range & sold it on eBay. It came with the house & the thermostats went in both ovens. No one could replace them & I ended up threatening one appliance repair business with the small claims court. Induction hob with a separate wok burner, a normal oven & a combination oven. My kitchen isn't big enough to have two ovens and a microwave without sacrificing too much storage space.

We have an induction hob in the island and separate gas wok burner, also an electric teppan grill on the wall units. The Teppan plate is great when I use it but I have to admit that doesn't actually happen very often . I wouldn't change it but it's the second dishwasher and boiling water tap I wouldn't be without.

Number one thing in any kitchen of whatever budget............ Correct height work tops for your height. I assume at £80K the cabinet manufacturer offers multiple heights as a standard.

Well my budget was a lot smaller but I'm really happy with my side by side fridge freezer with ice, my wind fridge, my pop up socket (with usb ports), my built in bins and my lovely custom made glass splash back.

Ooh and my ivory fantasy granite (we couldn't get Kashmir white either, but I actually prefer the ivory fantasy anyway)

A wind fridge Marmitelover? Does your DH like to store his

Lol!! Wine fridge

I have a wine fridge.

...the veg, milk etc are all allowed to share, as long as they don't take up too much room & don't complain about the lower temp