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 ?

following with massive interest.

Soft close doors and drawers are a must. I love mine. Constantly nudging things closed with foot/hip when hands are full.

Hot water tap (we have the Franke all-in-one)

Dishwasher which lights the floor when on (so you never accidentally open and get sprayed) and cutlery drawer not basket

Wine fridge (ours harbours beer and fruit shoots at the bottom)

warming drawer

Gas hob where the wok burner isn't in the middle but at one end (so no jostling pans around the edge)

I researched quiet extractor fans - they get a bit quieter with + price but it's a bit like looking for a quiet vacuum cleaner. The noise is a necessary side effect of its function.

I personally don't like pop up sockets because they look so ugly when they're in use. I don't want a 4-way extension socket standing erect out of my kitchen island thank you!

I love my black ceramic sink. It's gorgeous. And I wouldn't be without the cold water dispenser in my beautiful black fridge freezer.

water softener . walk in pantry. tall fridge and tall freezer both integrated to look like double cupboard. Glazed wooden dresser for complete white dinner service(ie 12 of everything ) to be stored .
Appliance garage/cupboard with mixers / blenders/ bread makers / ice makers etc all wired in ( clearance/ slide outs required for heating products of course ) built in safe . specific task/ time of day lighting . great extractors - ie quiet and efficient ! wood burning stove and comfy seating . marble pasty making area . proving / warming drawers .Sonos sound system. recepie book nook . task specific engraved chopping boards. built in to correct height pet feeding station / bed area .
cupboard and two drawers dedicated to nothing in particular that will get filled with all the crap that you never invisage you will get - but that we all do !!!
.... hope you have invest A LOT of time in the design !!!!

nb - just had mine repainted in moles breath lower - White upper though as have maple worktops !! adding updated photos to my Hou zz page later today !

I want to know all about your kitchen if it cost 80k!

For those (like me) who don't have the space or money for the wine fridge, this might be a solution

The middle section can be a fridge, freezer or wine fridge

OK…OK…OK… I think I might have to confess that £80K is not just for the kitchen units, its the floor (coming in at 10% of budget before fitting) electrics and lighting (will cost what it costs as BIL doing it ) and some plastering of artexed walls, and then we are kitting out the utility / boot room in the same style too

A lot of your points I am already including, but hadn't thought of two dishwashers and tbh I'm not that good a cook to require a steam oven or even a lacanche oven, so maybe I should ditch some of the budget and employ a chef to teach me for a couple of years

Oneplan I love your list and sounds very similar to mine, especially the tall fridge and freezer, after 2 american side by sides that lasted 2 minutes I am so over them. Where and when can I see your page ????

Ive not gone for the built in coffee maker either as we are a cafetiere family still, can't get to grips with all theses 'modern' pods

In terms of the little things, I've got a integrated 'tray' which I'm inordinately excited about and a little built in pump-dispenser next to the sink to deliver fairy washing up liquid

Aha, on that basis, my kitchen and utility room came in at just over £10,000
(plastering, wiring, flooring, utility, appliances, kitchen, fitting, worktops, lights, wiring)

BUT
my only warning to you would be to make sure you can afford to change your mind on things in a couple of years if stuff does not work out

and YY to the chef - there is nothing sadder than a client's incredible £50k kitchen stuffed with toys and the freezer is full of ready meals and the (larder room) fridge covered in takeaway menus

moles it sounds like it will be amazing.
Tell us more; layout, colour, bar stools, gizmos, worktops. It is being made by one of the top designers?

Definitely get a drinks fridge. We've had one for years but have finally replaced it with a proper commercial glass fronted bar fridge. You don't need to keep any drinks beyond milk in the main fridge which means that guests can help themselves without rummaging through your food!

If you are in a hard water area then build in a water filter. Our is plumbed into our main cold water tap.

Sockets - however many you think you need double it. My small kitchen has 10 pairs of double sockets and every bit of worktop can easily reach one.

LED lighting - we have LED strips as under-cupboard lighting and the LED version of halogens in the overheads. I rarely have to switch on the overhead light and its lovely.

Glow in the dark light switch - a weird little thing my DP insisted on but a very soft glow means you can always find it in the dark. Ours is in an odd place but guests can always find it.

Music - we've installed a small Sonos on top of the cupboards so that we can easily listen to the radio/music whilst cooking. Although we have those in every room so it wasn't much of a stretch to put one in the kitchen!

Drinks station - our kettle, coffee machine and the various pods/tea/sugar are out of the main cooking area, in our case on the island between the kitchen and dining area. Hate people being under my feet and this keeps them at bay

Second the Fisher&Paykel DishDrawer. Two dish washers in the space of one. And it comes in black.

We have a double size sink. Means we have a washing up bowl and some where to put a dirty pan at the same time.

Hmmm...... We decided against a pop-up socket. I think they're an impractical gimmick. They look ugly and what people forget is that what goes up must come down and so you have this tall casing having to hang down inside the island, reducing your options as to what goes underneath.

We have our pop up socket boxed in - takes a but of room but so useful and I don't think a gimmick. I plug my mixer in and put it down when not in use. Did have a but of an issue with iPhones always being plugged in to USB ports but have moved those to the new desk.

Our pop up socket hangs down into the back corner of the glasses cupboard so its not in the way
it usually lives half way up but it is in used every single day

Our pop up socket is only up when plugging or unplugging things, once the plug is in you can slide it back down and then just leave enough space for the cable to come through....

If you are spending that much, be very sure that you have the design and layout right, for you to work in, not just following the latest fashion.

All base units to have pull out inner drawers inside. No shelves at all. For your budget they should be dovetail or glass side ones .

Agree with Steam (appropriate name for thread ). Whatever the kitchen designers suggest, think about exactly what motions you go through every single day. I have my glasses and cups above the sink and next to the fridge, also close by is the most commonly accessed food drawer (bread and tea bags and eggs). I barely have to move from 1ft sq to unload the dishwashers into the cupboards and drawers. All very efficient.

Our designers drew our tall fridge and freezer, which stand next to each other at the end of our kitchen, so that they would open from the middle of the two (one to the right but one to the left). That would have been a real hassle, meaning the fridge would be open and the kitchen units etc on the other side of the open door from me (does that make sense?), so I got it changed so both fridge and freezer open to the right, I can load/unload the fridge onto worktop easily etc.

Love my pull out larder. Definitely didn't need illuminated shelves, have never turned them on!!

Even if you don't have a Lacranche I'd definitely go for high end appliances, probably Miele. They make some really lovely big induction hobs, ovens & properly integrated fridges.
Definitely a water softener too.

£80 is still a huge budget even for all of that. our budget is �
£80-90k and is going to pay for:
demolishing our old extension
building a new bigger extension and fitting it with a new kitchen/dining room.

having our ceilings lowered on the first floor.

having a loft conversion from scratch
2-3 new bathrooms/shower rooms
new utility room.
porch built from scratch.

plus having various windows/doors put in and partition walls etc.

your £80k for a kitchen is making me worry we haven't got enough. But quotes seem ok so far.

I'm in the middle of a kitchen refurb. YY to loads of sockets. Never put in a single one when you can put in a double. Im not that keen on the look of some sockets so have gone for these:www.wandsworthelectrical.com/collection/crystal-collection/

I've gone for them in the end of our island unit and not the pop up version. What happens if you spill something down them...? Urgh.

I've not managed to spill anything down our popup socket yet (6 years) and when its down it has a seal around it to its watertight

all of my appliances were Neff graded : top quality, not top dollar.

No heating on the floor where the bin goes - it gets smelly!

A friend has a tea/coffee cupboard with powerpoints and an extractor, and a narrow shelf halfway up to keep teabags/coffee tins on. So she never has an appliance out on the counter that has to live there (gives it a really clean look)

She complains though that the fitter put in the counters at normal height - even though she told him to fit them for her as she is the one that uses them most (2 inches lower and they would have been perfect)

yes to pull out drawers - my folks are considering them (70+) as they can't get down and up again