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Kitchens - what did you spend money on that you now wish you hadn't bothered with.

169 replies

AddToBasket · 26/04/2016 21:00

I'm looking at new kitchens. I need to replace pretty much everything.

Just wondering what is worth the cash and what didn't live up to how expensive it was?

OP posts:
AddToBasket · 28/04/2016 17:52

Thanks for all the replies. I have a feeling this thread is going to cost me money not save me some... Grin

OP posts:
Ramona75 · 28/04/2016 18:08

Can anyone lend me £500,000? Just found a big house with plenty of space for a new BIG kitchen Grin hehe

QuiteLikely5 · 28/04/2016 18:14

Can anyone tell me if these boiling water taps are placed elsewhere in the kitchen or are they in the sink in place of ordinary taps?

DontFeedTheDailyFail · 28/04/2016 18:37

In my last house I had a small drinks sink with standard taps plus a boiling water one and the tea, coffee etc to hand.

In my current house its to the side of the main sink with spout letting the ocassional drip into the sink. Plus a mixer tap for washing up etc.

You can get a little drip tray that you fit to a waste connection and have it seperate from a sink.

My current one was a £50 ebay damaged box old model but new bargain.

QuiteLikely5 · 28/04/2016 18:47

Thanks for that, so if I move into somewhere where the kitchen is already nicely done and fitted can I get someone to install one of these taps without much disruption to the sink and work surfaces?

Notagainmun · 28/04/2016 18:51

Would never be without my waste disposal unit. No smelly bins, especially in summer. Had one fitted in both our last houses. Quick and easy and unobtrusive.

greathat · 28/04/2016 21:32

I like my nice deep drawers that I keep all my pans in. Cupboards are annoying

Ramona75 · 29/04/2016 08:38

How much did that cooker cost you MiniFingerz? I could do with one of them, especially on a Sunday when I cook for 14 people once a month! A single oven just does not cut the mustard anymore. Hum, exactly what does "cut the mustard mean?" lol

OneMagnumisneverenough · 29/04/2016 11:02

We have to recycle our food waste - it actually surprising how little there is on a weekly basis.

Ramona75 · 29/04/2016 11:34

OneMagnumisneverenough - Apparently, you can boil up potatoes peelings and feed them to chickens! Zero waste but you need to invest in some chickens first:-)

OneMagnumisneverenough · 29/04/2016 11:41

ha ha - I'd also have to start peeling potatoes... :o

OneMagnumisneverenough · 29/04/2016 11:48

For the whole of yesterday we had the following food waste.

Breakfast, nothing we all had cereal and fruit juice and ate it all.
Lunch, I made packed for everyone, sliced cheese sandwiches, grapes and a Satsuma and juice and a biscuit. A few stalks from the grapes in the recycling and orange peel was disposed off at work/school.
Dinner, I made jambalaya, I had some onion peel and the core of a red pepper. DS1 left a bit of rice that went in the food bin too.
Supper, Apple tart (pre bought) and cream. No waste but half left for tomoorw.

DH had a few cups of tea so a few tea bags in there. DS1 had a banana and DS2 had an Apple so skin and core in the food bin.

That's really not much and that's a fairly typical day. I don't peel carrots or potatoes. There is the odd bit of bread left but I have teenagers so most of it gets eaten as toast.

vvviola · 29/04/2016 11:48

We have the option of recycling food waste, but the collection is only once a fortnight - so the bin stinks in the Summer (we haven't done it but neighbours do, and they hate it).

We had a waste disposal when we lived in NZ and loved it. It's about the only thing DH is insisting on for our new kitchen.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 29/04/2016 11:52

Ours is picked up weekly but we have 2 bins one for indoors for putting the scraps in and one outdoors to put the bags in when full. You could just wrap it up and put it straight in the outdoor bin though. we would get into trouble if there was no food waste to collect as we are not supposed to be putting it in general waste at all. Some people run a compost bin, which the council will supply at a cheap price and some people actually so have chickens!

We can go and get free compost from the recycle centre.

Ramona75 · 29/04/2016 12:23

I'm personally very good when it comes to food waste, I eat everything! But, when your 2 1/2 year old DD decides to leave her dinner, what do you do? Throw it away in the bin (a few pounds wasted), or eat it yourself (a few pounds added) :-)

OneMagnumisneverenough · 29/04/2016 12:27

ha ha Ramona - been there and bought the ticket. it gets better when they get older as their like and dislikes are far more predictable.

However DS1 (15) left some rice yesterday as he didn't like the way it tasted when there was only rice left. Even though individually he likes everything that was in the dish Hmm. Maybe if he hadn't cherry picked all the meat out first he might not have noticed?

limesoda · 29/04/2016 15:30

Another who has redone a kitchen recently and I love:

  • quooker tap
  • 'appliance garage'. Basically a unit that goes all the way to a worktop where most of my appliances live. Means the rest of the worktops are really tidy.
  • Ella's kitchen company storage unit. I can't link right now but it makes me SO happy.
  • beautiful tiles. Fitting them nearly broke me, and some people hate tiles, but they are a thing of great beauty.
  • a drawer for the amp, charging cables, my laptop. Keeps the crap off counters.
-USB socket on the island.
  • decent speakers. Not the tinny ones in the ceiling, proper speakers with a subwoofer (hidden under kick boards)

No real regrets yet, but I do slightly wish I'd opted for a better quality hob. The one we have is absolutely fine though so I'll cope.

freshprincess · 29/04/2016 15:36

I wish so much that I'd had the integrated bin cupboard option.
I bought a gorgeous simple human hands free sleek gorgeous bin which looked perfect in my kitchen for about a week. Now amount of scrubbing will get the dried on yoghurt/porridge/random brown stuff stains off it.

Love the idea of a charging drawer for phones and stuff.

gottaloveascamhun · 29/04/2016 16:18

Oooh 2 dishwashers! Amazing idea!

EmGee · 29/04/2016 16:51

Contrary to other PPs, I like my full size integrated fridge. It rarely looks stuffed and the top shelves are usually empty which is handy for when I need to put in something big e.g. a lasagne dish with leftovers, or storing cold dishes when entertaining.

I also have one of those shelving units (in a corner) with a louvered, sliding door thing (goes up and down) - it's near the kettle so I can keep all cups, coffee, tea etc in it, and also space for toaster, food processor, odd jugs etc. It also has three sockets so I keep my phone charger in there. So handy to pull down the 'door' when I want the kitchen to look tidy/uncluttered.

I wouldn't spend much on a microwave unless you use it for cooking. I have a combi-type one but all I've ever used it for is microwaving or defrosting.

I have no wall units (apart from an end-wall unit which houses the oven, microwave and fridge, and above louvered-door unit. It also has drawers under oven for storage.

Everything else is drawers - larder drawers, big drawers under hob for pots, pans etc. Also have one one those pull out spice drawers - great for spices, oil etc.

I love the drawers!!!!!! They are so, so easy.

Also have a small cupboard (under the breakfast bar) which is where I keep cutlery and everyday crockery - ideally placed near the d/washer so very quick to unload and store clean things.

I have an open-plan kitchen so planned it for everything to be hidden away for a minimalist look. But I am lucky to have a 'second' kitchen/utility room - just off the kitchen which is fitted out with a larder cupboard and a long worktop with drawers underneath. I use the slow cooker out here.

I opted for a basic cupboard under my sink rather than the 'drawer to house bins' option. This is because I don't mind a free-standing tall Brabantia bin and i can move it around as needed. And I just have a big shopper bag in utility for recycling.

AddToBasket · 29/04/2016 17:23

Good point about microwaves. Can't really get excited about them.

OP posts:
JsOtherHalf · 29/04/2016 17:29

I keep debating getting another freestanding microwave to put on top our original one.
I do lots of veg in ours, and have to rotate them in and out of the microwave at various points, so they are all ready at the same time.

PussCatTheGoldfish · 29/04/2016 17:44

I don't regret any of it! But it was a long time coming so I had it all planned out.

Our is quite modest: IKEA units, IKEA £35 worktops, integrated dishwasher, wine rack. All of it has stood the test of time and would look new if I tidied up.

We splashed out on underfloor heating (best thing ever), ceramic floor tiles and sparkly glass splashback and upstands. Worth the money IMO.

I economised on under cupboard and kickboard lighting, £30 on Amazon for a 5m strip of colour change LEDs. Cheap but I love them too!

PurpleCrazyHorse · 29/04/2016 17:53

Things I love about our kitchen:

  • induction hob: so easy to clean
  • extra shelves in base units: found one in the understairs cupboard left by the previous owner, it gives me an extra shelf in the baking sheets cupboard, which is so useful. Would like to get more.
  • thin larder cupboard: looks bespoke to fit in the gap, but is a really good use of space.
  • double plugs everywhere: gives us loads of options over where to put stuff

Things to watch out for:

  • make sure you can get the plug out (and new plug in) when replacing appliances. Our dishwasher was impossible to replace without cutting the plug off and fitting a new one!
Girlwhowearsglasses · 29/04/2016 18:57

I would have a pantry and a little hand wash sink (like in restaurant kitchens) I get so pissed off with people washing hands after chopping up meat or something and shaking it all over the place.

Taps with proper filters on the end so the water doesn't splash back at you. (OMG have you seen Vola taps?)

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