Dream kitchen - what should I have/not bother with?

[DianaBathesInTango]

So my list of must haves is:

Induction hob
Pan drawers
Warming drawer
Spray/hose tap
Two big bins (one for waste, one for recycling)

My list of not sure things are:

Quooker boiling water tap
A larder or larder cupboards

Anything you love/hate/regret having in your kitchen. This is going to be our long term home so I want to make sure I get it right this time.

There's a 'lessons learned' thread for kitchens that's worth looking at - copy and paste what seems a good idea from there into a document to read through ?! ( it's a very long thread )

Sorry on phone app so can't figure out how to post a link !

Thanks, I'll see if I can find it. Would still love to hear anything people have to say though!

I think hobs are a personal taste as I hate induction hobs and would always gave gas. My dream kitchen has-
A range oven, or at least 2 full size ovens as we cook for 10+ regularly.
Lots of kitchen surfaces
Big freezer.
What I actually have that I can't live without
Utility room just off of kitchen
Loads of cupboards.

Tortoise - why do you like the utility off the kitchen? This is something we are debating at the moment. Having the utility door just outside the kitchen will give us space for more units but will we be irritated by it being a few steps away?!

The larder or larder cupboard and the hot water tap would come much further up my list than a warming drawer or pan drawer but then I think it all comes down to personal preference.
How big is your household, or will it expand in future? As that might influence your design.

Definitely go for the hot water tap - it's a game changer!

I don't have a dream kitchen, yet, but here's my list.

Freezer drawers near hob/oven
Dishwasher drawers
Wall cupboards so tall that you can't fit anything on top of them
More cupboard and drawer space than I need
A proving drawer
A cupboard with plugs inside for charging things
A built in way of listening to music

In the (f)utilty of my dreams
A boot rack
A drying cupboard
An extra sink
(Washing machine and dryer)
A drying rack
A laundry chute from upstairs!
Space for my zombie attack supplies.

Does that help?

Think the warming drawer will NEVER be used so get lots of opinions on that. The hot water taps are fantastic but your top priority for clean lines and a fantastic look are storage, storage, storage and lots of uncluttered counter space! Pinterest has some fab ideas but one thing I'll be integrating is a charging station for phones etc that looks really tidy. Also depends if you have kids that may need to do homework etc re a breakfast bar, or other casual seating? And a white enamel sink... just a thing of beauty! But if you take nothing else from this thread AVOID ALL STAINLESS STEEL.... the b*stard stuff is impossible to keep. One splash or dropped cup of liquid and it can be ruined forever. American fridge freezer and utility off the kitchen!!! I have serious kitchen envy OP, what fun you're going to have x

We're not having any more children - ours are teenagers!

I definitely want a larder or a larder cupboard, just not sure which one.
One kitchen designer I spoke to said larders just become dumping grounds and I think that is true of the larder in our old house which is why I am wondering whether to go for larder cupboards this time.

Just been looking for the kitchen lessons learned thread and can't find it. Any clues?

I've currently got a freestanding 40L pedal bin, which is usually 90% full on bin day. As food waste all goes in the compost caddy the bin doesn't smell so just emptying once a week is fine. Am I being silly to have no freestanding bin in our new kitchen and have a little 20L bin inside the cupboard under the sink?

Here's the drying cupboard I long for...

Having a utility room is awesome. You can't hear the washing machine, there's somewhere to dry washing, hang coats up to dry, somewhere to store tools, camping stuff etc. We have a tall larder in ours, so loads of storage.

Get a 3 part in a cupboard bin - rubbish, recycling and compost.

Yes, charging station will be essential! Must put that on our list.

Warming drawer - my friend has one and doesn't often use it for baking but keeps plates in hers so they are always warm - which I love the idea of, I hate cold plates!

I'm not a fan of stainless steel - we also have really hard water here so that shows up terribly on it.

Doitjulia - good grief, I've never heard of such a thing! Think I'll be sticking with my tumble dryer that thing looks fabulous but enormous

But Diana look at all the non tumble dry clothes drying away. You can even dry coats and muddy boots. It's lush!

if I win the lottery it will be top of my list!

I've just had a warming drawer out in. Thought we'd never use it but turns out it's incredibly useful. Not just for warming plates but for keeping meals warms when someone is running late. We use it most days.

2 dishwashers! It's genius as you never have to unpack them just switch between them and when you have loads of people over you get everything clean in one go.

My friends have a narrow pull out larder - I would love one of those!

Omg! Two dishwashers would be amazing
Unfortunately we need lots of cupboard space!

Esmesbees - how deep is your warming drawer?

My kitchen is well below this level, so my only comment us twice as many plug sockets as you think. Also spread them around well, as things have moved around our kitchen we are using different ones from when we first unpacked.

If you are having wall cupboards then get them to the ceiling. Can't stand that dusty dumping ground that always looks messy.

If I re-did my kitchen I'd have plinth drawers as well for all my baking stuff. It's just wasted space otherwise.

YY to double the sockets you think you'll need - and I'd make some of them USB sockets.

Just in the process of having ours fitted out. Full wall of ceiling high cupboards - fridge freezer, larder cupboard with a pull out thingy, larder cupboard with shelves, broom cupboard for keeping the vacuum cleaner and ironing board in and full height wine fridge! Other absolute essentials for us:- One built in full size pyrolitic over, one slightly smaller pyrolitic combi microwave (instead of a double oven) and a warming drawer. Extra wide induction hob, boiling water tap and dishwasher. Everything else is a nice to have (pan drawers etc, revolving corner caddy) but key was loads of storage as I've sacrificed most of my wall cupboards to make it all open plan. Not sure about 2 dishwashers unless you have a large family - 2 of us have a full size and run it once every day or so depending on whether we've cooked much! Plenty of lighting over worktops - we have had LED white lights fitted and the change is incredible.

Oh and we have no bins in our kitchen. We use bio degradable nappy sacks for small amounts of rubbish and they go straight outside to the bin. Everything recyclable goes into the bins outside. I'm afraid no matter how clean people try to keep them they do get splashed and smell.

I have most of the things in your list - three sided larder in a closed up doorway, two ovens, warming drawer, induction hob (will never go back to gas now), hot water tap, filter water tap, two pan drawers, corian worktop and a breakfast bar. Best thing about the larder is no wall cupboards. I love it so much! The only thing i slightly wish I had different is the stainless sink as it needs drying or else the water stains it. Hope you are as happy as I am!