How many sockets should we go for?

[randomthoughts]

I don't want overkill but need enough....
We'll have 2 workspaces of 950mm either side of the hob, so I was thinking a single plus one double on one of these and a double on the other.
Next to the sink we have 1000mm worktop then a 950mm by 1380mm peninsula (so 1950mm against the wall), my plan was for 2 doubles along this length and then a single socket underneath the overhang. Is this enough or should I add another. Main things we plug in are, radio, mixer, toaster, kettle, steamer, coffee maker, milk frother (plus hand blender/electric knife from time to time).
We have bread maker, actifry and slow cooker in the utility and am going to get extra sockets there too.

As many as you can!
You'll soon find things like battery recharging units & phone chargers make their way into the room

You can never have enough/too many power sockets!

But you may need two separate ring main circuits to feed them all.

I'm going to get one double with a USB for the peninsula and I'll ask about whether the circuit can handle another. We're adding a warming drawer and extra oven so the circuit will need to feed them too.

Also any thoughts on white vs brushed steel?

We have a lot more worktop than you (but in a crappy layout that means it’s mostly dead space and corners that aren’t useful to anyone but the microwave or the fish tank!) but we have hundreds over estimate of sockets. There’s 7 double sockets above the worktop and 5 double sockets under but above floor/skirting level, with a further 4 singles and two doubles at that level. There’s at least one double socket above worktop and a single under worktop at either side of major appliances- oven, Aga, sink, dishwasher.

Whilst we don’t use every single socket it is really handy knowing that I can plug anything I need to in in the kitchen. It means I don’t struggle for non-kitchen items like hoover, hairdryer etc if I need them for whatever reason.

Also my favourite thing on the planet is a double socket in a cupboard where I can plug chargers in and not have cables draped across the side! They inevitably end up touching the aga and get melted but now this is no longer an issue! Also handy for things like camera batteries and rechargeable batteries which need to be plugged in but I’d really rather I didn’t have to see them on the side with the rest of the shite!!

Oh and all ours are white- not that we chose them- but I’ve seen brushed chrome etc in friends/family kitchens and they hate them. They get scratched and start to look grotty quite quickly and since they are out of the ordinary by being chrome/brass etc they tend to actually get noticed rather than the white ones which just seem to blend in or don’t quite get noticed so much. Plus I can bleach and scrub the white ones if I need to and they come up looking brand new but the brushed chrome/brass ones don’t stand up to it so well (or at least not the ones I’ve seen).

More than you think you'll need, as you can always find a use for more.

NoParticularPattern

With all due respect it sounds like those were cheap chrome sockets if they scratched and looked grotty so quickly. I put chrome sockets in our last place (we are renovating our current place so not yet got to the stage of replacing sockets) and I spent a good deal on good quality fittings. 7 years later when we moved out they looked as good as the day they were installed.

Im wondering what you do to your sockets where you need to bleach them? I've never heard of this before.

So I think I've decided to go for 3 doubles on the larger surface, with a double under the overhang, which will give us 13 sockets in total (compared to our current 7, one of which is used by the fridge freezer).

Still undecided about brushed stainless steel or white. The kitchen is going to be fairly neutral (alabaster units, blanco city worktops and timeless walls). I'll speak to the electrician tomorrow and see what he thinks.

Oh wow I’m signing out of this thread for the sheer judginess of that post @Humptynumpty02

For the record the chrome sockets that got bashed up and looked grim very quickly were in the last house I worked in- which belonged to a millionaire if you’re interested (probably not!). And I think you’ll find the phrase “if I need to” attached to my statement about bleaching and cribbing sockets. That’s all! Have a lovely day!

Six double sockets.

So sockets are first fixed, 6 doubles (one with USB) and one single on the cooker spur. However I did stupidly forget to tell the electrician the 2m stretch of work top is split between oak peninsula and silestone. The 3 sockets are evenly spaced along the wall, but the middle one will straddle the 2 surfaces. I was planning silestone upstands until the oak starts.

So do I stick with the upstands and hope the misalignment doesn't bother me (hiding it behind the mixer?) or perhaps continue the upstand to the end of the oak surface. I'm really overthinking things now!

Think of a number. Double it.

Thanks Bertandrussell, I've taken the original number of 5 useable ones and upped to 13 (plus 2 new ones in our tiny utility and a bonus external one). Just the (mis)alignment which is bothering me now!

I wouldn't have phone chargers and USB sockets in the kitchen at all. You're just asking for piles of cables and other electrical clutter to shift around every time you need to wipe surfaces.

NoParticularPattern

Millionaire or not, those were cheap tatty sockets.

I have two under the counter by the dishwasher
two over the counter by the kettle
one over the counter by the hob
two in the corner by the microwave
two by the fridge
four by the radiator
three on the island (in a pull up socket)
and four in the utility room

and I still run out

Enough for the kitchen. The whizzy bricks are too expensive to risk splashes, charge them elsewhere.

For me the USB is pretty much essential, I’m already frustrated when DH decides to take over one of my precious sockets. Given it doesn’t take any extra space seems like a no brainier to me. Our house is already lacking in sockets (the original owners obviously didn’t want to pay the extra when the place was built). In my current kitchen had one 90cm worktop with microwave, kettle and toaster (so no space left over, a 1.2m worktop with 3 sockets where I had to have the coffee machine and mixer, but this was essentially my workspace) and 1.1m which had no sockets within reach, so essentially became an area to dump post and party bags! My new kitchen should give around 6.5m of accessible workspace (including around the peninsula) all in reach of sockets -I can’t wait!

I've just finished my kitchen extension - 14 double sockets (so 28 individual plugs!)including 4 USB ports!!