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Original poster

tips for kitchens

43 replies

Whatwouldagoodmotherdo · 11/01/2018 13:51

am planning my new kitchen and am very interested in your views. What would you have to have, what would you avoid? Not talking the fact I need sink, cooker etc, but really interested in what you did that worked, what you did that didnt work, what utensils or clever tricks you would not be without.... hive mind of mumsnet, please help me

OP posts:

RarelyInfallible · 13/01/2018 00:54

A charging drawer, to plug in phones etc. A cupboard to hide the bins in. Fridge/freezer - we have a huge recess in our (Australian) house, bigger than any American style fridge I could find. So we have a pigeon pair - 2 fridge/freezers facing each other so it looks like one huge unit. Still run out of space sometimes.

Bellamuerte · 13/01/2018 01:12

Be aware of legal requirements if you're planning it yourself and aren't an expert. Minimum permitted distance between oven and sink, no hob allowed in front of a window, distance of cooker switch from cooker, adequate ventilation, etc.

namechangedtoday15 · 13/01/2018 09:57

There is no legal issue with a hob in front of a window. It's not recommended if you have a gas hob but it's not illegal

Original poster

Whatwouldagoodmotherdo · 15/01/2018 10:30

overbyyer what is gas on glass please?

OP posts:

grasspigeons · 15/01/2018 10:42

I don't have that issue with my induction hob. its so easy to clean.

I have laminate - its a good quality one. It hasn't scratched, or heat marked. I picked it because money was a factor for us and everything else looked lovely but not so lovely I wanted to pay for it. I did like corian but I just couldn't get past the cost and stone can look cold/hard. Its wood effect and lots of people genuinely ask if we sand it often. I was quite partial to stainless steel as well.

FluffyWuffy100 · 15/01/2018 11:15

Depends on the value of the house.

I wouldn't put in stone worktops in a £100k house.

Anyway my kitchen has laminate and whilst I wouldn't have chosen it it is easy to clean and actually looks really quite nice!

Do get:
Induction hob (good one)
Pan drawers. Lots of them rather than cupboards.
Built in dishwasher (and WM and TD if they aren't in a utility room). Nothing shouts "i don't care about things looking nice" than a washing machine poking out in your nice new kitchen.
Fill in that stupid dust and grease gap at the top of your cupboards.

MiaowTheCat · 15/01/2018 11:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bluesheep8 · 15/01/2018 18:00

I'd say big deep pan drawers aswell, I had them fitted when we 're did the kitchen at our old house and was delighted to find that there are 3 in the kitchen in the house we then moved to.

Bowerbird5 · 15/01/2018 19:46

It would be a shaker style kitchen and it is a country cottage so rustic would be fine. DH is not good at wiping up spills when making tea/coffee and he seems to do it every time.it is really annoying and I have asked him several times, talked to him and still I go and find it.
At the moment we have a cherry wood kitchen based cupboards, open shelving and a country looking one.we will keep the big dresser and the wall country shelf the rest will go. I think I am just worried it will be such a changed and some of the drawing have been to clinical.
Good to know about the pan drawers as we have two on the plans. The company do a very good job but it is pricier than I wanted so a big decision. Probably not expensive to lots of people. I imagine kitchens have gone up a lot since ours was done.

Bowerbird5 · 15/01/2018 19:54

That was for the thegrumpallo and Ramona.
Fluffy stuffy that's what I have now but this company don't use it😳
Name change that's what I am frightened of especially with messy DH.

YogaDrone · 15/01/2018 20:12

Best things we got were:

Induction hob. Ridiculously easy to clean and definitely no leaking into the drawers underneath. We can also use it as additional work surface space when needed. Ours is a Neff and is very responsive.

Quooker tap. LOVE IT. Instant boiling water has changed my life.

Pan drawers. As everyone else says they are great!

We have a Le Mans in our corner unit and I like it. It's not fitted on the door so it takes up to 40Kg in weight. We also have a pull out cupboard which is great.

Our surface is quartz and it was the first thing I chose in the kitchen - it's matt and not as shiny as granite. It's lovely.

We have Karndean on the floor and I've been very happy with it. Much warmer underfoot than the tiles it replaced!

SaltySeaBird · 15/01/2018 20:20

Our laminate looks as good as the day it was put in 10 years ago. It’s had boiling pans on it, been used as a chopping surface and all sorts. I’m amazed at its durability. We brought it as a cheap solution as we’d run out of money renovating and figured that would be easy to replace a year or two later if we did the rest of the kitchen as we wanted. 😳

walkingdowntheboulevard · 15/01/2018 20:20

Somewhere to put tea towels and trays!

Think about where kettle will go, not ideal to have it below a wall unit.

Cooker, fridge, sink in a triangle ideally.

Get the best cooker, range, hob you can afford.

Bins in cupboards.

Bubbinsmakesthree · 15/01/2018 21:02

YY to:

-induction hob (as good as gas for cooking and soooo easy to clean!)
-drawers and larder units instead of cupboards
-quartz worktops (I chose a speckly pattern which is forgiving of crumbs etc so I am not wiping it down every 5 mins)

Other loves:

-much as I like the idea of not having wall units, I'd rather have the storage. We have standard height units but have mounted them at the height of extra tall ones and have open shelves underneath for crockery - super easy for unloading dishwasher and stacks of plates and bowls don't look messy on display.
-combi microwave oven - I was deeply sceptical but I LOVE ours, I barely use our main oven.

newyearnewname18 · 15/01/2018 21:07

More powerpoints than you think you'll need.

Original poster

Whatwouldagoodmotherdo · 17/01/2018 18:39

more questions: views on quartz / corian / granite / laminates?
do they need maintenance, chip/ scratch / stain?
Have been told granite needs regular sealing or it stains, corian scratches, quartz stains / laminates are thinner than they used to be.... hivemind of mumsnet please give me your best

OP posts:

Original poster

Whatwouldagoodmotherdo · 17/01/2018 18:40

And while I am asking - lighting - where is good to go look for interesting lighting as a feature in the kitchen

OP posts:

NotCitrus · 17/01/2018 18:53

Cupboards or drawers for your main plates, bowls, glasses etc next to the dishwasher. I try to empty mine in 2 minutes while my porridge is in the microwave!
An extra half sink if you can't fit a double.
The details - have an upstand of your counter top material, side panels on your cupboards and on the side of the fridge, to make it all look together.
Think about how you use your kitchen and where people are going to want to stand - I read loads of design theory and we have the Toaster Zone, the Kettle Zone, the Hob Zone, and Food Prep zones. I love my kitchen - only flaw is the cutlery drawer is under the hob, but thanks to lots of other limitations (water only on one side so dishwasher, sink and washing machine had to be on wall) and priorities (I demanded a broom and hoover cupboard), it rather had to be there.

Lighting under the cupboards on the wall was worth every penny. Have lots of lights in the middle too, pointing at the counters.

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