New kitchen ideas

[Newkitchenideas1]

So we have just had the money through to start building our kitchen diner extension and I’m beyond excited as I have a pokey 60s kitchen so can’t wait to have a nice one to enjoy!
So far all I know that I want is:

Hot water tap
Double fridge freezer (if poss)
Dishwasher
Induction hob

What have you got that you love or what would you do if you could change yours?

If you head over to the property board, you'll find loads of great kitchen advice on there.

Good idea, maybe I will get my post moved!

I'm in the process of looking at new kitchens too, fed up with my horrible old one, especially having to root around in the back of cupboards to get to things. So top of my wish list is storage solutions, things like pan drawers, pull out larder cupboards and those funky swivelly pull-outs for corner cupboards

Pan drawers are definitely on my list - how could I forget those have wanted one of them for ages!
I want to try and get to some showrooms as looking online gets a bit much lol I would rather go and see a physical kitchen put together and play with the draws etc and see how it all feels. It’s a bit of a mind field isn’t it

I love a sofa in a kitchen. It makes it a very sociable room.

I would love that to Madmary but sadly we won’t have room once we have a large table in there. We will have a tv on the wall and an island with stalls so it can still be sociable but just not as comfy lol

This is a brilliant thread for kitchen planning: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1554664-The-MN-lessons-learnt-kitchen-thread

We've just planned and bought a kitchen. On my wish list were:

• pull-out larder
• two ovens (one of which also can double up as a microwave)
• lots of pan drawers
• two sinks
• dishwasher
• as much counter space as possible (meant we went with the extra fridge in larder/utility instead of 2 fridge freezers in the kitchen in order to free up additional counter space)
• good lighting (under-cabinet, over island, etc) that is dimmable for different moods
• tons of electrical outlets (think about where you want to put all of your existing appliances and then add a few extra for things like occasional use appliances, phone chargers, etc)
• kitchen island with social L-shaped seating around one end
• 80cm flexible space induction hob
• hob on the island so i can see what's going on whilst I'm cooking
• super wide shallow drawer for spice storage

Pull out larder is one to look at so thank you for that!
I will swing by that thread too.
We were going to have the hob on the island but have recently decided to move the sink there because we are having a vaulted ceiling so would need to get a fan that’s fitted within the island and comes up when on and we weren’t keen on the ones available plus the extra cost at having it installed that way. Ideally we would have done it the same way as you.

Electrical outlets is definitely on the list, we did this in the bedroom too although they never get used

Definitely go and have a look around some showrooms. If you're Yorkshire or Midlands, DIY Kitchens is a great place to look at, lots of Mumsnetters have used them. They've got a big showroom in Pontefract and lots of storage solutions to play with! They also have units from some of the big kitchen places e.g. howdens, ikea, so you can see the difference in quality.

We are South East so quite far to drive sadly. We do have some good showrooms around here, we have been to wren and we have a local bespoke kitchen place which we will pop to as well to try and get a feel of what will work best. What I need is a real life mock up of my order

We love our induction range and also very pleased we upgraded the standard on offer dishwasher for one with more place settings. We don’t have masses of worktop but we don’t regret the huge fridge freezer and we have an island on wheels which I am really happy with as a fixed island would have been the wrong call for our space. Also I don’t regret keeping it all very neutral - grey and white, and using art and accessories to add colour.

Our first kitchen plan doesn’t include a double fridge freezer but I am insisting on it being revisited with a new kitchen designer! We will be getting an induction hob but double oven (one usable as a microwave).
The island on wheels sounds like a good idea, do you often move yours around?

I think I read somewhere that you can't use the microwave if you've just used the oven. you have to wait for it to cool down. I'm always needing to shove stuff in the microwave so a separate one is probably best for me, if that's the case. Planning an extension at the moment so the link upthread is really handy.

What style kitchen are you thinking of OP? Are you thing sleek modern or more traditional?

We pull out the island on wheels if we are baking together, if we have people visiting or if I am cooking a big meal. Otherwise it is pushed towards the wall so still accessible as somewhere to sit but just less space around it.

We have a little built in microwave in wall units which is fine for us, but we don’t use a microwave too much.

We have a microwave/oven and use them together I’ve never waited for it to cool.

I'm planning a new kitchen too and have pored over the lessons learned threads!

I will have:

• double door fridge with freezer drawers under
• boiling water tap
• spray hose on main tap
• massive sink to hide washing up in and fit oven trays in, plus tiny extra bowl
• big drawers for pans and utensils
• hob on island (OP you might be able to have a Westin stratus ceiling extractor, Westin say they work with high ceilings as long as the extractor is at the highest point)
• pull out next to hob for oil, salt, soy, most used spices etc and for oven gloves and chopping boards
• crockery drawers with peg holders
• larder cupboard with lots of internal drawers and racks on the back of the doors (was going to have small walk in pantry but decided I prefer this)
• undermount sink, draining board will be recessed into the worksurface not just grooves
• laundry machines are going elsewhere
• Still deciding on separate microwave vs combi micro/oven
• breakfast bar for 4 (to solve the current squabbles)
• charging drawer for phones etc
• built in split bin
• "misc drawers" for all the non kitchen stuff that lives on the kitchen surfaces at the moment eg vitamins, DDs' hair stuff, my handbag, sellotape, paperwork

I did want a tv to watch if I'm cooking on my own but realised I can just use iPad instead.

Thanks superam that's good to know. Might be dependent on the make? I'll look into it as trying to decide what to do myself. Also swithering about getting a rangemaster versus just double oven built in. Then thought two double ovens, one with microwave might be good.

MsForestier we are going for Matt handeless, we were toying with the LUCA one from DIY kitchens but we need to get a design sorted - we have one from wren but I’m not overly happy with it.
We have chosen a limestone floor but dp isn’t sure whether it will work with the kitchen units, I think it will!

Great list mini when I’m back from the dreaded softplay I will look over it again and see what ideas I can pinch

That seems like good sense copa I like the idea of maximising the space when the island is not needed!

Newkitchen have you thought about going for a German kitchen if you're going the matt handleless route? Ours is a Next 125 kitchen (Schuller's upmarket line) and they have loads of options.

I think it will work with those units newkitchen. wishing you all the best with your planning. I'm just at the beginning of the process!

linguaphile
When we originally started planning our extension two years ago we actually found one we liked in Homebase and that was German, we might have to revisit that.
I will google your range also.

Thank you MsForestier it still seems like a way off yet, ground works haven’t even started but they will be soon so that’s good.
Good luck to you too, hopefully you won’t have to wait as long as I have lol

We got a Rangemaster and it is cavernous. It was partly to make the room look a bit more homely and partly because we have such a popular kitchen type we didn’t want to go the whole 2 oven hide and slide thing as well as everyone has them at the moment. But mainly because I think they are fab!

So they are good quality Copa? They certainly look the part. I'm thinking cottage kitchen so was thinking more range as a cooker.

They are very solid and good quality. The side oven is very quick to heat up and has got loads of shelves so we tend to use that day to day. And then use the bigger oven if we need different temperatures or for entertaining.