New Kitchen must haves

[Sunisshining12]

Just about to embark on a new kitchen. House has been extended on the back so the space is all empty. What are your must haves? And things to bear in mind?

Never bought a new kitchen before!

American fridge/freezer or built in FF?
Hot water tap - good or a useless gadget?
Range style oven vs eye level?
Any other ‘gadgets’?
Worktop/stone advice
Flooring type

Thanks

@BIWI lovely kitchen and I really like hague blue, can i ask if it has a grean/teal tinge? I have bought a tester and looks slightly teal in some light.

To echo pretty much what everyone else has already said:

1. boiling water tap: we went for a Perrin and Rowe as opposed to Quooker, and it was definitely worth the money. I was worried the temperature would be luke warm (I like my tea to take the skin off the roof of my mouth! ) but is brilliant.

2. built in bins

3. the biggest sink you can manage. And no ‘half’ bits or rinse areas. Personal preference here, but I like just one, big space.

4. a pantry if you have space. Mine is amazing. I’ve had two now and wouldn’t be without.

5. large fridge freezer. I’m going against the grain and I don’t like American style. We went with a huuuge French door Fisher & Paykel with integrated ice maker. It’s fantastic. You have to open the door and scoop out the ice rather than have it dining from the door, but this way the mechanism takes up so much less space. It still had a water dispenser from the front.

6. Water softener. We live in an extremely hard water area so this is a non-negotiable for me. Especially with kids with skin conditions.

My kitchen is lush and I love it. It really is the heart of the home and we are all in there all the time.

We need pictures @SherlocksDeerstalker . Sounds divine

@Humphriescushion - no, no teal or green tinge! It's a very colour-absorbing colour, if that makes any sense?! Definitely just a dark blue

@chopc no, we were told that quartz is really heat resistant. Maybe it depends on the brand, etc but we've had ours a year and always put thing on there straight from the oven. Still looks as good as new

This is mine. My favourite thing is the bookshelves on the island with drawers below so that each family member has a designated drawer for all their stuff, so no more cluttter.

Also have charging sockets in cupboard, pop-up sockets and appliances in a ‘garage’ so no visible clutter.