Kitchens! What do you wish you had/hadn't done when you got your kitchen done

[Legoless]

Just planning ours. Two sides of a room (wider than a galley but not wide enough for a centre island). Dining table is in another room which is attached so you can chat to people when they are at it but does not eat into kitchen space, but washing machine and dryer and boiler are all in kitchen.

I had a spray tap that came out on an extendable hose, that I miss still, 5 years on. I'd definitely get one of them again.

I love my big pan drawers

Wouldn't have a wine rack again - impossible to get the dust out

REally appreciate the lights under the wall cupboards rather than having to rely on light being behind me when I work

I went to work leaving kitchen fitters fitting cabinets and when I returned I found I could not reach the top selves in wall units. I am not very tall and had told them not too high before I went. I was not happy. I had to buy a step to stand on.

I have that problem toocaringcarer
I also love the pan drawers I have two one either side on my stove. One has pans in two drawers top drawer has foil, parchment paper, special paper for the hot plate etc the other set has cutlery drawer, two drawers with baking tins, cake tins, sieves, colanders etc.

I have a baking cupboard which has fold back doors to the work top which houses my Kenwood so I just have to pull it forward instead of struggling to lift it onto the work top because the doors fold back you don’t lose the worktop space. You could have a pantry cupboard instead. Mine is a bit ofboth as I keep sugars, flours etc on the shelves above the Kenwood. The drawer under this cupboard is double width and I keep all the baking things like rolling pins, cutters, scissors etc and I love it.
I also have lights underneath and they are great in winter in particular.
My kitchen is L shaped and I have a kitchen table in it and a dresser on the back wall. We had it made last year and I don’t think there is anything I don’t like. They did three drawings and really worked with us to get it right.

I have a tall appliance cupboard, one appliance per shelf. I merely open the cupboard and take out the appliance I need, no fighting other things, no bending down to find the right one, no appliances cluttering work surfaces.

Pan drawers
A deep cupboard or drawer for the bins
Double oven

@Bowerbird5 your baking cupboard sounds great! Do you have any photos you could post?

Full length larder style cupboard is amazing - induction hob is not

blondie which induction hob did you get, useful to know what you don’t like about it, I will be changing from gas hob

Thanks

@ludways I would love to see a pic of appliance cupboard, or something similar from online if that is outing

I wish I had specified more of the deep drawers, they are brilliant and hold some much more than cupboards.
I wish I had thought more about the storage of food. As the kitchen was a new extension, I could have had a proper larder constructed, but I didn't even think about it at the time.
I really love my dedicated wine/drinks fridge as it saves space in the fridge proper.

My ex husband was a skinflint and we did the kitchen on the cheap in 2008. It had to be replaced last year, it looked so shabby and plasticky. What a false economy! So my general advice would be to buy the best you can afford.

@caringcarer , ours did exactly the same but I'm 5'8! Even 6'2 DP struggles to get to the very top.

I have 19 drawers in my kitchen and I love them.
I also love my induction hob, it is an unusual make, Gorenje by Stark and very happy with it.

Pan drawers and more pan drawers. Pull out larder cupboard, wine fridge, tap with pull out hose. Eye height cupboards. My normal cupboards piss me off. Dishwasher near sink.

We have no drawers except huge pan drawers. I'd have drawers. I'd have lights under the cabinets. I'd have a tall thin cupboard to put brush and mop and ironing board away. We don't have enough plug sockets I'd have USB ones.

I’ve got steps for my kitchen and my 6ft husband has to use them too

I have a breakfast cupboard with 2 big drawers underneath. It houses the kettle, toaster. Coffee, tea, mugs, bread and cereals. This gives easy access to breakfast stuff and keeps the surfaces free.

That reminded me, when we replaced the kitchen in my previous house, the salesman suggested getting 'taller' cupboards, but neglected to mention that he wasn't thinking they needed and extra shelf - he just seemed to presume we had a lot of tall things, rather than actually wanting to be able to store more in the cupboards - so that's worth keeping in mind, that the cupboards have sufficient shelves.

Oh, and make sure there are lots of sockets.

@SomeonesRealName that is genius re tall cupboard - we have nowhere for ironing board or mop or hoover. Never thought of having a cupboard for them in kitchen!

My appliance cupboard is similar to this but for the most used, have only one appliance per shelf to make to easier. I'm a lazy sod so not making it easy would mean more work, lol

It you Pinterest appliance garage there's loads of ideas.

I have the tall thin broom cupboard too but very annoyingly I can't get the ironing board in it. I also have a plug tower with usb which pops up out if my work surface. Only about £40 from screwfix and so convenient.

Your kitchen sounds amazing @ludways

If you like sleek looks, then make sure you out wiring for any sound systems in the walls. If you don't have one yet, then do it and they can stay hidden behind the plaster board.

If I had time again I would have installed tiny ceiling speakers in.

Now I had to buy wifi speakers to connect to the sound system and they cost a fortune. Works really well though. If they had been wired, would have cost a fraction

I don't mind the high cupboards ; I use a step ladder and keep rarely used things on top shelves.think about what you need to accommodate first eg brooms/ big saucepans/ trays/ spare food etc and design your drawers and shelves around that eg mugs/ tins of tomatoes etc are not tall and shorter shelves are more convenient. I would have loved a proper larder but it wasn't possible. Ps you will never have enough storage space.

Full size free standing fridge and full size free standing freezer, pushed next to each other so they look like an american type side by side fridge but are actually separate and have loads of room. I have so much freezer space it is amazing! Also a tall cupboard for vacuum, mop, brush, dustpans, ironing board and washbaskets!