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Brand New Kitchen - advice please - go to town - no suggestions to big or too small

47 replies

GypsyRoseGarden · 26/07/2020 19:04

I am designing a brand new kitchen - I would love to hear what folks would and would not do again, given their time over. This will be my second kitchen renovation - the first one I hated due to (my) poor design which resulted in not being able to open drawers if someone was at the sink - there was also a lot of wasted space and counters which were unusable

If you have something you can't live without, what is it?
If you have something you wish you hadn't done, what is it?
What is essential?
What makes a kitchen "wow"?
What would make someone walk into a kitchen and "love it"?

So far, I have:

  1. quality appliances (including 6 burner, 36 inch, high end gas stove and oven; wine fridge; under the counter microwave drawer; dishwasher; double door fridge with ice and water dispenser) - and we've got the traditional "triangle" work layout going on
  2. quality countertop (soft grey concrete looking quartz for the bench, and a contrasting white quartz for the island)
  3. big island - 10 feet long - with bench to sit 4 people
  4. loads of storage
  5. layered lighting (kick board, countertop, over island, in ceiling recess)
  6. night lighting
  7. adjacent eating area with 8 seat table with bench
  8. adjacent living area with sofas etc
  9. large pantry with sliding drawers for easy access
10. appliance cupboard to store, use and then hide electrical appliances such as toaster, mixer, etc 11. inbuilt trash, compost and recycling containers

I don't know whether to do:

  • a double or single sink and whether to have a stainless steel sink or white material
  • sink in the island or in the side bench underneath window
  • separate tap next to sink for filtered drinking water
  • what type of storage inside cupboards
  • dishwater in island or side bench

I also am looking for cool storage ideas to make everything neat and tidy

Seriously all suggestions really welcome

OP posts:
GypsyRoseGarden · 26/07/2020 19:07

additionally - if we put in a drinking tap next to sink, we would not get fridge with external water and ice dispenser

if we put sink in island, I think dishwasher needs to go in island (and vice versa)

I picked quartz because I was told its the hardiest of stones and where we are we can get a lot of it "reclaimed" from some closed down industrial sites so it would be more environmentally responsible

OP posts:
GypsyRoseGarden · 26/07/2020 19:10

oh, and the stove/hob/oven we can get in different colors so I am looking at getting it in a bright blue or green (to contrast against the white cabinetry) to make it a bit of a feature/funky - plan on staying in house at least another 8 years

OP posts:
My0My · 26/07/2020 19:16

I’ll say what works for me. I haven’t got anything I would change.

Induction hob. Miele. No gas to clean and I’ve never ever needed 6 burners! I have no gas in my village but my hob is a total dream.

2 ovens. Decent ones. I have one that’s a Miele and it’s wonderful. Both have a grill and multi function. One is pyrolitic cleaning.

2 Fridges and 1 smaller freezer. Really great for entertaining. Better space than an American style one. Mine are all built in.

Ultra quiet dishwasher. The quietest possible. Miele again.

A huge double Belfast sink. Deep and big enough for washing up pans that don’t go in the DW. Second stainless steel sink for veg prep. Both sinks have waste disposal units.

2 built in refuse bins. Recycling and general waste.

Huge island. Round end for dining. Seats 4. One oven, hob and veg prep sink and bins are in the island. When cooking I look out over my garden. It’s wonderful.

Under floor heating. Wine fridge in laundry room! Lots of storage. Built in larder with opening doors. Pan and crockery drawers are vital.

Possibly wish I’d had a Boiling tap but otherwise, after 10 years, still happy.

Duvetdweller · 26/07/2020 19:17

We have a boiling tap that also dispenses filtered water - it’s a franke one. We have 2 warning drawers which are brilliant. Only thing is change in ours is to get a bigger fridge. We have a fridge freezer all integrated into the wall of units and ovens and the fridge is a bit small. Also a steam oven is fab.

My0My · 26/07/2020 19:20

Dishwasher is next to Belfast sink. That is slightly built out from the wall so it has a wide shelf behind it. We don’t have a drinking tap. We just have a filtered jug in the fridge. I might have a filtered tap now.

user1471530109 · 26/07/2020 19:24

I would have pan drawers rather than cupboards personally. Much easier to access everything. I have one cupboard under the counter (a corner one) and it has a swing out shelf which is very useful. Of course the kids overfill it with crisps and crap and when they fall off it's very very difficult to retrieve them....

Everything else you've mentioned is pretty much out of my price range Wink but I do love my kitchen and it works well. I miss my wall to floor larder cupboards from previous kitchen though.

user1471530109 · 26/07/2020 19:25

Oh and I had quartz tops at previous house and the kitchen fitters actually chipped them! They dropped (I'm guessing) a drill or something on it. So I wouldn't say that are that amazingly strong. I was most put out as they had just been installed!

Toomanycats99 · 26/07/2020 19:30

I have a rangemaster which I love
A wide 900mm pan drawer with inner cutlery tray. Holds all my saucepans and the inner tray holds cutlery plus wooden spoons etc. Pull out larders
2 more pan drawers for plates and baking dishes.
Only have 1 cupboard which is a corner one - no fancy pull out bits though as I just use for stuff I do t need to access too often
My wall cupboards are slightly shorter ones so loads of space underneath.
I have a single large sink - room for washing up bowl and then space to the side.
Tap with detachable spray nozzle

intheningnangnong · 26/07/2020 19:32

Sparkling /filtered /boiling tap - wouldn’t want to be without sparkling on tap.
2 dishwashers
Def separate prep sink
Steam oven if you cook a lot
Built in coffee machine that’s bean to cup

WellLetsSayHesSquare · 26/07/2020 19:33

Dont put glass windowed cupboards up. We have them and I hate them. The glass on one knocks into the cooker hood and you can see all the mismatched crockery.

We also have drawers that cant open if the one on the corner is open as they bang handles. That's annoying.

Definitely go for the corner swinging unit thingy if you have a deep corner cupboard. I'm sure there's things in the back of mine I haven't seen for years.

Was here when we moved in and didn't even have a hole for a fridge so we had to rip out he larder cupboard to put it in.

Can't wait until we get a new one.

Good luck op!

Chattercino · 26/07/2020 19:35

I'd recommend two eye-level ovens side by side rather than your rangemaster. I've recently had a new kitchen and they were definitely the "trendy" option, and they are great.

intheningnangnong · 26/07/2020 19:36

We are having ceramic worktops. Hard as nails, doesn’t scratch so you can chop straight on it if you wish. It withstands 1200 degrees so anything can come straight out of the oven on it.

My0My · 26/07/2020 19:41

I agree with side by side ovens. My second one is under the hob due to its width and lack of wall space. Starting from scratch I’d have side by side.

My0My · 26/07/2020 19:42

If I bought a house with a gas range master I’m afraid it would have to go.

Cottipus · 26/07/2020 19:53

We have 3 x sets of big pan drawers and they are great. Got the tip from MN!

Changed out a wine fridge in our original design and instead put in a full height larder fridge. Depends how much entertaining you do I suppose.

Had a galley style kitchen to avoid corners, very pleased we did this as I hated the corner cabinets and flimsy pull out thingies. Also considered shelves over wall units, glad we stuck to wall units, so tidy.

Things I may change again- having contemporary wall units rather traditional in some of the design. Just a bit too high and only one shelf instead of three.
White quartz worktops- they look great but show up every toast crumb and coffee grind. Also stain very easily.
Filing all the walls with units- ended up getting a freestanding bin as well as integrated but there’s nowhere store it so it lives by the french doors.

GypsyRoseGarden · 26/07/2020 20:00

super interesting everyone thank you

@My0My why would the gas range go and what would you replace it with? I find cooking with gas much better than cooking with electricity but maybe I am behind the times?

OP posts:
GypsyRoseGarden · 26/07/2020 20:01

@intheningnangnong never heard of ceramic counter top - will investigate

OP posts:
Imonaplane · 26/07/2020 20:12

@My0My

If I bought a house with a gas range master I’m afraid it would have to go.
This. I had gas for years but now have induction ( Neff top of range). It's so much better in every way. Really quick and controllable and so easy to keep clean. The hob never gets hot enough for anything to burn on. Looks really sleek and modern too. My hob is on a large island with 4 Neff ovens behind. I don't want to be bending down to lift heavy items out of the oven.
ruthieness · 26/07/2020 20:14

IF you are having handles look to see if they line up - so we have some handles which are horizontal in the middle of the top of the cupboard door rather than vertical or offset - so they line up and match with the central handles on the drawers and dishwasher. Again the handles are centred and horizontal on the cupboards above and below the oven so it looks "right".

intheningnangnong · 26/07/2020 20:32

@GypsyRoseGarden it’s expensive, but we love the matte finish. I don’t want a glossy kitchen top.

Toomanycats99 · 26/07/2020 20:39

My range master is gas and I like it! I actually prefer the look of them to induction. Plus I didn't have the extra several hundred pounds for induction anyway!

PersonaNonGarter · 26/07/2020 20:43

Don’t have a sink in the island as this is where washing up goes - your dirty plates and pans will be on display.

Plan a wine rack - even if you don’t drink it is useful to store bottles.

Consider a window seat if you have room - they are really homely in kitchens.

bathorshower · 26/07/2020 22:56

I'm assuming you have a fair amount of space and budget, so:

With an island, is there space for one person to work at at and another to comfortably pass? Depends how you use your kitchen of course, but DH and I work together (sometimes with others too), and many islands aren't far enough away from the wall/work surface.

When we (eventually) replace our kitchen, we'll raise the work surface height; I'm not tall, but prefer not to bend at all.

Another one who'd recommend drawers rather than cupboards - for as much of the kitchen as you can. I've even seen drawer style fridges, but not close up to know how much space they need (lots if each drawer is insulated).

We routinely need 5 rings due to a mix of dietary requirements, and have a stand alone induction ring in addition to our 'normal' cooker. 6 rings sounds great!

I would go for a double drainer sink, which comes right to the edge of the work top, as it makes draining heavy pans much easier (I can rest them on the edge of the sink). However if you've got heat and water safe granite, that's less of an issue.

Would two dishwashers improve your life? We don't have space, but you might - take it out of one, use it, put it in the other (obviously you do have to put away a few things each time!).

Worth thinking where you'll store utensils and cooking oils - ours are out on the worktop; that works for us, but I'm getting the impression you'd prefer things out of sight.

We've only got three drawers. In our previous house, there was a run of small drawers just below the work surface right the way round the kitchen (neither kitchens were installed by us). They were enormously useful, and are definitely on our 'would have if we ever get round to redoing the kitchen' list.

My0My · 26/07/2020 23:10

I have a gas hob in my London flat so I’ve compared gas with induction. Gas is just so old fashioned. It’s difficult to keep spills at bay and you have to wash the stands down all the time and take it to pieces. Induction hobs are quick, utterly controllable, have various boost functions, timers, warming settings and a variety of pan sizes fit them. Best of all - a quick wipe clean and you’re done. Magic. Never really liked gas and it wouldn’t be staying in my kitchen. Simply not the best in this day and age. Sleek induction wins hands down.

WhatAWonderfulDay · 26/07/2020 23:20

A water softener.