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

[GypsyRoseGarden]

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

Definitely induction hob.

I loved gas and swore I would never use electric even though I hated the cleaning of it. The induction hob is brilliant. Even quicker than gas and so controllable.

Easier to get a 'simmer' as well. Gas would never really go low enough. Induction you can even just use as a warming plate

Chsrging drawer - a drawer with sockets and usb sockets built in so you can charge your phone etc out of sight.

Boiling water tap

Hose tap

Personally would choose induction and electric oven

Hate kickboard lighting and ceiling recess lighting myself, too hotelly. would choose wall lamps instead.

Hob in the island. No to sink in the island, too messy

Drawers rather than cupboards, mostly

Don’t build un your compost bin unless you’re going to empty it all the time. Don’t put it anywhere that will get warm

Double door fridge with ice & water

Dishwasher next to where your crockery/cutlery lives, and near the bin

Stainless sink (I like one really big bowl and one small bowl), undermounted

We don’t have loads and loads of storage and I prefer that. Means we don’t accumulate clutter and the kitchen feels more open (as we only have two wall cupboards). We have plenty for what we need, we also have a separate utility.

Are you having a separate utility/laundry? If you are having an open plan kitchen/living/dining then you’ll definitely want the laundry going elsewhere and ideally another sink and worksurface for messy or ongoing tasks.

A separate veg prep sink in a big island works well. It’s not messy at all. I would have a big double sink adjacent to the dishwasher and agree you need crockery and pan storage within reach. A big main double sink works really well in a big kitchen and hides mess!

We had our 'dream kitchen' installed a couple of years ago. Here's my take:

Don't. Get. The. Rangemaster. It's absolutely shit, and my biggest regret. We have the induction top which is stupidly underpowered compared to the two induction hobs we had before. Big oven is insanely patchy on heat. Small oven takes about an hour to come up to heat. I wish I could go back in time, put a separate good quality induction hob in; and four eye level modern ovens set into a wall of cupboards, two either side of the hob. Why bend down to deal with burning hot things when you could do it at eye level - so much safer. Also the extractor - make sure it's higher than the tallest person in the house - my DH bangs his head on our every day and I'm pretty sure he's about to take a hammer to it.

Get the ovens with pyrolitic cleaning - saves a fortune & time in the long run - our Rangemaster is always desperately in need of refurbishing inside and out!

We also have a microwave / combi oven built in another wall - I was adamant I wouldn't have a microwave/ kettle cluttering up my surfaces. I can deal with a Dualit toaster and a Lavazza coffee machine and that's it!

Re the island - we kept ours free of the sink, so that it's about pleasure. We can also seat four-six, and the centre of the island is always filled with huge fresh flowers and smelly candles etc. For me, I wanted to keep the island for luxury / relaxing, and have all the operational parts in wall units. Mixing them just confuses the whole concept for me (although I know lots of people do it).

Under the island contains the wine fridge, natch, and a big cupboard for our many many cook books.

Re taps - definitely have a boiling water one, best new gadget I would never be without, saves so much time.

We have a water / ice dispenser in a big American style fridge, so don't need to clutter up the sink area with another tap - why create more going on there when you don't need to?

Sink is a large white butlers sink (next to a large capacity dishwasher), so not used for massive amounts apart from handwashing.

I do wish we'd added one of the multi-directional hose attachments - they look pretty useful.

Depending on how much wine storage you want - we had hand built wine cubby holes built in an arch over the double fridge and it looks amazing (demanding on the dusty front but worth it for me).

We have the deep pull-out shelves in the corner unit which adds so much storage, definitely have one of the rather than an awkward corner space which you can't reach.

Ours was hand designed and built to scratch from English oak, so we were able to specify wall units that go right up to the ceiling - looks much better and avoids those open sticky grim bits on top of cupboards.

Another idea someone said above - a drawer for usb connections - brilliant! Our usb connections are above a surface - messy - and now I want them in a drawer!

We recently did our kitchen and a lot sounds similar to your plans. What I really like is:
Fridge with ice and water, would not want to live without it!
Large island, without sink/hob
Induction hob

What I regret is :
the double oven instead of two proper ovens.
Letting my builder talk me out of floor heating.
Our utility room is a bit smaller than ideal.

We set our units forward a bit so we could have deeper than standard worktop. I think it's 70cm not 60cm. Just gives a bit of extra room for things to stand at the back & we find it very useful.

@Clambering that sounds interesting. I will need to contemplate that!

[quote intheningnangnong]@Clambering that sounds interesting. I will need to contemplate that![/quote]
Of course, it does mean that you keep more stuff on the surface than you otherwise might! We have chopping boards, cooking oil, salt and pepper, a recipe book stand, a pestle and mortar, and a pot with handy rubber bands ... it could be argued that they'd be tidier elsewhere

I think if you have a big island - ours is 3.2 m of granite plus wooden table area - a sink or hob doesn’t spoil anything! I still have a large vase of flowers on mine. What I really like is using the hob and looking out over my garden. I can also cook and look at family/guests sitting at the table area. It depends whether you see this as a convivial area or not. I do a lot of prep at the Island and it’s equipped for this by being large. Many islands are used like this (with equipment in use facing out to the garden) in magazines and if you have a great view, why look at the wall?

this is all incredibly helpful - thank you so much to every single lovely person who has taken the time to post

I am definitely now not putting a hob or sink in the island .... and I'm rethinking the white granite .... and I'm definitely putting in a hot water tap .... and a hose tap .... and a big sink (not sure on what finish yet - can't work out stainless vs other finishes)

I appreciate the different views on convection vs gas - I think for me because the power goes out a lot (not UK), I want to stick to the gas because at least then I can cook / boil water

I am currently looking at a 48 inch gas double range over - gas burners and gas ovens ....... but I've read a review of someone who said they wish they just got a 30 or 36 inch and then a speed/steam oven separately for the "second oven"

STEAM OVENS - do we like them ?

I've never heard of the steam oven - are they like a microwave type deal? does anyone have any experience of these? I think a 30 inch range plus a second oven (28 inch) would take up more room than the 48 inch range double oven .....

RANGES - Blue Star or Wolf? The online reviews send me around in circles

to answer questions:

1. laundry /utility is at other end of house to fortunately don't need to accommodate that near the kitchen
2. yes its a large area (three rooms opening into one)
3. view is onto side fence (not interesting) and back garden

Boiling water tap. I am grateful for it every day. Worth every penny IMO

Get a laundry chute unless your room is upstairs.

Steam ovens are great IF you cook

Ceramic worktops cost a FORTUNE. If you don’t want a shiny worktop you can get stone in a variety of finishes - the kitchen show room had granite in a leather finish and also in a linen finish.

Get yourself one of those pantry cupboards with a worktop hidden inside. Coffee machine, kettle and toaster can all be hidden away in there to give a tidy professional look.

Stone needs looking after though. A red wine stain after a party is not the sort of fun I like.

double door fridge with ice and water dispenser
In my experience these things are white elephants that rarely get used, are a faff to clean and just look a mess. Get yourself an integrated fridge and freezer that’s hidden away behind doors, it looks better. You can put a water jug inside the fridge if you want.

It sounds lovely, things I wouldn't do without, my hot water tap with a tiny sink near my cooker. I have a Falcon range cooker and love it. A waste disposal unit, I would never be without one. I have granite work surfaces and didn't want a drainer so have two separate sinks next to each other, one with a drainer basket in so you don't see any washed pots if that makes any sense. Also don't have any wasted space I have a narrow island with a wine fridge, at the back was only a small space, but instead of a spacer I have a cupboard that is only about 10cms deep, but is perfect for all my spices.

Drawers instead of under counter cabinets.

I learnt to cook on an Aga. I'd love a big enough kitchen, and enough money, to get an Aga myself. I guess it's a case if better the devil you know but I prefer it to gas/electric/induction.

A big enough fridge for lots of cold drinks.

you guys rock - thanks so much - lots of great ideas here that I have implemented - wooo hooo

I love the idea of a charging drawer! That’d be great.

@GypsyRoseGarden did you go for a steam oven in the end? Would be interested to hear what you chose as I’m trying to chose for our kitchen in our self build house