Your kitchen musts and don't bothers

[MrsCremuel]

There was very useful thread on this in 2012 but I fear the world of kitchens may have moved so I am hoping to start a 2020 version.

Planning a new kitchen and need to know your must haves and absolutely don't bothers please!

For info, it's a kitchen diner, the wall knocked through 1930s semi kind. The kitchen section is rather small and gloomy so anything that makes it feel spacious is very welcome!

Ditto the utility. Try to avoid at all costs laundry in the kitchen!
Pan storage a must
American fridge freezer a must
Forget the wine fridge
Space to sit, however small

A couple of plug sockets with usb ports in them. Really handy for charging phones etc

We re-did our kitchen three years ago and the things I couldn’t live without now are:

• Big pan drawers - as many as you can fit in
• Pull out drawers in a tall pantry unit and in one of the floor units (Blum). They are invaluable and so much better than shelves.
• Plenty of work surfaces if you like cooking/have a family/entertain
• Range cooker (with gas hob!). Love the five gas rings with large wok burner and the two electric ovens beneath. Can’t be doing with halogen at all .
• One large sink, big enough to get a washing up bowl in with space at the side to rinse. It’s also plenty big enough to put the mop bucket underneath the tap.

@Elsiebear90 oh wow that looks brilliant so glad you posted as I had considered that but think it would be a lot of work in ours. We have a chimney breast (no fireplace) which we would need knocking out or putting an oven in and supporting remaining chimney breast upstairs. Also, although the rooms are knocked through there is still a bit of structural wall left so its almost more partitioned. If we were going to do it properly we would get in the structural engineers etc and switch it round...and get side and back extension.

There is a lot of potential but I don't know how far to go!

2 dishwashers...

Neve have to unload the clean one, don't need a storage drawer for your plates etc.

Also as many wide drawers as you can put in rather than cupboards, so much more usable easy access storage.

We had a chimney breast removed where our hob is and a supporting beam put in, I think that came to around £1500, plus £250 for the building regs, if you get a good experienced builder you shouldn’t need a structural engineer. I would get a quote for it at least as it was a lot less than we anticipated. It was 16k in total for everything, that’s a load bearing wall and chimney being removed plus two beams, all the building work, decorating, kitchen units, handles, worktops, tiling, flooring, appliances etc. We could have done it for less with a cheaper kitchen and appliances etc, but we thought it was worth spending the extra money for a nicer finish. I think it was money well spent as if we would have had the kitchen where the old one was it would have been minuscule!

Neff Slide and Hide oven. Makes it so easy to get things in and out and feels safer around children. Plus it is just so cool and every time I use it it makes me happy even years later

Ditto the pan drawers, Hide n Slide oven and sink as large as your tins / chopping boards. I also love my pull-out larder cupboard - no room for an actual larder. Getting to grips with my induction hob, and think my issues may be down to cheap and cheerful pans. I now have 1 more expensive one, and don't have the same problems. I would avoid open shelves like the plague. In a small, dark kitchen, have a look for a natural daylight led light (high lumens in blue/white colour). Mine really does look bright, but can look stark at night, so softer additional lights would be helpful, too, like under unit downlights etc.. Oh, and don't forget a stool / mini step ladder if you have ceiling height units and are a short-arse....

My must haves:

boiling water tap
flex hose tap
sink large enough to fit a large oven tray
double door fridge freezer with ice maker
pan drawers
larder drawers
crockery drawers
(drawers for everything basically, except one or two cabinets or extra deep drawers for tall stuff)
induction hob
good extractor fan
built in bin, with recycling.
drawer with built in plugs for charging tablets phones etc
very hard wearing floor (we have tiles with ufh)
undercabinet lighting
breakfast bar (personally, I know they are marmite)

Meh:

Wine fridge
Waste disposal
Slide n hide on oven

For a small and gloomy kitchen section - maybe a mirror splashback or at least a gloss splashback, especially if it will face a window or door so reflect light.

Are you going to have a corner in your kitchen? If so, depending on your layout, speak to the builder to see if you can turn the corner into a cupboard accessed from the hall (or whatever room backs onto the corner). Much better use of space than kitchen corner units.

Boiling water tap. Drawers not cupboards. Coffee machine. Pullout recycling and waste bin. Wine rack. Breakfast cupboard (where you hide your toaster and coffee machine - you don't need a kettle because you have the boiling water tap). And definitely have a utility room, though upstairs is a better location for this.

Mrscremuel, i would suggest not putting the cooker in the fireplace space, as you cant go easily to the side with a heavy pan, or turn the pan handles out as they might knock into the wall.
That arrangement always looks awkward to me

Yes definitely pullout recycling and waste bin.

We have a rubbish, recycling and compost one directly under a worksurface where I do most food prep.

Forgotten that I love not seeing the bin!

Musts - pull out drawers wherever possible.
A pull-out larder
Plenty of ordinary drawers
Cupboard doors that are easily wiped clean and don’t scratch easily.

A good sized kitchen table.
Island only if there really is loads of room for that plus a table.

No black or grey anything, except ovens etc.

@Elsiebear90 - Your kitchen is amazing! On a slightly different note, you have a sliding barn door into your kitchen? I'm hoping to get one done in the bedroom to the en-suite bathroom so was wondering, did you get a kit and do it?

Would you say the sliding barn door works well? Any pros / cons?

I have a pan drawer with plinths so keep my trays and chopping boards to the sides. I'd recommend an appliance cupboard, I have nothing but a kitchen aid (my very expensive kitchen ornament) on the work tops. Lots of ideas in Pinterest for appliance cupboard or appliance garage (bit of a wanky term). I have a plug tower with 3 plugs and two usb charger ports. I also have a larder so all my food is in one place, other than the fridge. I just gather everything I need at once. It isn't built in, it's a massive kitchen corner cupboard I can walk in.

Deep drawers for pans and plates and everything. Lots of drawers!
Power point phone chargers in the plug sockets.
High gloss tiles let light bounce around, so if you have a small/dark space then consider using shiny tiles for your splash back.
Kitchens look more expensive when they are not super matchy matchy.
If you have an island consider having a lip/overhang that you can have stools under. It’s nice to have people sit at the island when you cook/entertain. It’s really sociable.

Large pantry/larder cupboard.

Utility room if you can afford the space.

The best things about our new kitchen diner are:
-No wall units, feels bigger and lighter
-Big breakfast bar with units below.
-Induction hob
-separate utility room

Water softner

@FluffyPersian thank you :) yes we do! It was either that or the door would hit anyone who was sat in the chair behind it. The only negative I can think of is something we didn’t realise at the time, which is you need a slightly wider door than normal, otherwise it won’t cover the door frame properly. I love it though, saves us loads of space!

Great thread. Thank you.

Can I ask a bin question? Various friends have a bin cupboard. With compartments for recycling, compost etc. Really small compartments. How often do the bins need emptying?

Lots and lots of plug sockets. There are never enough. And good overhead lighting that doesn't cast a shadow over the worktop.

Elsiebear90 is yours an ikea kitchen? It's lovely.

Can I ask about the utility? What's so great about it? We're having an extension done and the only possible utility would be small, so would barely fit one clothes horse for drying clothes, so I wrote it off; was I wrong? We usually have two or three clothes horses drying laundry up at any one time!

Can I ask about the utility? What's so great about it?

No washer/dryer noise in the kitchen
Can store laundry basket and clean clothes in the utility rather than having them lying round kitchen or having to be taken to and fro.
Extra freezer
My microwave is in there so more counter space in kitchen
Somewhere to hang the mop and broom
Extra storage for loo rolls / laundry powder
Can put the cats food bowls or litter trays in there
Can be less fussy about tidiness as we dont eat in there or hang out in there whereas I like the kitchen tidy to relax in

WhereDoesThisToiletGo can I ask where you got your non slip drawer liner please?